I am the kind of knitter who prefers to rip back because it will take less time to remit it than to figure out how to fix it imperfectly. I know it's disappointing, but, after a break to get over the upset, i still have the same enjoyment of the pattern the second time around. Wishing you luck!
I feel your pain/frustration with the color. I wove a blanket last year for a Christmas gift and when I set up the loom, I forgot that the weft yarn was very slippery and has a tendency to worm. So I didn't set the sett tight enough. Once you take a project off the loom you full it, which is basically washing it. This closes up the weave structure and makes the warp and weft a cohesive piece. The &@^ thing wormed EVERYWHERE. So I dried it and gave it to my cats as a cat bed & went back to my studio to start over.
One thing I love about the knitCompanion app, having a petite frame (so most sweater arms are too long for me, especially since I'm "fluffy"), is the Increase and Decrease sleeve length calculators. You input your row gauge, number of starting and ending stitches, and it will output instructions for when to do the increases or decreases evenly.
I really hurt myself shoulder through to wrist and hand with marathon knitting 😮 horrible unable to knit for ages a nightmare for me and a good lesson. I found a fantastic video from fruity knitting which explained that i was reducing my motion to try and be able to do more and this was the thing that did the damage. Anyway one of the tips was to have a cushion under the right arm which really helped me ❤ i will find the episode and post for you. The buttons are gorgeous! I have made so many mistakes with making garments for myself, one short sleeved sweater i frogged twice after completing and wearing for a while as i was unhappy with the fit. I will keep going, even though i knit or crochet a shawl in between to make me feel better about the dissapointing garment. I'm knitting a garment now using the correct stitch gauge but the row gauge was incorrect but i dove in anyway so thanks for the confirmation it was worth a try! I just got lucky at a store nearby me that had a 50% sale and a back room with wool in it. I found a beautiful skein of noro silk for £20 instead of £40 😊 and some beautiful merino skeins. It was a good day 😂 Thank you for your channel, i appreciate it.
Totally feel your pain, got partway down 4" of body on a topdown raglan sweater with similiar increases in the body when I realized I'd done every single L double increase wrong and it was beyond obvious...but I have no problem ripping out and restarting. As I watch this I'm exactly back to the spot where I ripped out from. My sister, mother and daughter think I'm nuts, but I consider it learning.
The best thing I ever did for my knitting posture was to get a pair of what are called "lazy readers." They've got mirrors, not magnifying lenses, in them. I can easily see my knitting while sitting up perfectly straight. I got mine from Amazon, I think they were only about $12.
I feel for you with the dye lots. My soul crushing moment. My very first colorwork sweater was going beautifully. My floats were good, I’d picked colors I loved. No mistakes in the colorwork. I split for the sleeves, knit a few rounds and tried it on for the first time. It wouldn’t have fit a child…..I never counted my stitches because my color work was coming out right. I’d missed the very first increase round……. I had to rip back to the collar. Five color fingering weight fair isle…. I did eventually restart and finish the sweater!
Carson Demers’ book is wonderful! I also had an opportunity to take an in-person class with him recently. One of the BEST takeaways from both, it isn’t just our knitting - most of us spend a lot of time using devices (tablets, phones, computers) that use the same muscles as knitting - we need to be mindful of those activities as well.
I’d reknit the dark band now, take off the dark band to regraft, then drop the side stitches that involve the overlap and knit them back up, like you would if a cable was crossed wrong. That way, you can go back to knitting with a peaceful mind. Until you have to attach the sleeves . . . .
One recommendation I have Rox for posture and knitting ergonomics is the latest podcast from Fruity Knitting. They interviewed a German physiotherapist who is also a knitter, and she shares many tips and goes over several dysfunctions she sees in her patients who do crafts and knitting. Super helpful. I have a torn rotator cuff, and with PT and better posture I have healed. One thing I noticed is that too much work done with muscles though can actually fire off the body's stress response, so there was a time that excessive stretching and massage was having an inflammatory response. Something to look out for.
I've heard that you can accurately evaluate whether colors match is to take a black and white photograph of the skeins side by side. I hope that helps, Roxanne.
I can see the color difference in the back vs the front. Your desire to replace the back band is well suited to the problem. I’m going to float an alternative idea for your bands. Using embroidery floss, add seed beads to both bands. Not a huge quantity, but enough to distract the eye from noticing the different colors. I’ve used this method on my handwoven items and have found it successful. Hope your day is going great, thank you for your videos.
I'm so glad you didn't listen to me for the buttons. I wish I could show the last one I made putting your teaching in practice, the result is very neat. Have a nice day
Soak the finished garment in hot water with some kind of washing powder or detergent such that the yarn leaks a bit of dye. Then add vinegar or citric acid to fix the dye back into the garment. This should even out the patches of uneven colour.
Omgoodness Roxanne, I feel your pain. I was (am) working a fairisle sweater in the round, with modifications and steeks. After I "split" for the arm holes, and was almost ready to start shoulder and neck shaping, I realized I had started one of the pattern bands at the wrong place in the chart. Simply, where the cardigan would meet, the pattern would not meet, nor would it line up with the patterns below. I hummed and hawed. It is a gift, and as I was repeatedly told, no one else would notice. But I would always know. I decided to drop down the 20+ rows, only on the front right section, and knit it back up correcting the pattern. It wasn't as bad as I thought. Then I measured to see if I was ready for shoulder shaping...based on the instructions for the back... (can you tell where this is going?) and yes time for back shoulder and keck shaping. A quick check of the directions for the front..."start front neck shaping about 20 or so rows before where I was". 😢 So I had to drop down again, on both sides of the front steek, I can't remember, but around 20 stitches on each side, and do the neck shaping. It was all my own fault! But so frustrating.
I really love the buttons you chose for your bulky sweater. Antique or vintage buttons are so interesting. I love that they are the same color but different designs. Gorgeous sweater and that is such a good color for you. SO SORRY about the darker band on your aqua sweater. I know that is so frustrating! It is funny because I was just watching one of your videos on how to reknit a cuff and here you are having to do that too. I knit my dad some socks and I wanted to be fancy so I used a pattern for the cuff. It is a pretty design (Hermoine sock pattern) but he says they are too baggy especially after washing so I am going to pick up the stitches at the bottom of the cuff in the stockinette before the heel (thankfully I always knit at least two rows stockinette) and then pull out the cuff and if I am lucky I will be able to reknit the same yarn. He wants a regular k2p2 ribbing. I am hoping not to have to cut the yarn and reattach it. Will probably start that project soon. I hope you keep going with your sweater and you will love it so much you will want to finish it and not have to wait until February. I have a Arne and Carlos sweater in time out waiting for February........
