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Ooh, great start to those sweaters!
I’m revamping an old sweater that has weirdly gotten tight in the sleeves for some reason (rest of the sweater fits great still). I cut off the sleeves and reknit them with some fun contrasting yarn, and then want to do some surface embellishment on the body (it’s just a plain black sweater) to tie it in better. Tricky trying to do even lettering though. And the stitch is so odd, I can’t place it at all - it looks like some sort of cross between knit and crochet, definitely not a regular stockinette stitch where I’d just duplicate stitch over it. I’m going to try to surface crochet the word “WEIRD” (hah). I’ll have to share pics so you can help me identify the stitch.
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That is such a pretty pink yarn.
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Back on my sweater streak. I’d take a break but it’s using up some good chunks of my stash (does it count if I bought said stash to eventually make a sweater anyway?)
I’m using the Thelma Pullover (free) pattern by Sari Nordlund with some modifications since it’s written for more of a Sport/DK weight yarn, and I’m using worsted with larger needles. Not 100% confident it won’t end up too big, but we’ll see - I sized down from what I normally wear, and split the sleeves off earlier than the pattern would normally call for. I’m almost done with the colorwork yoke, then it’ll just be mostly stockinette for the rest of the body.
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Lookin good!
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In the spirit of sharing, and also needing a place to vent, this sweater is now renamed the “learning sweater”. So many stupid lessons that generally need reminding:
Maybe a little more testing or cough gauge swatching isn’t such a horrible thing. Especially when going off book with a different weight of yarn. Since the last picture I posted, knitted a little bit of a sleeve to test out the arm scythe (?) to make sure it was big enough, and to make sure it was far enough down from my pit. It seemed ok, but after knitting a bit more length in the sleeve, it was clear that BOTH there needed to be more stitches on the needle, and I needed to split for sleeves lower in the body.
AFTER ripping back and then knitting the full yoke pattern, I split for sleeves the 2nd time. I decided to err on too many stitches vs not enough and added a healthy amount to each side. It was pretty clear soon after that I had too many stitches in the arm but I continued on, decreasing rapidly until I got to a comfortable amount and continued on. The body felt like it fit ok, and I decided then to knit both sleeves fully before continuing the body (because I’ve seen other people do it, and they say it gives a better idea of the full fit when you’re deciding on the length you want in the body). So sure, let’s do it.
Then I discovered my problem…ultimately, I should have cast on an even smaller size because the yoke is just too big. This has resulted in the body being ridiculously oversized. Add insult to injury, I had added short rows to the back per the instructions, which was making the sweater warp weirdly in each pit. I attempted to just decrease stitches in each side to get to a more reasonable body shape, but it was making the pitts warp even more?? I was getting lost in the woods at this point. Also, I have the tiniest hope I can finish this sweater without having to buy any more yarn (though I think probably unlikely), and the amount of excess fabric was going to make that hope a non-starter.
So, I gave up my fumbles last night and admitted my folly’s defeat. I have now ripped back 2 full finished sleeves, plus 6ish inches on the body. I have split sleeves for the 3rd time, and with all the lessons I’ve learned along the way, I feel a bit better about moving forward now.
Oh also, don’t do a bind off that’s a PITA to undo, or weave in ends until you KNOW you’re finished.
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Your sweater (mis)-adventure sure has a lot of lessons in it.
Sometimes the only way to fix the fixings is to start anew. I am sure you will be happier with the sweater if you can wear it with pride!
I am very guilty of weaving in ends so I don’t have to do it in the end, but yeah, until you have to undo it. I have only done this on hats, and have resorted to just cutting off a few rows because I can’t find the end to undo it! UGH! I feel your pain. Thanks for sharing.
Hope to see the sweater done in 2026!
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Absolutely! No sweater police here. All that lacey knitting looks tough but so pretty!
Is this what you did the provisional cast on for?
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Awesome, well then I’m back! And, it is! You cast on above the end of one sleeve and knit to the end, and then pick up and knit the other direction to the other end.
I undid all the work I had done on the sweater I started January 2025 (the lace was VERY complicated and I messed it up a bit despite having made that pattern once before) and just started this whole new project with the same yarn.
This might be a swap project distractor or maybe it’s my brainstorming project…
6 rounds in:
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That’s a gorgeous loose cardi, definitely in the sweater family. I don’t envy all the lace - that’s a tricky beast to master.
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Have you ever had to mend a sweater before you made it? This cat!
This morning I found my knitting bag in a whole different room from where it was left. The bad bugger had dragged it by the sweater back panel he had snagged through the drawstring closure. C’mon!
Calgon, take me away!
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I feel your pain! My cat is obsessed with yarn and will chew through the ends of my clear bags. I really have to cinch my bags tight and tie a bow across.
Do you have any fabric glue? If you take a pinch on your finger and twist the yarn it will hold the pulls. It is washable. Fabric glue has saved many of my knits as well as my furniture.
My fabric headboard is in shreds but a bit of fabric glue mixed with the shreds will make it presentable for at least another year! CATS!
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I love that pattern! I enjoy lace knitting. It gives me an excuse to use up all those fancy stitch markers and lifelines I bought years ago when I first started knitting! ha
What type of yarn are you using? I have so much fingering weight yarn with no projects in mind.
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I’m using Hempathy, which is DK, but this pattern has a DK version and a laceweight version. I love complicated-looking patterns like lace and cables that are actually just repeats that I can memorize. It turns the whole project into therapy, which I am hoping for with this one. Plus I like the end result if I’m successful… Should be warm enough to wear it by the time I’m done.
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I read on the blog how to adapt to sock yarn, which is fingering weight. I like a little something to cover my shoulders when it is warm outside by too cool inside most stores, etc.
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Desert weather gets cold quickly as soon as the sun goes down on an otherwise warm day, typically, so I’ve been looking for simple shrugs and such for evenings. I’ve had my eye on this pattern for probably a decade or longer, so it’s also about time I make it.
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