At Least I Know Where I Went Wrong

Before you commiserate, let me say that it's really OK that this sweater didn't work out. I learned a couple of really good things from the knitting of it and at least the yarn was cheap so I didn't waste a lot of money! LOL

Here's Something PInk completed:

Right away the sharp-eyed among you might notice something suspicious:

See that big ol' gap in front?

Yep - the sweater doesn't fit.

The back width is perfect:

I made my mistake by assuming the # of front/neckline increases would bring me where I needed to be when I stopped the raglan for the sleeves. By my calculations last night, I needed at least 8 more increases on each side (to give me a couple more inches per front) in order for the fronts to meet and cross for the button closure:

The kicker is that I did try this on and saw that the fronts were pretty far apart. BUT - I had the exact same problem on Fountain Lace Cardi earlier this year and everything had worked out perfectly once I got the button bands on. I just assumed the same would happen with this one. Obviously the gap was WAY too wide to be fixed in the end. Shame on me for assuming!

If I were to make this again, I'd do at least 15 increases per front and narrow the spacing from every 8th row to every 6th. As it is, I'll remember this info when I decide to tackle a pattern from Fitted Knits! (Which may be soon, by the way - I still want a top-down raglan!)

Also, even if the fronts had been perfect, I still stopped the ribbing too soon. I'd need at least another 4 inches (2 more than I'd originally planned) for the sweater to hit at a good point on me. Stopping the ribbing so early was pure laziness on my part - I was sooooo tired of it! LOL Of course, it's just as well I didn't spend the extra time now that I know it doesn't fit!

Things that worked:

1. The short row shaping at the back of the neck. I loved that idea and it worked just as it's supposed to. I'll definitely keep it in mind for my next collared sweater. :)

2. Doing the sleeves flat and at the same time. The sleeves went super fast and they were a breeze to do.

Next time: A new project or two, more dishcloths, more stuff in the mail. :) You know - the usual!

Have a great weekend!

Comments

[Margaret]

Oh I'm so sorry your sweater didn't fit! All that knitting!

You have such a wonderful attitude, learning from the mistakes and discovering what you like & don't like about the pattern.

Thank you for sharing. That is such a pretty color. Are you going to frog it?

Have a great day everyone.

[Pink]

I'm sorry the cardi never worked out, I'd be so pissed about all that ribbing but now I guess it's on to the next project! I've been looking for "Fitted Knits" this week, it's either not stocked here or it's sold out so I can't wait to see what you create using that book.

[Terri]

Now that's a shame. But as you've been able to find positives from this experience, it's not a total loss. Still it would peeve me too.

[Bron]

Terri - Yeah, I'm pretty peeved. But I've learned my lesson about assuming!

Pink - I'm really tempted to start something from Fitted Knits next week. Time to sit down & look through it again to choose!

Margaret - I doubt I'll frog, I'll probably end up tossing it. No biggie. It was just about $12.00 in yarn so I won't be tossing much. :) But I'll stick it on the shelf for awhile, first. Just to see if I want to keep the yarn.

[Wendy]

You just need a smaller person to give it to. Bummer it didn't work out. Never a guarantee, huh?

[Wanda]

That's really too bad that Something Pink didn't work out. Was it because of the pattern, any errors there or just things that you thought would be okay and didn't work out? I'm just curious because I do plan on making this one and I'm a bit concerned if it's a problem with the pattern, etc. I think I need one of these for the spring. Hmm, perhaps that silk tweed might be the ticket . . .