Aww, I’m sorry about the different dye lots. I think the bottom band being a different color actually looks really awesome! Especially because it’s a split helm. But I have kind of silly tastes - my answer to that master hand knitter question about different dye lots would be to just use the different dye lot, haha! I like the fun jarring lines. I’m working on a cardigan with natural colored alpaca yarn and I have all these weird looking color differences but I really like it because I feel like I’m really imitating the color of the alpaca the yarn is from. But everyone has different tastes and I understand the frustration. You are the paragon of craft wisdom though so if anyone can figure out how to fix the bottom hand it will be you :) Those buttons you have are really awesome ! I can’t believe they are 50 grams! That’s so funny. What will you do with the other 2 buttons? Just keep em to look at em sometimes? I do that with some of my vintage buttons - one set are made of vegetable velvet and I just pull them out sometimes to gingerly stroke them. Haha! The closest thing to your horror story I've had specifically relating to color was one time I was knitting a pair of socks with some Patons Kroy that was self striping. The first ball gave me some really awesome orange and pink and purple stripes and then the second sock with the second ball just had a ginormous section of purple that took up the entire leg. I didn't hate the look but I was sort of baffled at the giant splotch of purple! Did they get distracted while dyeing the second ball or what? :)
I wonder if the contrast would be less obvious if you knitted the rest either as a fade, or alternated the yarns and then gave the sweater a deep teal, or darker green dye bath afterwards, in the same way you overdyed your lovely purple cardigan at the beginning of the episode. I hope you find something that works, as the texture pattern is gorgeous. I have had a few disasters over the years, I once knitted parts of a ribbed sweater that had so much stretch and ease that you probably could have fitted two people into it!🙃🤪
I found your posture talk very helpful. Before knitting your swatches from the two remaining skeins, I'd wind them up into balls (which I'm sure you'll do anyway) and compare the ball colors.....I find often you can really see the differences in color once they are wound up. Helical knitting would prevent any obvious color differences, but you know that....and it's a drag to do. Thanks for sharing.
Love the buttons! So unique! I like “different” yet similar. I know about it, others may not see. I swear, ya turn 27, and things go to crap. Grandma never told me about this. I’m “still” 27, by the way. lol Until I discovered hand-dyed yarns, I used box store acrylic. Purged & donated colors didn’t like or rough, nasty yarn. I swatched for a hooded capelet thing (circularly), all okay til next ball… Totally different size yarn! Grrr. This has happened quite a few times, different brands. Relegated all that yarn to: multiple strand single crochet baskets, totes. I have more single skeins now, all different colors! Great for shawls, cowls, hats! Recently getting sweater quantities of single colors (and/or complementary colors). Thank you, Roxanne! I feel your pain…yarn issues and shoulder or hip or back issues! PT folks are very informative & helpful, they really WANT to help !! You’ll solve the bottom hem “problem”, it’s what you do! You’ll fix it! Me…I might have frogged back. I like to see how you confront & fix a hiccup. Inspirational for me knowing it’s possible to overcome an “Oops” or “Oh noooo”!
I was just getting the the end of a beautiful shawl and left the bag on the ground to help my daughter groom the horse she was riding. When I got back to the chair and bag, a horse was standing over the chair and chewing on my shawl. The most frustrating thing is that there was a small part in my brain that said I should make sure I had zippered the bag. There is a huge hole in the middle of it and it has been in time out for many, many years.
Ugh. I feel your pain, literally and figuratively. My literal pain is the opposite of yours. My right hip has been bothering me for months (the pain will wake me from sleep) , and recently my left shoulder occasionally gets a burning/tearing pain when raising my arm past 90 degrees. Interestingly, you are a Continental knitter, I'm an English knitter and our pains are opposite. Coincidence? Probably not. The figurative pain: Almost 2 years ago, I started the half + half triangles wrap by PurlSoho. It was my first large project using fingering weight. It was also my first project using the yarn the pattern called for. About 3/4 through the pattern, all was going so good. I wasn't getting bored, just getting more and more excited that I was close to finishing, and it wouldn't be a let down that it didn't fit well. THEN....💔Prior to starting, I learned and practiced the German short row technique. What I didn't learn and practice, was how to fix them. I don't now recall what exactly happened, but that lovely project has become a UFO. Until this video, I hadn't heard of Fix It February. Come February, I'm going to search your channel, find the video I need, and FIX IT! Thanks for doing all you do. I love the buttons, and my fingers are crossed hoping your other 2 hanks are the same lighter color.
I completely agree with artemisrose3065. After you do your swatches to determine that the other skeins are the lighter color I would rip it back to the ribbed band instead of trying to figure out how to fix it. If it weren't for the overlapping where the front and back bands meet it wouldn't be so difficult to repair. Good luck!
I knit the schiaparelli bownot sweater out of cream and black. When I was sewing in the sleeves, I noticed there was a definite line in the black sleeve. I quit sewing it up, included an extra black skein of yarn, and took it to goodwill. I really liked it, but there was no way I was ever going to wear it. It was not hand dyed yarn. I had decided not to lice the white behind the black, which probably would have made the line less noticable.
As an amateur violist, I'm hyper aware of my posture. What many musicians do is to practice in front of a mirror to check posture. It can be an eye opener to see the weird things you do with your body while performing a task.
I was almost done with a raglan sweater flat piece when I had to move. Family helped but weren’t careful packing my yarn projects. When I unpacked the project, I discovered the bamboo straight needle had broken so several rows on one side had unraveled. I burst into tears and closed the box. Three years later I moved again and decided to unwind the whole piece. This time I knit both the back and the front pieces on a circular needle set combining two chords with an extender so I could save time and clip the needles together if I needed to take a break. No more dropped stitches! I finished the pieces but had to take a hiatus again for medical reasons before seaming it together.
