Yarn Along: Avert Your Eyes Edition

Joining Ginny for Yarn Along today.

My big plan for today was the Knit for Victory sweater reveal.  Well, best laid plans and all that....

Remember this?

Nearly finished, just one sleeve to go.  I finished the sleeve, and then decided I still didn't like the "right" side (pictured above) and wanted the "wrong" side out.  So I switched it.  But then...

Those of you who know me on Facebook, saw this:

Then I decided I hated the v-neck, so I ripped it out and added a triangle of purled knitting, and a line of crochet to finish the edge.  It was okay, but not fabulous.  

Just...no.

So I ripped out the neckline again and tried a shawl collar, but the instructions were frustratingly vague, and I gave up and went back to the v-neck but made the ribbing wider than my original neckline, and cast it off much more loosely so it would go over my head a bit more comfortably.  

But no one saw this:

The finished sweater--the second v-neck came out well, but there were other problems lurking.

And then, there was this (any sensitive knitters in the room might want to avert their eyes):

Yes, folks, I frogged it.  The whole.thing.  Before you start clawing my eyes out for such a travesty, lemme 'splain.  The sweater didn't fit.  It was too big in the bust, too wide through the shoulders, and the ribbing on the bottom was not wide enough for my liking.  I felt like a linebacker in it.  The construction on the sleeves didn't look right at the top, and there were problems with the neckline (that I mostly fixed after three tries, but still).  Several people encouraged me to sell it, but I still would have had a red sweater gap in my wardrobe.  

I learned a lot about ease and stitch sizes during this project, as well as what I do and don't like in sweater styling, and I want to have another go.  When I started taking it apart, I honestly thought I would just redo the sleeve construction and see if I liked it better, but I had woven in my ends too well and things started flying apart when I located loose ends to unsew.  I figured it was better to go with my instincts and frog it, and start anew with a better pattern.  

This is the pattern I'm planning to use next--it has a better shape, the ribbing at the bottom is a lot longer, and I think will be more flattering, and the top has less ease (plus bust darts, which always help with fit), and the sleeves are raglan, so I don't have to worry as much about accommodating my narrow shoulders. The stockinette stitch, while plain, will knit quickly and have far less ease than my fancy ribbed pattern, so that will also help.  

Live and learn, I suppose!  As it was only my fourth adult sweater (and the first two were not at all fussy in construction or fit), I think I'm going to give myself a pass.

In the meantime, I've cast on a commissioned sweater!  Someone in my reenacting group loved the original vintage cardigan that I sold there, and asked me to make her one too.  I had overbought the colorway for the first cardigan, and easily have enough for a second, so a win for destashing yarn!!

Her measurements are closer to the pattern's measurements, so I'm paying close attention to gauge and fit this time around.  I'm actually not using the same pattern exactly, but am using Ann Budd's sweater book with the basic lines of the Vintage Cardigan to make this one.  I don't want to do a lot of math with the gauge as this yarn is heavier than called for, and Ann's book takes all the guesswork (and poor math skills on my part) out of the equation as long as you get a proper gauge swatch to start with.  So far so good.

As for reading, not much right now.  I'm trying to finish season 2 of Game of Thrones before the Fast, and by the time I get myself into bed, the best I can do is Tilly Bagshawe's Fame on my kindle.  I'll set both aside for Lent and read something more edifying like Everyday Saints.