WIP roundup - the sweater edition
I’ve been meaning to pile up all my works in progress and blog about them here to guilt myself into action, but I have been completely unmotivated to do so. So much for finishing most of them before the end of summer. But, summer doesn’t really end in Texas until some time in November, so I guess I’ve got a few months to actually finish something.
Before:
Petal used to look like an almost-complete sweater. I even seamed everything except for one sleeve, and all the ends were woven in.
Now:
The fit was bad enough to frog pretty much the whole sweater. The worst offender was completely my fault - I went up a size for the hip measurement, because I thought that my hips Are Not Shaped Like That. But as it turns out? They are! You knit the bottom band sideways, and then pick up stitches for the body. The picked-up-stitches measurement seemed pretty small, so I went up a size. However, that bottom band is a few inches wide, so the picked-up-stitches location was a few inches up from the bottom of the sweater, and going up a size made the sweater seem baggy and kind of frumpy.
I’d rather rip and redo this sweater than create yet another sweater that I never wear. I’ve already reknit the front, and the crumply yarn above is the back, waiting its turn. I did salvage the bottom band - it has less stretch (because it’s knit sideways) than the body of the sweater, so the size larger band feels like it fits perfectly.
In addition to knitting the right freaking size, I added about an inch of short row bust shaping (and could have done more), and fixed the top triangles. The sweater as knit is not going to cover my bra straps - they stick out where the top of the front piece meets the bottom of the triangles. I decided to work the triangles attached to the front piece, and they are 8 stitches wider at their base than the pattern calls for.
This is my main project right now, so hopefully I can finish it before the theoretical winter comes to this state.
Cambridge Jacket for Rob. Meh. I have a sleeve and a back and a half knit. I think my gauge was off, hence the back reknitting, but it’s been so long that I really don’t remember. I think this is going to get frogged in favor of a seamless hybrid. Those always turn out nice. The cool thing about digging this out is that I found my size 8 knitpicks tips and two 24 inch cords. I thought I had a monster in my closet eating all my 24″ cords, but here they were the whole time.
The new kid on the block: the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I’ll be using Rowan Cashcotton DK for this - from the stash! Boo yah, no yarn buying for me! I was thisclose to buying some of the big Webs Jaeger closeout, but I recently reorganized my stash and remembered how many sweater amounts of yarn I have. I think I’m going to provisionally cast on the yoke stitches and knit the yoke first because it’s the fun part!
Questions for y’all (see, I’m texan, right?):
1. How much ease do you put into cardigans? I’m between two sizes of the Tangled Yoke, and I’m wondering how little ease I can go before the buttonband is going to gape. I’ll likely be wearing this with a very light layer underneath, so I’m not too worried about it being a layering piece over something bulky.
2. Have you submitted your goods to Yarnival! yet?
Oh, and I’ve also suddenly stopped receiving my wordpress comment emails. Wah! So if you don’t hear from me (like I’m ever on top of my email in the first place), now you know why. !@#$!
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I love the look of Petal - where is that pattern from? I love the Tangled Yoke Cardigan too. I need to get my yarn and cast on!
Ooof, that frogged Petal looks pretty painful. I’m sure it’ll be worth it though.
Tough call on the Tangled Yoke sizing. It’s supposed to be a reasonably fitted cardi, so I would probably go with the smaller size. However, I’m not well-endowed (at all!), so gaping is not something I generally worry about.
Could you knit it a slightly looser gauge and then block the pieces to your own in-between size? Also, increasing the number of buttons might help reduce the chance of gaping.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, oh my god!!!!!!! I saw you knitting that thing and it was ALMOST finished and now you’re re-knitting it? OUCH!!!!!! i’m so sorry.
Anyways, if you look at my blog, I attempted the tangled yoke pattern. Not the cardigan, just the pattern. It’s pretty, but I had some issues.
OK. I don’t know how busty you are, but I am quite busty and I typically resolve the inbetween size thing by making the back in the small size and then the fronts in the next size up. (You need to be careful with length, the armholes and the shoulders if you do this.) This actually works very well for me as it better aligns with my proportions.
Perhaps also, if you are between sizes, you could add short rows to the bust area, so that you maintain the slim fit of the cardigan without having a gaping button band.
Good luck, it’s a beautiful cardigan.