Wow! I love the buttons! Decades ago I had the opportunity to spend three days in Seoul, and went to the market/bazaar. There’s a whole section of stall after stall of buttons, which you select from baskets. Heaven! I had so much fun picking out several sets that “went together” like your big buttons. ♥️ I LOVE the new sweater you’re working on - I can understand why you are so happy knitting it. Every detail is seriously delightful. I’d tell my favorite, but I’d just be listing them all. Oh no on the sweater color problem! I completely understand about focusing on the next step and not seeing what’s wrong. In sewing, though I’ve been sewing clothes for 55 years, on rare occasion I’ll (for example) sew a second sleeve in wrong sides together… and not notice until a few steps later. When it happens, it’s often the second identical thing, with a big challenge next, so I’m breezing through as I’m really thinking about what’s next. Unpicking sewing isn’t the end of the world… but if there are two rows of top stitching I’ve finished after the mistake, or the fabric is bit delicate, etc., I want to shout, and have been known to put it in a “project box” until I can face it. If there’s top stitching, I’ll have to drag a pin across the marks left behind, so they won’t show when I put it together the right way. Worse is when I’ve done seam grading and clipping… so after unpicking and flipping, I’ll have to match it and re-sew it with half-millimeter precision. That kind of error definitely requires a time-out… unless I’m making it to wear to a particular event. That has happened. 😬 Worse is when I’m cutting out and have just enough fabric, so I have to cut out pieces individually… and get something flipped on a fabric that has a wrong side. I’ve only done that once, but ‼️‼️. Had to try find another use for that one… it might still be in a box. Now I pin my pieces to my dress form as I cut them out, so I’ll never make that mistake again. That time it wasn’t a repeated step issue… my previous system for keeping track failed. I’d never heard about Finish It February until this year. I need to join next year, and dig into my own personal UFO project boxes. I’m a beginning knitter, so I’m not sure whether I should say that it’s never happened to me while knitting, or it’s always happening to me. 🤣 Like you, I love pattern and texture, and I’ll think I’ve finally got something down cold, breeze along, and “suddenly” five rows later I have an extra four stitches per row, or what have you. I say, “How did that happen?” ALL the time while knitting. 🤣🤦♀️ Hopefully that’ll get better with experience.
I knit a toe up sock and didn't noticed the heel placement was incorrect. Don't ask how that's possible, it just is. Cast on for a top down sweater, worked the collar and did increases. Before I started the colorwork, I wanted to recount my stitches. Huh. I don't have the right number of cast on? (Of course I don't because there were increases) I pulled the needles out and started over and then noticed I hadn't taken those increases into consideration. I am the owner of my German Great grandmother's button box. Nothing was thrown away. She even cut the little hook and eyes off of clothing so they could be reused. She's been gone 50 years, but I still feel like she's with me when I look for that just right button. Hope you will continue to get relief from PT. Love your channel!
Oh dear Roxanne I had frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) about 10 years ago. It was very painful. My doctor suggested (blood leeches) I believe the name in English. It was scheduled for 8 am on that Friday. The treatment took 1 hour. About 2 hours later, i was free of pain and gained full range of motion. I’m not sure if this is available in the states, mind you I live in Switzerland.
See if the dyer will re-dye the finished garment after completion. (I use a three ball system for combining colored yarns whenever it's practical) and : how can you do button holes/bands before obtaining your buttons? You must be an adrenaline junkie! You might add a small footstool to your knitting setup and shift elevating one or the other or both feet to make your posture more variable. I love the purple sweater!!! and I appreciate the attention to a comfortable weight of materials making for a more pleasurable making and wearing. Rox On!
I Love your idea about asking the yarn dyer to re-dye the entire finished sweater, but would not proceed until I got a yes or no ! I hope Roxanne sees your comment...even about a footstool which I use too and sometimes one of those lightweight posture correctors, very comfy and really makes a difference !
Honestly, I couldn’t see the difference in those bottom bands at first. It’ll never be seen from a galloping horse. But I understand if it really bugs you!
I really like the buttons! I'm a newer knitter and as such end up ripping back a whole lot or just having to start over completely - sometimes because the size is wrong, sometimes I don't like the yarn for the project. That being said, I would try knitting the waist band and sleeve cuffs on the teal sweater in both the dark and light colors. The mini cables in the lighter shade and the purls in the darker shade might be unnoticeable. Or possibly use the darker yarn as a background for the stars as a "design feature". I have no idea if this would cause trouble with the required yardage.
I feel your pain about the color difference. I knit the Ranunculus sweater from a bulky weight yarn and was so proud of myself for getting the size correct since the original pattern is for a fine gauge yarn. I tried it on and saw that the sleeve I’d knit with the last ball was a different shade than the rest of the sweater! Same dye lot and purchased at the same time! I’ve been so peeved that I’ve never worn it and it’s been in time out for a couple of years. I still haven’t decided what I want to do about it.
My sister asked me to knit her a sweater. I was willing to do it. We found a pattern. I measured her body. I figured out, according to the dimensions in the pattern (there are six sizes with lots of ease) , how to make it fit her. This was my first adult size garment. Not a complicated structure, kind of a T with dropped shoulders and a V neck. Got all the pieces made and sort of pinned it together to fit it on her and it looked very good. I sewed it together, and then knit the ribbing for the front and neckline that was stitched on. I started at the front right bottom and got all the way around to the left front where the V neck kind of curves into the front and there is something wonky about that front left panel. When she put it on, it kind of ruffles right there. It's like the yarn right there is maybe stretched out or like it was used for something else and then reused, it just isn't a nice even fabric. It's been in a bag for three years and haunts me consistently. I do plan to fix it, but I think I'm going to have to frog that front left panel, or part of it anyway, and reknit it and it's already stitched together. I just haven't had the wherewithal to do it. I've tried to think of ANY other way to avoid this solution, but I don't think anything else will do it, and I do want it to look good. I'm hoping when I finally get to it, it won't be the nightmare I've believed it will be. Maybe blocking would fix it. I guess I'll try that first.
I know all about physical issues from bad knitting posture. I’ve been in terrible pain from a bulging disc since March. Too long a story to tell but PLEASE everyone get up and take breaks and MOVE often when knitting. I wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone. 6 months now. Been through all sorts of treatments. Now in therapy. I’m glad your therapy is helping you Roxanne. ❤
Love your sweater, love the buttons! I am almost 71 and have trouble with one hip. I go to the gym and do some weights, treadmill, and bike. Yes, I want to die with knitting needles in my hands. My current horror story, I have knit the Stripes gone Crazy 3 times, this third time I forgot to change my needles when doing the hem. I had to just put it aside I was so upset.
I'm a frogger, I can't stand big mistakes. They will hunt me while I wear the piece and it will drive me insane. I'm knitting a sweater in broken rib and it's going amazing. I was starting to do the sleeves and when I was mid forearm I realized I had some issues with gauge and I picked up a few too little stitches at the beginning 🤦🏻♀️ So last night I frogged the entire sleeve. I was so annoyed! But I tried it on and it fits SO much better. For me the struggle always pays off because otherwise I wouldn't wear it as much.
My first comment was made too early, before hearing about your disappointment with the back band on the Danish sweater. I may be able to help with a swap if needed. I nearly cried - truly horrifying and soul crushing; especially (as you said) when things seem to be going so perfectly. When I saw your first video on that project, I loved the yarn and color. I think I purchased the last two skeins and thought I saw a difference in depth between the two. Since only two were available, I decided to make a Musselburgh hat. I was considering helical knitting to blend the two skeins, but decided I didn't need to since I could switch at the halfway and brim turn-up points. Long winded way to say that I only have one skein in progress and would be willing to swap the other if you wanted to see if it was a better match. I've already wound it into a ball, but I still have the yarn band.
