It seems like every year at New Year's I take a look around my house and try to identify things I need to get rid of because they're taking up space or they're not used or don't do what I need them to do. In the case of a sweater I made nearly two three years ago, it met all three of these qualifications.
Since I lost some weight last year, most of the first few sweaters I knit for myself are way too big for me now. It didn't help that I'd made them with plenty of positive ease that I thought would hide me, but in reality only made me look schlubby. Anyway, I've had these ill-fitting sweaters piled on my dresser for the better part of 6 months, occasionally trying them on and deciding that they didn't fit and I couldn't wear them. Finally, on New Year's day (or maybe the next day) I decided I would begin taking them apart to see if they could become something new. I'm hoping that I can make a few things that fit well and which can get me through a little more weight loss too.
The first sweater I decided to unravel was the Flair cardigan I started in February of 2010. I made it from 14 skeins of Rowan Bamboo tape that I bought at the Knit Nook on clearance. At that point, I'd never knit myself a garment, but I had made a stockinette vest for my husband. In the finished photo, it was clearly too big, but it was my first garment and I wore it a few times and then put it up. Aside from the fit issues, the cardigan didn't work because the bamboo tape was very heavy and stretched quite a bit lengthwise and just never draped correctly. I might knit that sweater again sometime in the future, but I'm pretty sure I'll make it out of a wool or an alpaca yarn that will retain its shape.
What took nearly 3 months to do took a mere 3 hours to undo. After a false start along the bottom hem, I found my groove with the ripping and was pleased with how easily it came apart. I think might say something about how I weave in my ends, but I don't want to brag. I still need to wind the yarn into skeins and soak it to remove all the kinks in it and find an appropriate pattern. I'll revisit Rowan's pattern book for this yarn and see if there's anything there I want to knit. I'm sure I'll find something I like, but it will be a matter of making sure the yardage comes out right.
Well, that's all I've got for today, next time I'll tell you about the socks I'm working on. I'm just about to start on the heel flap, and I hope to have plenty of pics then too. Until next time, Friends.
Since I lost some weight last year, most of the first few sweaters I knit for myself are way too big for me now. It didn't help that I'd made them with plenty of positive ease that I thought would hide me, but in reality only made me look schlubby. Anyway, I've had these ill-fitting sweaters piled on my dresser for the better part of 6 months, occasionally trying them on and deciding that they didn't fit and I couldn't wear them. Finally, on New Year's day (or maybe the next day) I decided I would begin taking them apart to see if they could become something new. I'm hoping that I can make a few things that fit well and which can get me through a little more weight loss too.
The first sweater I decided to unravel was the Flair cardigan I started in February of 2010. I made it from 14 skeins of Rowan Bamboo tape that I bought at the Knit Nook on clearance. At that point, I'd never knit myself a garment, but I had made a stockinette vest for my husband. In the finished photo, it was clearly too big, but it was my first garment and I wore it a few times and then put it up. Aside from the fit issues, the cardigan didn't work because the bamboo tape was very heavy and stretched quite a bit lengthwise and just never draped correctly. I might knit that sweater again sometime in the future, but I'm pretty sure I'll make it out of a wool or an alpaca yarn that will retain its shape.
What took nearly 3 months to do took a mere 3 hours to undo. After a false start along the bottom hem, I found my groove with the ripping and was pleased with how easily it came apart. I think might say something about how I weave in my ends, but I don't want to brag. I still need to wind the yarn into skeins and soak it to remove all the kinks in it and find an appropriate pattern. I'll revisit Rowan's pattern book for this yarn and see if there's anything there I want to knit. I'm sure I'll find something I like, but it will be a matter of making sure the yardage comes out right.
Well, that's all I've got for today, next time I'll tell you about the socks I'm working on. I'm just about to start on the heel flap, and I hope to have plenty of pics then too. Until next time, Friends.
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