March 07, 2005
Blue Cable-y Disappointment
Wait, how did BCG turn into a boat neck? I thought we were making a crew-neck sweater here.
Damn that yarn store girl who doesn't know how to help create a proper neckline! (No, I'm not talking about you, if you're reading this, Jocelyn.) I'm talking about a yarn shop on the Upper West Side which shall remain nameless.
Aside from the neck, the sweater looks pretty good; I'm very happy with how the seams came out. I think that the body of the sweater should have been about two inches longer, although the would-be owner (who is pictured in the photos) said he thinks it'll be fine to wear with jeans at this length. Although not with this neck.
To enhance your schadenfreude, here's a close-up of the evil neck:
A girl tried it on (I did not take her photo in it), and it looked OK in the neck area but much to wide elsewhere.
I'm not sure what to do. I mean, clearly, I have to take the whole thing apart, rip the front out to the neck, and redo it. And here I was, thrilled that I was never going to have to knit this yarn again. And even more thrilled that I wasn't going to have to find any more yarn with which to finish the project. But seeing as how I only have a half a ball left, and there's clearly more neck left to cover than we can get out of a half of a ball here, well, we're in for more kinds of problems than I want to talk about. Not the least of which is undoing the 10 hours I spent seaming this sweater. They're LONG seams, and I'm not much in the habit of seaming.
Anyhow, I rebelled against BCG tonight, and against "responsible" knitting by casting on a pink scarf. In Giotto. In garter stitch, cast on long-ways, so I get to knit mindlessly through 180 stitches of pink ribbony fun. And prepare myself for sleeping tonight, where I'm sure I'll have blue cable-y nightmares.
Beautiful sweater, except for the neck... you're right! Hopefully, reknitting the neck will not be too much of a chore.
Posted by: Chery at March 7, 2005 08:34 AMHmmm... it does look good (and I love those pinstripe pants!) you could rip out the collar, pick up stitches and turn it into a turtleneck - I have at least one sweater where the neckline is below my collar bone and the turtleneck turned out good.
Good luck.
Posted by: TrickyTricot at March 7, 2005 08:55 AMWhy is he wearing it over a vest?
I kind of like the boat neck. You are much more adventuresome than I.
Posted by: Jon in Denver at March 7, 2005 10:08 AMdo you HAVE to unseam it? Wouldn't it be possible to rip out just the neck and reknit it in the round? Or, if not, couldn't you just undo the shoulder seams?
Mmmm, Giotto. For the kind of longways garter stitch scarf you're doing, how many skeins are you using?
Posted by: Em at March 7, 2005 11:10 AMHe's wearing it over a vest because it's over his hotel work uniform. Remember, I work in a hotel. This explains the striped pants, too.
Em: One skein, but it's for a kiddo.
Posted by: Jon at March 7, 2005 11:46 AMYou're right! The body & arms & seaming are excellently executed. *hmmm* Could you remove his clavicles, connect his ball-and-socket shoulder joints to his 5th pair of ribs, and tell him to only breathe in a shallow manner when he wears this fabulous gift?
Well, all kidding aside, I can't help much. Sorry. I don't do Body Wrapping Devices (BWDs), but maybe I can point more experienced knitters to your site to offer advice?
(It really is a wonderful colour, pattern, and finishing job! It's just the Axis of Evil Neckline--always seems to plot against the homosexuals of this world. Perhaps it's a Neo-Conservative ploy for world domination via boat necklines?)
P.S. And I hear that shoulder-less, tapered giraffe-neck fashions are in for 2005...*hmmm* Neo-Conservative or bad fag fashion? (Worse--both?!?!) *hugs* and sympathy
Bob in Cincy
Posted by: Bob at March 7, 2005 03:49 PM"AARGH": it's my favorite word lately. You can borrow it.
Posted by: MarQ1 at March 7, 2005 08:50 PMI can understand your problem with the neck. (Though here in Boystown, it wouldn't be considered amiss to wear it minus the clothing beneath and let it show off a shapely clavicle, for a sort of recherché Flashdance look.)
But may I say, I look forward to a time when my successes will look as good as your disappointments...
Posted by: Franklin at March 8, 2005 01:05 AMThe sweater looks great! Just rip out the neck and make it a turtle neck.
Is that you wearing the sweater? I think we all need to see what Jon from the Jon blog looks like. None of these photos from the chin down.
Posted by: D R E W at March 8, 2005 01:20 PMI don't know - I kinda like the sweater that way. :) Over a shirt, though -- I don't think most guys would pull off a boatneck weel over bare skin.
...and hey, we could always use more federal fiestas, eh? Thanks for stopping in! :D
Posted by: Cyndilou at March 8, 2005 01:27 PMIt does look great, apart from the fit of the neck. I'm with TrickyT/Aubie re: the turtleneck solution
Posted by: Cari at March 8, 2005 03:22 PMI like it. I think the 47 things (vest/dress shirt/tie/yada yada) he is wearing underneath the sweater are the problem. Plain white tee with a pair of jeans - perfect!! Love the color too! Gorgeous work!
Posted by: Rox at March 8, 2005 04:58 PMI've had this problem before, try knitting 3" more rib onto the neck -- don't rip it out, just take out the bind off.
This is Primo yarn, right? I think we have a couple skeins in this bright blue in stock if you want me to check the dye lot.
Good luck!
Posted by: ivete at March 8, 2005 10:01 PMWow. That's a lot of work there.
Its beautifully done. I do like the color. But dang! I hope you can fix it into a t-neck or something. All the work. Aarrgh indeed!
Oh, and KnitNY rules.
Posted by: corbeaudan at March 11, 2005 12:47 AMit's a gorgeous sweater - i would definitely just take out the bind off, pick up the neck stitches in the round, and reknit it in the round with one size smaller needles (to tighten it up) - you could also bring it up to a turtle neck, as suggested by others, the same way. is the collar knit on from the body? it looks like it stretched out - the smaller needles trick should bring it up to the right size. also, double it - by folding it over and then seaming down the crew neck on the inside, it will also stabilize the neckline. good luck! (wow, your blog hates gmail)
Posted by: gaile at March 18, 2005 03:07 AMLovely sweater - turtle neck agreed here, too.
Posted by: john at September 8, 2005 12:01 PMAbsolutely beautiful and I like the blue color very much.
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