KG
You are a courageous gal to frog petal. I agree that it was the only proper thing to do…
Tangled Yoke! I keep seeing this every where and I’m kind of regretting, just a little, that I cast on for the Tilted Duster already.
I typically go for as little ease as possible since I’m not very busty at all. Then again, most patterns don’t really have my real size so there is always and inch or two (or mostly three) of ease. Most of the cardigans I’ve knit in this year have had 3 inches of ease and they’ve still looked pretty good.
ACK!! IT was looking SO good! Tangled yoke is going to be BEAUTIUFL!
too bad about Petal, but as knitters we always learn the hard way!!! tangled yoke is so pretty - it will be stunning in that color. cardi’s I tend to give an inch or two of ease. keep in mind i really have not much up top to provide “gaping” of any buttons!
Having never made a cardigan I will speak up like the know-it-all I am. Doesn’t the gappiness get reduced when you sew in a ribbon on the inside of the button bands?
Good for you for frogging Petal. I always appreciate projects so much more when I put in the extra effort to get them right.
You are always so brave to frog things that you know aren’t going properly. I admire you for that! (Even if it didn’t fit, Petal was looking really nice.)
The pattern for A Cardigan for Arwen gives some cardi fitting advice…go up a size for shorter, cropped cardis, and go down a size for longer ones. This rule can help eliminate the frumpiness factor. Not sure if that helps with Tangled Yoke.
I was bummed when I saw frogged petal on flickr! I hope you can make it work — it’s a gorgeous sweater.
I love that tweed for Rob’s sweater! There’s also Cobblestone if you do frog…
on tangled yoke — any thought on making the smaller size and adding some short row bust shaping to avoid buttonband gaping? I’m considering tangled yoke for later this fall and I have been considering that I will definitely need to add short row shaping. It’s such a fitted cardigan that I’m not sure you would want to go with the larger size. Hm.
That was quite a frogging! Too bad you had already wove in the ends and done seaming. Good for you.
I have the same problem with the Tangled Yoke cardigan, and I’m dying to make it was well. Perhaps when you swatch, you’ll be over or under just enough on the gauge to get you to the in-between size.
A girl can hope :D
I am right exactly on the nose with the 42″ size, so tha’s what I’m making, but I too am worried about gaping. My plans for this are 1) add some short-row shaping at the bust; 2)evaluate things when I pick up for the button bands and see if maybe I can make them a little bit wider to give a smidge more width; and 3) sew ribbon facing onto the bands.
Mostly I’m just crossing my fingers and hoping for the best, because doesn’t THAT always work so well in knitting?
Wow, you’re doing some impressive work on Petal. Now I’m wondering about the fit of the Willow sweater I’m knitting as the construction is very similar….hmmm…..
As for ease, I usually put in about 1-2″ negative ease. I usally knit longer sweaters and like them to fit snugly.
Good for you, frogging the sweater! The reknit Petal will be beautiful, and will fit. IMO, there’s nothing sacred about handknit fabric, and frogging something to reknit it into something that will be used does not mean you are an obsessive perfectionist.
I’ll speak up with encouragement about Petal: It’s greath that you ripped it. I sympathize with suckiness of the extra work, but it’s so much better to have a sweater you’ll wear.
I’m just frowning at the Tangled Yoke, because I’ve got a 39″ bust. I’m torn between doing the 38″ size and adding short-rows/ribbon facing, or doing the 42″ size and adding a buttload of extra decreases in the waist. Let us know what you decide!
It’s better to frog and reknit than to stuff the sweater in a drawer and never wear it again. I’m learning that lesson :) Your yarn choice is beautiful for the Tangled Yoke. I’m looking forward to seeing how it knits up!
So much pretty purple! The Tangled Yoke looks like it’s off to a great start. It’s a beautiful pattern.
yeah, me too on the frogging. I just frogged my first sweater (cardigan from snb nation) bc i realized that the pattern is not to my liking anymore. and i just discovered EZ’s The opinionated knitter! yup, i’m hooked. and your petal is going to be soooo pretty once’s it’s done. in the right size for you. and then you’ll wear it so often, it’ll get holes in it! :o)heehee! frog on! :o) and then, of course, knit!
Yikes… I saw the frogging and I shivered. It is painful to see it. However, every time I have done it, I am so happy with the new result.