Maggie Righetti said
that you can tell a lot from a pattern based on the way the model was photographed. I read this (in Knitting in Plain English) and thought I understood it, and then I made this.
Cute, right? Not a big boxy sweater. A sweater-girl kind of sweater, my mom would say. But why are the model's hands posed like so? An action shot? No. *She is trying to pull down the sweater because it rides up!*
I made the medium size, in Blues. 9 balls of yarn, said pattern. Um no. I'm a tight knitter, granted, but 9 balls would have made a t-shirt. After I finished the body with 2+ balls to spare I ordered another ball from Patternworks (and a skein of Cotton Chenille for a washcloth, just so the shipping charge would not be for naught), and barely finished two somewhat shortened sleeves. Barely. Had to trim the cast on excess and tie it on to finish binding off. And, did I mention I had to rip and redo the sleeves three times so it wouldn't end up with a batwing effect? And that checking gauge in alpaca boucle can make you go blind?
Well, despite all that, I do like the finished sweater. I wish it were a little longer, but I'm not tackling those sleeves again, huh uh, nope. I will push them up a little and pretend like I intended on 3/4 sleeves. You won't tell, will you?
In happier news I received a really sweet (almost gushing) thank you note from my son's Kindergarten teacher for the seed stitch blouse scarf I made her for Xmas. It was the nicest thank you note I've ever seen and made my day.
Cute, right? Not a big boxy sweater. A sweater-girl kind of sweater, my mom would say. But why are the model's hands posed like so? An action shot? No. *She is trying to pull down the sweater because it rides up!*
I made the medium size, in Blues. 9 balls of yarn, said pattern. Um no. I'm a tight knitter, granted, but 9 balls would have made a t-shirt. After I finished the body with 2+ balls to spare I ordered another ball from Patternworks (and a skein of Cotton Chenille for a washcloth, just so the shipping charge would not be for naught), and barely finished two somewhat shortened sleeves. Barely. Had to trim the cast on excess and tie it on to finish binding off. And, did I mention I had to rip and redo the sleeves three times so it wouldn't end up with a batwing effect? And that checking gauge in alpaca boucle can make you go blind?
Well, despite all that, I do like the finished sweater. I wish it were a little longer, but I'm not tackling those sleeves again, huh uh, nope. I will push them up a little and pretend like I intended on 3/4 sleeves. You won't tell, will you?
In happier news I received a really sweet (almost gushing) thank you note from my son's Kindergarten teacher for the seed stitch blouse scarf I made her for Xmas. It was the nicest thank you note I've ever seen and made my day.
posted by Katie at 2:38 PM
3 Comments:
I will not tell anyone! I have at least three store-bought sweaters where the sleeves start an inch above the wrist, on purpose. You are so right about the way the model is photographed, I've never thought about it, but it makes so much sense! Should I reconsider my choice of sweater because it's not even photographed on a model? I definitely don't look anything like that mannequin :). It looks really nice, I bet the alpaca boucle feels wonderful.
What a shame! Although I'm glad you still like the sweater and can still wear it. But I'm sure you have that familiar (at least to me) feeling of betrayal from your pattern and/or yarn. I think all knitters experience that at some point. It would be less painful if we hadn't spent so much time on the project and $$ on the yarn.
You have been a busy bumble-bee. I'm so happy to hear that you like your sweater in spite of the flaws. I'm learning that it's way too difficult to determine if something is going to turn out the way you expect it AND if you're going to like it. I suppose we just have to write it off to "it's in the process" as Margene would say!
Post a Comment
<< Home