Most crafters (knitters, crocheters, cross stitchers, beaders, seamstresses, etc) have projects that are not complete. This could come in many categories such as: supplies bought but never started, half done, and almost done but something is preventing you from finishing. This sweater project fits in the "almost done" category. It has been in this stage, probably, oh, since 2007. So, what, 5 years? Yes, it has been sitting in the dark for 5 years!
 |
| Natural roll at the bottom edge |
I'm sure I'm not alone, but not sure who will be admitting this over the internet? I don't care, no problem, let me start! I am just happy that I am finally getting to it.
Here are my reasons for delaying it:
- Seemed like a nice project, but something better came along, so I put it aside to work on that.
- I picked it back up in those 5 years, but, again, something better came along, so I put it aside.
- I picked it up last year and realized, about 6" of knitting ago, I made a very noticeable mistake.
- That was when I put it back until I had the courage to do what every knitter hates:
Ripping Out!
Nobody likes ripping out hours of work. But, I'm in a stash-busting mood, so I'm going to figure this problem out.
Let me introduce you to the project first, though. It is supposed to be a sleeveless t-neck (cute way of saying turtleneck, I guess). I got this pattern from the
Vogue Knitting International, Holiday 2004 issue. I think I may make this a cowl neck instead. That is more in vogue than a turtleneck (and I'm in Florida, so who the heck wears turtlenecks down here, anyway??)
 |
| Boucle yarn |
It is being knitted with
Bernat Soft Boucle (98% Acrylic/2% Polyester). It was leftover yarn from a baby blanket I knitted a friend. The word "boucle" comes from the French for curly. This yarn is spun so it forms loops at various intervals. I never knew how to pronounce this word so I looked it up: boo-clay. Oui cheri, Now we can speak French!
 |
| The "mistake" |
Above is what I have done so far. I'm working on the second side and that is where the mistake lies. I have circled it in red. It a about 15 sts or so of purl on a knit side. One may not be able to notice it, but I knew it was there and would never had worn it if I finished it like that. I claim that I was knit-sleeping.
I thought of quick fixes: double stitch a thin ribbon around the body at that row so it would hide it or threading a ribbon through it so it would tie into a cute bow on the side. Eh, in the end, I figured it would just be best to fix the darn thing. But I am not ripping it out. I am going to dropstitch to each wrong stitch and pick them back up.
First: Transfer the good stitches to a stitch holder and placed a stopper at the end of the needle.
Second: Undo the stopper and pop one stitch off the needle. Undo that stitch. I have the crochet hook there so you can see that it is a live stitch. I am using the hook to help undo each stitch in each row.
Third: Undo that stitch all the way down to the mistake and one stitch further (for good measure). The hook is where the bad row of stitches are. Yea, it's pretty far down. I call the yarn strands that are left behind a "rung", like rungs on a ladder.
Fourth: To make a good knit stitch, you put the hook through the live loop (the one that you just undid down the length of the sweater) from front to back. Take the next "rung" that is in the row above it and hook it. Pull it through the live loop from back to front. You just made/picked-up one good knit stitch.
Fifth: Re insert the crochet hook in that new live loop and repeat the fourth step all the way back up the ladder.
Sixth: Once all stitches have been fixed, then transfer all the stitches on the holder back onto the needle.
Finally ready to tackle this sweater! All the mistake stitches have been fixed. Not sure if this saved any time, but I feel better that I did not undo all my hours of work. It took hours to fix the stitches this way, but I can say it is now fixed.