Something similar happened to me a couple of years back. The culprit was a natural color cotton yarn that i assumed was consistent through all balls, but I realised they weren't all the same when knitted up. I need to finish it, but then i think i'll try and bleach it a little and then dye it with moist tea leaves, so that the result is irregular and the differences less noticeable. We'll see... I trust more on your project ending up just great than mine, but you allways learn something though.
Argghhh. I’ve had the exact same experience and I won’t knit garments from solid/tonal color hand-dyed yarn anymore. Even with alternating skeins, you can end up with unintended stripes. I love hand dyed yarn, but save it for single skein projects.
Hi Roxanne. I am so sorry for the color problems you are having. Madning isn't it. Here is my horror story. I knitted a linnen t shirt. It nearly broke my hand because the yarn was hard to handle. But it was gorgeous when it was finished. It was my favorite for hot weather and I wore it a lot. Then I decided to wash some old linnens from my cupboard and added my t shirt so I could refresh it for a visit at the end of the week. I wanted to showit off. I didn't add any soap as the table linnens already had a wash and the soap wasn't all gone. So I re-washed the table linnens and added my shirt. Set the machine on no centrifuge and 40 degrees C. It came out as a baby sweater 😭. It was hard and ugly no pattern left even. I could only trow it away. I was so mad at my machine it didn't do what I installed. It did centrifuge and washed it on 60 degrees instead of the 40 I installed. I did washed it often in the machine and it was always oke. The linnen was becoming nicer and softer over time. These modern machines think to much for themselves and ruined my favorite shirt.
I admire your patience with the yarn of your Danish sweater. I would be so disappointed. And I would probably toss it and find different yarn. I do hope that your plan of knitting it to finish works out for you. It is a beautiful pattern! A few years ago, I bought some hand dyed yarn that looked alike from a distance, but actually knitting with it there were variations in the colors. The lady at the yarn shop suggested that I knit 2 rows from one ball and then the next row from a different ball. That worked, but it was cumbersome having 2 balls of working yarn. I guess the good thing about the yarn was that it wasn't a solid color, but various shades of purple.
Those buttons are awesome--love them! (And that tee you are wearing!). I had similar shoulder issues (left one) and over time came across a PT video about similar symptoms that mentioned it could be due to holding your arms up a lot for activities (so it's unsupported) and realized that is exactly what I do when I knit (even though I am right handed). As soon as I started putting a cushion to support my left forearm, the muscle tightness near my left shoulder/deltoid went away and has stayed away (unless I don't use support--then it talks to me). For posture, I have been going to Pilates classes for the past 4 years, to start for core strength and it has helped me make corrections to my posture (eliminated tension headaches completely), but also it strengthens and stretches the whole body; many of my fellow students (all ages) are referred there by PTs as well. I do reformer Pilates rather than just mat, but I highly recommend it as it works everything. Hope it all works out well soon!
Thank you for your visit. It is very discouraging when you have knit so much then get to the try on stage and its too small. I put it in a bag and walk away. I know that it is my fault but I ignore that. I have 2 like that, I just cannot bear to look at them. I will rip thrm back but I am going to gift the wool because I am sure I will not be wearing them. Gosh I am so sorry to get that off my chest. Your jacket looks fantastic and will be so very warm. Anyhow, I think we might comings into Spring but there's one last Antarctic Storm on its way so I am going to leave it there and fill up some log baskets. Take care Roxanne.
For me, if you had enough of the darker color, I would reknit the front band to match the back. So the sleeves and front & back bands would all be the darker color. But I assume you don’t have enough to do that or you probably would have already thought of that. Hand dyed yarn is lovely but there are negatives too.
New comment after having watched everything now: Your Danish sweater is really gorgeous and my hope is that the color difference has a satisfying ultimate solution. Thank you for keeping us in mind about how you will approach its fix when it is ready to be addressed. I learn so much from all of your successes and all of your (very few) challenges.
Love those vintage buttons, Rox!!! 😍 Me too, I'm trying to have better posture. I have never heard of Star sweaters but am interested in Danish culture and language. I will look into this, thanks.
My mother had a button like that on a coat in the 1960s. It was a coat that had one button at the neck and the rest of the buttons were hidden under the coat placket. So perhaps that supports why they are all different. And I love your buttons.
I am knitting my first sample knit and just as everything is going great, the yarn is fantastic, I finish grafting two big pieces together and I realize I've read the pattern wrong and completely messed up short row sequence, on both sides 🤯 All the measurements are correct and the look is ok, I wouldn't fix it if it wasn't a sample, but it is, so after I finish the back part, I will undo the grafting and rip both parts almost to the beginning 😅 Good thing is that after the first shock always it gets easier 😂
Cute buttons !!! Happy to hear you are geeting better on your shoulder/postture. Do you also carry a bag on your left shoulder when you go out ? Sometimes heavy bags can cause us to raise our shoulder a bit so they don't slide off, it is better to use a backpack, wearing it with straps on each shoulder backpack. I am so sorru this wondeful project might turn out to take a longer time to knit. Still I hope you will enjoy every stitch. For my part, usually my eyes do not see color difference between skeins, so I tend to take a picture of my skeins before I start a project, usually from the picture I can see if there are differences, then I number my skeins form lighter to darker and just use them that way unless there is a very big difference, than I alternate skeins as I knit. I also tend to take frequent progress pictures because they do reveal mistakes much more than I can see just looking at my work. Plus I find it very encouraging to se the project grow from day to day.
Pity there wasn't enough dark yarn to replace the bottom band on the front of the "Annie's" night sweater , I really like that contrast, and that would have balanced the sleeves; especially as the paler wool appears on my screen as knitting up slightly dark & light stripey. Alternatively, leave it as it is, and if anyone notices, explain that Danish fishermen liked the sleeves & the back band to be darker to hide the dirt from their fishing work. Nobody except you & a Danish knitter will know if that story is true or not. I love the book so thank you for recommending it. There is a list of symbols on p251 that has me confused; the box with X in it says "WS pl, WS k1" ?? Hoping it's a typo.
LOVE your black vintage buttons, chef's kiss! Edited to add, as I watch on, thrilled your PT is helping, have your therapists mentioned anything about a soft back brace to keep your scapulae retracted? Just wondered as I have recently been going through PT due to a sore neck worsened by an international flight this spring. I am doing better now, too, and that was one of the available devices that was suggested as a posture reinforcer.
Roxanne, could you Fin ish the sweater and then over dye it. Then there wouldn't be colour difference. Perhaps I don't know enough about dyeing. Good luck. The buttons are fabulous!
