A problem, or an overactive imagination?
I made reasonable progress on the Urban Aran yesterday. It's looking quite nice so far.
But then I looked closer and realized it looked a bit small. No, I told myself, my gauge is perfect (I swatched, after all!). It's just looking small because it's basically 2 x 2 rib. Everything will be fine after blocking. My swatch relaxed a bit after washing, and so will this.Not satisfied with my own reasoning, I pinned it out to the correct finished width.
All right, so it isn't that bad. It is a bit more stretched than I would like, but then, it hasn't been washed yet. Am I crazy for still considering ripping it out and knitting the next size up? If only I were a more experienced sweater knitter!(Aside: I am totally digging how the wide cabled bands on the sides provide a sort of waist shaping without actually doing decreases and increases.)
The Professor listened very sympathetically to my plight. He normally shakes his head in disbelief whenever I start ripping out my work, so I expected him to tell me to carry on with the current size. Instead, he told me very authoritatively, "There is only one solution to this problem."
I held my breath and waited for his words of wisdom.
"Start on my second sock."
Was his advice sage or selfish? Anyway, it turned out to be a pretty good plan. It stopped me from obsessing about the sweater so I could enjoy watching Jane Eyre on Masterpiece Theatre.I am back to ruminating over the sweater today, though.
posted by Micki @ 11:23 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Rip it and knit the next size up! In a jacket, a little bit large is a good thing. Also, you prefer the less stretched look. Whenever I've persisted with a sweater that appeared a little bit small, it ended up that way, and was a big disappointment!
You've proved my point on why I don't knit sweaters. It always seems that even if I swatch, the item still ends up the wrong size. I love your mans advice though on starting his 2nd sock ... too funny! Personally, (and I know you don't want to hear this) I would frog it & start over in the larger size.
I think it was sage advice (maybe a little bit selfish--those socks look great--I am always amazed at how much better everyone's Vintage Socks look than the ones in the book!). I am quick, quick to rip and regret it about 50% of the time. I am finally learning to take a break and ponder the situation! Maybe spend some time in blogland and see if anyone else has had sizing issues withthat sweater.
A second comment: If you don't rip, you will have to adjust the pattern shaping later, because you will have to knit more rows to get the proper length. (Note how much shorter the piece is when stretched.)
A very easy way to check whether a sweater-in-progress will be the right size, is to lay it over a sweater you already have that fits properly. You might consider going to larger needles, although the fabric looks so nice so far, a larger size might be the best approach.
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