As knitters, we are often faced with challenges that we must either creatively overcome or admit that we are powerless to change the inevitable outcome. Such is the case for my Mr. Greenjeans. I've been in desperate denial since finishing and blocking the cardigan, hoping I would wake up and it would all be okay. It's not going to be okay. I wore Mr. Greenjeans all day today, and I came to this conclusion: I really don't like the finished product. For some reason, the stockinette top portion of the sweater blocked out HUGE and is now fit for the hulkiest of line backers. Seriously, I could wear the 1980's biggest shoulder pads under this thing and still not fill it out. I rechecked the gauge on it after I realized it was so big, and it was a big as 3 stitches/inch in some spots and as small as 4 stitches/inch in others (not so good when it was supposed to be 4.5 stitches/inch). Also, the bottom portion just pulls in too much. Back to the line backer reference, it would be totally fine if my hips were about 25" around. And we can't avoid talking about the sleeves - they are enormous! The cuffs just sag around my wrists. I also hate the button placement. Rather than hitting me right under the bustline, it's more in a low-waist level position. I pulled and tugged at the sweater all day today and found that the more I pulled it forward to keep it on my shoulders, the more the back raglan "seam" came forward to the front of my body. I finally stripped it off when I was trying on some jeans at Target, admitted to myself that it was a flop, and proceeded to carry it draped over my arm for what was left of my jaunt through the store. How devastating to admit that all the time and effort I put into this cardigan was a waste! It really is a beautiful cardigan, and I wanted so much to post a picture of me wearing it and smiling, triumphant at my knitting prowess, but I just couldn't do it. Instead I got a badly-lit, badly-posed picture of the official FO on my too-dark-for-photography couch. I think this is more befitting of the cardigan. It looks as rumpled and defeated as I feel. I hate disastrous hand knits!My ultimate plan for the cardigan is yet to be determined. I will probably frog it and re-use the yarn for something else. I can't stand the thought of such a beautiful shade of Cascade 220 Heather being pushed into a drawer, never to see the light of day again.
(Cross-posted from my blog).
2 comments:
Awww, Tara, I am so sorry. This sounds like my experience with SO many things I make--they look good in theory but look like poop on me. You don't KNOW this until you are done! And all that effort you put into it!
I am glad my sweater looks OK on me (I made it at a smaller size than I would have normally done, which helped). But I have to say, this is an exception--most things I make have some issue that drives me crazy--I have realized that only certain shapes look good on me and those aren't necessarily the shapes of things I really want to knit!
Good luck on future projects.
It's a beautiful sweater! The color is great and I think you did a wonderful job!
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