The topic of correct knitting posture is so overlooked. I feel like the instructions for beginners should be how to knit, purl and sit correctly while knitting. As a person with spinal issues I really need to be careful how I sit while knitting, otherwise I regret it so much and I regret it often. I also have issues with knitting with hands too close to the torso. The only way I found to not do it is to knit on deskchair with armrests, because I can't move if I don't keep my elbows on them. But if I only sit somewhere else the elbows go back close to the torso and my shoulders hurt so badly, I really annoy myself by doing it.
Oh noooo… I had the same thing happen with hand-dyed yarn. Mine was in the middle of the front of the garment and I never noticed it until I decided to sit outside into the sun one day. Ugh! I ripped it all out and started again- using helical knitting. That isn’t my worst horror story. My most horrible story is an all over colorwork sweater that I steeked. It was a Norwegian pattern with very little guidance and was a struggle all the way through. At last, it was done! It was looking lovely. I grabbed my scissors and cut the steek as I had done many times before. I snipped that baby right up the front. I lifted it off the table to find that I had cut straight through the back, as well as the front. There is no fixing that. I actually made my husband pick it up and throw it in the trash so I didn’t have to ever see it again. I am very careful now to always put my hand between the layers of fabric before cutting. That was a lesson that I learned the hard way. 😂. I am still annoyed just thinking about it and it was at least 10 years ago! Good luck with your beautiful sweater- if anyone can fix it, you can!
I wound up with a debilitating tennis elbow and I believe it was due to bad marathon knitting posture, exacerbated by my habit of propping myself up by my right elbow whilst at work & sleeping with that arm folded up under my head. It was fully 4 MONTHS before I regained any grip strength back in my right hand… it was miserable, and I am super conscious of my knitting posture now 😅
We knit because we enjoy it, not because we need the garments, so undoing and reknitting shouldn't be a problem..........but I would need to put that sweater in the naughty corner for a while.
I’ve never heard of Danish designs before. Thank you. Love textured patterns. WOW! So sorry to see the colour variation. Such a lovely pattern. I’m sure you will make work.😊 I’ve just looked up Danish patterns on Ravelry thanks to you.
My heart sunk looking at the difference in color of your sweater. It would definitely become a UFO for me, but I admire your perseverance. Next, I had frozen shoulder and took fish oil for 4 weeks and it worked its way out. Lastly, the most comfortable chair I bought specifically for knitting is a Lazyboy Harbor Place, available at Wayfair. It is a rocker recliner, small for a women's frame and the arms are padded and the perfect height to rest your elbows while knitting. Mine is leather but I found it at a consignment store for $160. Then I found one on Facebook markplace for $40 and bought that too. So I have 2 great chairs for knitting or reading. Good luck with your recovery.
I know you are crushed by the color change, but it doesn't/wouldn't bother me. Wabi sabi energy and the beauty of imperfection. It's a gorgeous design and a lovely color, plus you love making it---that's perfection!
Technique Tuesday hasn't gone away. I do one video a week, alternating between Technique Tuesday and Casual Friday. Last week was a Casual Friday week, so this week is a Technique Tuesday week.
I like your buttons!! Hope your arm is feeling better. I have a problem with my neck and have to be careful how long I am knitting and the position. Recently I was away on vacation and did no knitting and never had a problem. I don’t know what I would do with the yarn color.
Oh devastating. I’d be wanting to chuck it out of the window !! I recently finished the Sabai top and I knew that I was going to be short on yarn so I stopped half way down the body and contacted the yarn company (not located in my country) and I was so so lucky they still had the same dye lot available so I ordered 2. I’ve now finished the top and I have a full ball left over and not sure what I’ll be doing with it. Your work is alway beautiful and I’m sure whatever you need to do to rectify this will make you happy. It will be interesting to know what your solution will be. Thanks for sharing your pain with us Roxanne 🙋🏼🏴
Roxanne, I highly recommend you find a beginners' pilates class to go to. This will help you improve both your core strength and balance - both vital for a healthy, active life as we age. I hope you feel bettter soon.
There was a great interview with a therapist on a recent Fruity Knitting episode. I have since tried some of the simple changes to knitting styles that the therapist suggested and I found it really made a difference.
LOVE the buttons!!!! Also I think that PT's are the unsung hero of the medical world! I have had lots of success with PT for various things, many of which you mentioned. Also years ago I was able to get the book by Carson and found it helpful. One thing that helps to reset my crooked body is laying horizontally on a 6 inch round foam roller for a couple of minutes. I do this several times a week) Crazy, but it really helps. Also want to die with my knitting needles in my hand!!!!
as always, another great epidsode, I, too, chuckled at your comment re: if you don’t like the buttons, don’t tell me! I think they are smashing and perfect for the sweater. I am so sorry about the current WIP. The color of the yarn is stunning, yet I could see the big difference between the back hem and the front of the sweater when you used the overhead. I am working on a sweater using yarn from a small fiber mill… I am starting to use 2 balls, switching every other row., now to prevent what happened to you… anyway, I hope you start to receive relief from your hip and shoulder pain. I, too, want to die with my needles in my hands…wait, we can’t knit in heaven???
Great episode! I’m so interested in knitting posture. I try to use the Alexander Method a classical clarinetist taught me. It is unique to each person and more of an awareness of movements. I hope that your shoulder feels better soon.
Drawing your attention to your comment about how much you're enjoying working the stitch patterns; it's few enough inches in that, if other dye lots cooperate, take the pain in one go now, rip back and redo the hem. That you can surgery it later doesnt necessarily mean it's the best option. Painful either way, been there know that and feel for ya. Those mini cables at the seam are spectacular!
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"If you don't like 'em, don't tell me. Cuz I don't wanna hear it." They're great, and you're great.
I am the kind of knitter who prefers to rip back because it will take less time to remit it than to figure out how to fix it imperfectly. I know it's disappointing, but, after a break to get over the upset, i still have the same enjoyment of the pattern the second time around.
Wishing you luck!
Agree!!!!!
For your Danish sweater, to tell you the truth, I would start completely over with new yarn...
The heavy sigh at 43:15 says it all. May the force be with you, Roxanne. 😮
I feel your pain/frustration with the color. I wove a blanket last year for a Christmas gift and when I set up the loom, I forgot that the weft yarn was very slippery and has a tendency to worm. So I didn't set the sett tight enough. Once you take a project off the loom you full it, which is basically washing it. This closes up the weave structure and makes the warp and weft a cohesive piece. The &@^ thing wormed EVERYWHERE. So I dried it and gave it to my cats as a cat bed & went back to my studio to start over.
