My Knitting Hates Me
Okay, so the little … mishap … the other day was my fault. I entirely admit it. I made a wrong turn with the scissors as I rounded the shoulder, and the resulting damage was my own fault.
But.
So, with that rather ominous foreshadowing….
See this rather pretty sweater that is now looking, you know, LIKE a sweater and not just a heap of yarn?
Something scary cropped up as I sewed in one of the sleeves.
That doubly reinforced steek? The one that I not only machine stitched but also ran a line of crochet reinforcing by hand to be sure it would hold?
Apparently, it wasn’t enough.
What you see there in the picture is the nicely reinforced steeked edge … and a bunch of loose stitches that unravelled just on the other side.
Sigh.
So … what am I doing about it?
Well, I finished sewing in the sleeves because, well, why not? Although it was with a rather defeatist attitude, I’ll admit. I added a couple lines of stitching around the hole and then actually moved the seam so that the hole is now in the seam allowance (which, yes, alters the set of the line, but, hey, whatever).
My current plan? I’m going to finish the knitting. I just picked up the stitches for the neckband and will go ahead and do the button bands.
But, I’m then going to go back to the seams and stitch, carefully, around the seams one more time and hope that nothing else … nothing that looks solid right now … is going to come undone and ruin this otherwise lovely sweater.
Sigh.
Sigh.
Sigh.
Anyone else have any better suggestions?
And, why does my knitting hate me?
Maybe I SHOULD turn Sylvi into an afghan rather than knitting it as a coat … at least then I wouldn’t have to worry about how it fits. (Although, finding a yarn that’s not acrylic, not cotton, and machine washable suitable for an afghan is harder than you’d expect.)
Which, at this moment, is more of a consideration than you would think!
My knitting hates me. So discouraging. I’m really such a nice person.
Oh, and I got tagged over at Punctuality Rules for the “6 things about me” meme … you folks might know most of these already, but please come and take a look.
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Tannenbaum.
House Calls
I feel your pain! That sweater is beautiful. I’m so sorry for the mishap. I wish I had some suggestions!
Janine (@janinea at Twitter)
Oh no. that’s a big ouch. Sorry. As for afghan friendly yarn, how about a superwash?
Plenty of that stuff about!
Risa’s last blog post..Chilly Monday
Truly a knitting nightmare. I am so so sorry. The sweater is beautiful. I hope all the reinforcing does the trick.
Kim’s last blog post..Baby, it’s Cold Outside
True, but it superwash is more expensive and that is very much an issue these days!
So sad! What sort of stitch did you use on your machine? I used zig zag the one (only!) time I had to stitch a steek. My trial runs with the crocheted steek didn’t hold well enough with the yarn I used, so I didn’t even bother.
I hope you know enough about sweater repair to fix that. It’s actually pretty easy to darn a hole, especially when you’ve got the yarn that was used in the garment! I hope your next project goes more smoothly.
Does the blanket really need to be machine washable? Most people I know don’t wash their blankets all that frequently, and you can hand wash it using the machine. (Just fill up the machine with water, add your wool wash, add blanket, soak.) If it really does, I think the least expensive superwash I know of is either 220 Superwash or Lamb’s Pride Superwash. But I’m not savvy about the yarns that are sold only online, like KnitPicks.
maria’s last blog post..On (Dog) Motherhood
*pats Deb gently and sympathetically on the shoulder, hoping that she’s not loosening stitches in doing so*
I can only think of two words. Oh Shit.
donna’s last blog post..Things I Can’t Live Without
I am so sorry to hear/see your boo-boo. Hear’s a hug and a warm cup of hot chocolate with marshmellows.
I have an off topic question for you:
You have posted several pictures with yarn wrapped around what looks like a bobbin. What is the official name? Where would I get one? How do you wind the yarn onto it? I am doing several projects with silk and it’s driving me nuts because it won’t stay wound and it gets knotted up.
Thanks! Happy New Year!
Jenna
aka: PamperedKnitter
I’m taking comfort that your knitting hates you too right now. I’m hoping that the new year will renew the love.
Carrie K’s last blog post..Wicked Witch of the North Pole/Mary Tudor Poll
Gah! This sweater needs an exorcism!