Are we having fun yet?

Two green sweaters, both knit on the machine, equal frustration. I love the colours of both of these sweaters. They look lovely together. Each of them is finished, to all intents and purposes. However, each has its own particular challenges. The shawl sweater is beautiful, and warm and cozy. It is too wide across the back, though, and the heads of the sleeves don't stay where they are supposed to. This makes the sweater feel like it is falling off all the time, and looks sloppy across the shoulders. A couple of potential solutions for the problem would be to take some elastic and stitch it across the inside back neck between the shoulders. This might make the sweater sit more nicely. Another possible solution is to use I-cord to draw the upper edge of the sweater in across the back of the neck.

The shell is more of a problem. There are a few ends to work in, however, the sweater is sewn up and I was able to try it on. The armholes are cut too deep, and are too loose with too much fabric above the bust at the armhole. This is a fit that is just not good enough. I don't know if I should rip it, or try to make short sleeves for it. With sleeves, the deep armholes wouldn't matter, and it might make the loose fabric above the bust less obvious. I don't mind having short sleeves, although this was intended to be a sleeveless shell. The biggest problem is that I absolutely hated working with this yarn. It is slippery, and the bouclé makes it hard to see the stitches. The rayon yarn fuzzes extremely easily, which dramatically affects the appearance of the knit fabric. Basically, while I like the colour of this top, for the amount of time and money invested already, I don't know if I like it enough to continue throwing time and money after it, particularly given how much I hated working with it. I am beginning to remember why I always hated sewing for myself.




This baby sweater is being knit for a colleague's new nephew. I love this pattern - "Little Tikes" from Interweave Knits. (Michele Rose Orne, I think, is the designer.) Hand knit, so it is taking more time than the two previous sweaters, but the problem with this one is again the yarn. Mission Falls 1824 cotton - I find it fights with me all the time and my fingers/hands hurt after a short while. I used to knit exclusively with cotton yarn, so I know it is not just the fact that this is cotton. In any case, the back and both sleeves are done, so I am on the home stretch. I will go back to my black and grey sweater when these projects are wrapped up...