One thing I love about the knitCompanion app, having a petite frame (so most sweater arms are too long for me, especially since I'm "fluffy"), is the Increase and Decrease sleeve length calculators. You input your row gauge, number of starting and ending stitches, and it will output instructions for when to do the increases or decreases evenly.
I really hurt myself shoulder through to wrist and hand with marathon knitting 😮 horrible unable to knit for ages a nightmare for me and a good lesson. I found a fantastic video from fruity knitting which explained that i was reducing my motion to try and be able to do more and this was the thing that did the damage. Anyway one of the tips was to have a cushion under the right arm which really helped me ❤ i will find the episode and post for you. The buttons are gorgeous! I have made so many mistakes with making garments for myself, one short sleeved sweater i frogged twice after completing and wearing for a while as i was unhappy with the fit. I will keep going, even though i knit or crochet a shawl in between to make me feel better about the dissapointing garment. I'm knitting a garment now using the correct stitch gauge but the row gauge was incorrect but i dove in anyway so thanks for the confirmation it was worth a try! I just got lucky at a store nearby me that had a 50% sale and a back room with wool in it. I found a beautiful skein of noro silk for £20 instead of £40 😊 and some beautiful merino skeins. It was a good day 😂 Thank you for your channel, i appreciate it.
Totally feel your pain, got partway down 4" of body on a topdown raglan sweater with similiar increases in the body when I realized I'd done every single L double increase wrong and it was beyond obvious...but I have no problem ripping out and restarting. As I watch this I'm exactly back to the spot where I ripped out from. My sister, mother and daughter think I'm nuts, but I consider it learning.
FYI. It is cheaper to buy the book directly from Carson than to buy it on Amazon. A very thorough book
The best thing I ever did for my knitting posture was to get a pair of what are called "lazy readers." They've got mirrors, not magnifying lenses, in them. I can easily see my knitting while sitting up perfectly straight. I got mine from Amazon, I think they were only about $12.
I feel for you with the dye lots. My soul crushing moment. My very first colorwork sweater was going beautifully. My floats were good, I’d picked colors I loved. No mistakes in the colorwork. I split for the sleeves, knit a few rounds and tried it on for the first time. It wouldn’t have fit a child…..I never counted my stitches because my color work was coming out right. I’d missed the very first increase round……. I had to rip back to the collar. Five color fingering weight fair isle…. I did eventually restart and finish the sweater!
Carson Demers’ book is wonderful! I also had an opportunity to take an in-person class with him recently. One of the BEST takeaways from both, it isn’t just our knitting - most of us spend a lot of time using devices (tablets, phones, computers) that use the same muscles as knitting - we need to be mindful of those activities as well.
Physical therapist are amazing! Each time I've gone in for an issue, I learn so much more about my body.
I’d reknit the dark band now, take off the dark band to regraft, then drop the side stitches that involve the overlap and knit them back up, like you would if a cable was crossed wrong. That way, you can go back to knitting with a peaceful mind. Until you have to attach the sleeves . . . .
Button Delight! Gma's button jar is treasured here as are the vintage doodads in the sewing box. Enjoy!
Yoga and pilates are great for strengthening your core - which seems to be really what's needed here. It will help your posture, too!
One recommendation I have Rox for posture and knitting ergonomics is the latest podcast from Fruity Knitting. They interviewed a German physiotherapist who is also a knitter, and she shares many tips and goes over several dysfunctions she sees in her patients who do crafts and knitting. Super helpful. I have a torn rotator cuff, and with PT and better posture I have healed. One thing I noticed is that too much work done with muscles though can actually fire off the body's stress response, so there was a time that excessive stretching and massage was having an inflammatory response. Something to look out for.
I've heard that you can accurately evaluate whether colors match is to take a black and white photograph of the skeins side by side. I hope that helps, Roxanne.
I can see the color difference in the back vs the front. Your desire to replace the back band is well suited to the problem. I’m going to float an alternative idea for your bands. Using embroidery floss, add seed beads to both bands. Not a huge quantity, but enough to distract the eye from noticing the different colors. I’ve used this method on my handwoven items and have found it successful. Hope your day is going great, thank you for your videos.
I love the buttons! Im so glad you were able to find ones you liked and they are so cool
I'm so glad you didn't listen to me for the buttons. I wish I could show the last one I made putting your teaching in practice, the result is very neat. Have a nice day
Soak the finished garment in hot water with some kind of washing powder or detergent such that the yarn leaks a bit of dye. Then add vinegar or citric acid to fix the dye back into the garment. This should even out the patches of uneven colour.
This is such an interesting idea
Omgoodness Roxanne, I feel your pain. I was (am) working a fairisle sweater in the round, with modifications and steeks. After I "split" for the arm holes, and was almost ready to start shoulder and neck shaping, I realized I had started one of the pattern bands at the wrong place in the chart. Simply, where the cardigan would meet, the pattern would not meet, nor would it line up with the patterns below. I hummed and hawed. It is a gift, and as I was repeatedly told, no one else would notice. But I would always know. I decided to drop down the 20+ rows, only on the front right section, and knit it back up correcting the pattern. It wasn't as bad as I thought. Then I measured to see if I was ready for shoulder shaping...based on the instructions for the back... (can you tell where this is going?) and yes time for back shoulder and keck shaping. A quick check of the directions for the front..."start front neck shaping about 20 or so rows before where I was". 😢 So I had to drop down again, on both sides of the front steek, I can't remember, but around 20 stitches on each side, and do the neck shaping. It was all my own fault! But so frustrating.
I would be crying 😢 I did a lace jumper for my daughter, and I had to frog it 20 times, it took a year to knit. Good luck with the reknitting.
Take a photo of your skeins, then change the photo to black and white. Any value differences should be more obvious.
Great purple sweater. Lovely buttons.
I really love the buttons you chose for your bulky sweater. Antique or vintage buttons are so interesting. I love that they are the same color but different designs. Gorgeous sweater and that is such a good color for you. SO SORRY about the darker band on your aqua sweater. I know that is so frustrating! It is funny because I was just watching one of your videos on how to reknit a cuff and here you are having to do that too. I knit my dad some socks and I wanted to be fancy so I used a pattern for the cuff. It is a pretty design (Hermoine sock pattern) but he says they are too baggy especially after washing so I am going to pick up the stitches at the bottom of the cuff in the stockinette before the heel (thankfully I always knit at least two rows stockinette) and then pull out the cuff and if I am lucky I will be able to reknit the same yarn. He wants a regular k2p2 ribbing. I am hoping not to have to cut the yarn and reattach it. Will probably start that project soon. I hope you keep going with your sweater and you will love it so much you will want to finish it and not have to wait until February. I have a Arne and Carlos sweater in time out waiting for February........
Aww, I’m sorry about the different dye lots. I think the bottom band being a different color actually looks really awesome! Especially because it’s a split helm. But I have kind of silly tastes - my answer to that master hand knitter question about different dye lots would be to just use the different dye lot, haha! I like the fun jarring lines. I’m working on a cardigan with natural colored alpaca yarn and I have all these weird looking color differences but I really like it because I feel like I’m really imitating the color of the alpaca the yarn is from. But everyone has different tastes and I understand the frustration. You are the paragon of craft wisdom though so if anyone can figure out how to fix the bottom hand it will be you :)
Those buttons you have are really awesome ! I can’t believe they are 50 grams! That’s so funny. What will you do with the other 2 buttons? Just keep em to look at em sometimes? I do that with some of my vintage buttons - one set are made of vegetable velvet and I just pull them out sometimes to gingerly stroke them. Haha!
The closest thing to your horror story I've had specifically relating to color was one time I was knitting a pair of socks with some Patons Kroy that was self striping. The first ball gave me some really awesome orange and pink and purple stripes and then the second sock with the second ball just had a ginormous section of purple that took up the entire leg. I didn't hate the look but I was sort of baffled at the giant splotch of purple! Did they get distracted while dyeing the second ball or what? :)
There's a company, SoleMates, whose slogan is, "Life's too short for matching socks". Each sock is similar to its mate, but not exact. Peace 🧶
I wonder if the contrast would be less obvious if you knitted the rest either as a fade, or alternated the yarns and then gave the sweater a deep teal, or darker green dye bath afterwards, in the same way you overdyed your lovely purple cardigan at the beginning of the episode. I hope you find something that works, as the texture pattern is gorgeous.
I have had a few disasters over the years, I once knitted parts of a ribbed sweater that had so much stretch and ease that you probably could have fitted two people into it!🙃🤪
Gorgeous work on the sweater, down to the chunky buttons! I am loving that jewel toned yarn :)
I found your posture talk very helpful. Before knitting your swatches from the two remaining skeins, I'd wind them up into balls (which I'm sure you'll do anyway) and compare the ball colors.....I find often you can really see the differences in color once they are wound up. Helical knitting would prevent any obvious color differences, but you know that....and it's a drag to do. Thanks for sharing.
Love the buttons! So unique! I like “different” yet similar. I know about it, others may not see.
I swear, ya turn 27, and things go to crap. Grandma never told me about this. I’m “still” 27, by the way. lol
Until I discovered hand-dyed yarns, I used box store acrylic. Purged & donated colors didn’t like or rough, nasty yarn. I swatched for a hooded capelet thing (circularly), all okay til next ball… Totally different size yarn! Grrr. This has happened quite a few times, different brands. Relegated all that yarn to: multiple strand single crochet baskets, totes.
I have more single skeins now, all different colors! Great for shawls, cowls, hats! Recently getting sweater quantities of single colors (and/or complementary colors).
Thank you, Roxanne! I feel your pain…yarn issues and shoulder or hip or back issues! PT folks are very informative & helpful, they really WANT to help !!
You’ll solve the bottom hem “problem”, it’s what you do! You’ll fix it! Me…I might have frogged back. I like to see how you confront & fix a hiccup. Inspirational for me knowing it’s possible to overcome an “Oops” or “Oh noooo”!
I was just getting the the end of a beautiful shawl and left the bag on the ground to help my daughter groom the horse she was riding. When I got back to the chair and bag, a horse was standing over the chair and chewing on my shawl. The most frustrating thing is that there was a small part in my brain that said I should make sure I had zippered the bag. There is a huge hole in the middle of it and it has been in time out for many, many years.
Ugh. I feel your pain, literally and figuratively. My literal pain is the opposite of yours. My right hip has been bothering me for months (the pain will wake me from sleep) , and recently my left shoulder occasionally gets a burning/tearing pain when raising my arm past 90 degrees. Interestingly, you are a Continental knitter, I'm an English knitter and our pains are opposite. Coincidence? Probably not.
The figurative pain: Almost 2 years ago, I started the half + half triangles wrap by PurlSoho. It was my first large project using fingering weight. It was also my first project using the yarn the pattern called for. About 3/4 through the pattern, all was going so good. I wasn't getting bored, just getting more and more excited that I was close to finishing, and it wouldn't be a let down that it didn't fit well. THEN....💔Prior to starting, I learned and practiced the German short row technique. What I didn't learn and practice, was how to fix them. I don't now recall what exactly happened, but that lovely project has become a UFO. Until this video, I hadn't heard of Fix It February. Come February, I'm going to search your channel, find the video I need, and FIX IT!
Thanks for doing all you do. I love the buttons, and my fingers are crossed hoping your other 2 hanks are the same lighter color.
PTs have enhanced my life. Continue healing well!
When you have finished it, soak it for a few hours in warm water with wool wash. the colours may blend a bit.
I completely agree with artemisrose3065. After you do your swatches to determine that the other skeins are the lighter color I would rip it back to the ribbed band instead of trying to figure out how to fix it. If it weren't for the overlapping where the front and back bands meet it wouldn't be so difficult to repair. Good luck!
I knit the schiaparelli bownot sweater out of cream and black. When I was sewing in the sleeves, I noticed there was a definite line in the black sleeve. I quit sewing it up, included an extra black skein of yarn, and took it to goodwill. I really liked it, but there was no way I was ever going to wear it. It was not hand dyed yarn. I had decided not to lice the white behind the black, which probably would have made the line less noticable.
FYI: today Carson Demers book is $90 more on Amazon than on his website! Gorgeous buttons, a the perfect choice!
You must be secretly watching me knit. I have almost the same posture. Thank you for sharing. I thought I was just getting old lol
As an amateur violist, I'm hyper aware of my posture. What many musicians do is to practice in front of a mirror to check posture. It can be an eye opener to see the weird things you do with your body while performing a task.
I was almost done with a raglan sweater flat piece when I had to move. Family helped but weren’t careful packing my yarn projects. When I unpacked the project, I discovered the bamboo straight needle had broken so several rows on one side had unraveled. I burst into tears and closed the box. Three years later I moved again and decided to unwind the whole piece. This time I knit both the back and the front pieces on a circular needle set combining two chords with an extender so I could save time and clip the needles together if I needed to take a break. No more dropped stitches! I finished the pieces but had to take a hiatus again for medical reasons before seaming it together.
Circular needles are great for travelers as well. I use only those. Glad you finished the sweater.😂
Wow! I love the buttons! Decades ago I had the opportunity to spend three days in Seoul, and went to the market/bazaar. There’s a whole section of stall after stall of buttons, which you select from baskets. Heaven! I had so much fun picking out several sets that “went together” like your big buttons. ♥️
I LOVE the new sweater you’re working on - I can understand why you are so happy knitting it. Every detail is seriously delightful. I’d tell my favorite, but I’d just be listing them all.
Oh no on the sweater color problem! I completely understand about focusing on the next step and not seeing what’s wrong.
In sewing, though I’ve been sewing clothes for 55 years, on rare occasion I’ll (for example) sew a second sleeve in wrong sides together… and not notice until a few steps later. When it happens, it’s often the second identical thing, with a big challenge next, so I’m breezing through as I’m really thinking about what’s next. Unpicking sewing isn’t the end of the world… but if there are two rows of top stitching I’ve finished after the mistake, or the fabric is bit delicate, etc., I want to shout, and have been known to put it in a “project box” until I can face it. If there’s top stitching, I’ll have to drag a pin across the marks left behind, so they won’t show when I put it together the right way. Worse is when I’ve done seam grading and clipping… so after unpicking and flipping, I’ll have to match it and re-sew it with half-millimeter precision. That kind of error definitely requires a time-out… unless I’m making it to wear to a particular event. That has happened. 😬
Worse is when I’m cutting out and have just enough fabric, so I have to cut out pieces individually… and get something flipped on a fabric that has a wrong side. I’ve only done that once, but ‼️‼️. Had to try find another use for that one… it might still be in a box. Now I pin my pieces to my dress form as I cut them out, so I’ll never make that mistake again. That time it wasn’t a repeated step issue… my previous system for keeping track failed. I’d never heard about Finish It February until this year. I need to join next year, and dig into my own personal UFO project boxes.
I’m a beginning knitter, so I’m not sure whether I should say that it’s never happened to me while knitting, or it’s always happening to me. 🤣 Like you, I love pattern and texture, and I’ll think I’ve finally got something down cold, breeze along, and “suddenly” five rows later I have an extra four stitches per row, or what have you. I say, “How did that happen?” ALL the time while knitting. 🤣🤦♀️ Hopefully that’ll get better with experience.
I knit a toe up sock and didn't noticed the heel placement was incorrect. Don't ask how that's possible, it just is. Cast on for a top down sweater, worked the collar and did increases. Before I started the colorwork, I wanted to recount my stitches. Huh. I don't have the right number of cast on? (Of course I don't because there were increases) I pulled the needles out and started over and then noticed I hadn't taken those increases into consideration. I am the owner of my German Great grandmother's button box. Nothing was thrown away. She even cut the little hook and eyes off of clothing so they could be reused. She's been gone 50 years, but I still feel like she's with me when I look for that just right button. Hope you will continue to get relief from PT. Love your channel!
Oh dear Roxanne I had frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) about 10 years ago. It was very painful. My doctor suggested (blood leeches) I believe the name in English. It was scheduled for 8 am on that Friday. The treatment took 1 hour. About 2 hours later, i was free of pain and gained full range of motion. I’m not sure if this is available in the states, mind you I live in Switzerland.
See if the dyer will re-dye the finished garment after completion. (I use a three ball system for combining colored yarns whenever it's practical)
and : how can you do button holes/bands before obtaining your buttons? You must be an adrenaline junkie!
You might add a small footstool to your knitting setup and shift elevating one or the other or both feet to make your posture more variable.
I love the purple sweater!!! and I appreciate the attention to a comfortable weight of materials making for a more pleasurable making and wearing. Rox On!
I Love your idea about asking the yarn dyer to re-dye the entire finished sweater, but would not proceed until I got a yes or no ! I hope Roxanne sees your comment...even about a footstool which I use too and sometimes one of those lightweight posture correctors, very comfy and really makes a difference !
Honestly, I couldn’t see the difference in those bottom bands at first. It’ll never be seen from a galloping horse. But I understand if it really bugs you!
I really like the buttons! I'm a newer knitter and as such end up ripping back a whole lot or just having to start over completely - sometimes because the size is wrong, sometimes I don't like the yarn for the project. That being said, I would try knitting the waist band and sleeve cuffs on the teal sweater in both the dark and light colors. The mini cables in the lighter shade and the purls in the darker shade might be unnoticeable. Or possibly use the darker yarn as a background for the stars as a "design feature". I have no idea if this would cause trouble with the required yardage.
I feel your pain about the color difference. I knit the Ranunculus sweater from a bulky weight yarn and was so proud of myself for getting the size correct since the original pattern is for a fine gauge yarn. I tried it on and saw that the sleeve I’d knit with the last ball was a different shade than the rest of the sweater! Same dye lot and purchased at the same time! I’ve been so peeved that I’ve never worn it and it’s been in time out for a couple of years. I still haven’t decided what I want to do about it.
My sister asked me to knit her a sweater. I was willing to do it. We found a pattern. I measured her body. I figured out, according to the dimensions in the pattern (there are six sizes with lots of ease) , how to make it fit her. This was my first adult size garment. Not a complicated structure, kind of a T with dropped shoulders and a V neck. Got all the pieces made and sort of pinned it together to fit it on her and it looked very good. I sewed it together, and then knit the ribbing for the front and neckline that was stitched on. I started at the front right bottom and got all the way around to the left front where the V neck kind of curves into the front and there is something wonky about that front left panel. When she put it on, it kind of ruffles right there. It's like the yarn right there is maybe stretched out or like it was used for something else and then reused, it just isn't a nice even fabric. It's been in a bag for three years and haunts me consistently. I do plan to fix it, but I think I'm going to have to frog that front left panel, or part of it anyway, and reknit it and it's already stitched together. I just haven't had the wherewithal to do it. I've tried to think of ANY other way to avoid this solution, but I don't think anything else will do it, and I do want it to look good. I'm hoping when I finally get to it, it won't be the nightmare I've believed it will be. Maybe blocking would fix it. I guess I'll try that first.
I know all about physical issues from bad knitting posture. I’ve been in terrible pain from a bulging disc since March. Too long a story to tell but PLEASE everyone get up and take breaks and MOVE often when knitting. I wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone. 6 months now. Been through all sorts of treatments. Now in therapy. I’m glad your therapy is helping you Roxanne. ❤
Love your sweater, love the buttons! I am almost 71 and have trouble with one hip. I go to the gym and do some weights, treadmill, and bike. Yes, I want to die with knitting needles in my hands. My current horror story, I have knit the Stripes gone Crazy 3 times, this third time I forgot to change my needles when doing the hem. I had to just put it aside I was so upset.
I'm a frogger, I can't stand big mistakes. They will hunt me while I wear the piece and it will drive me insane.
I'm knitting a sweater in broken rib and it's going amazing. I was starting to do the sleeves and when I was mid forearm I realized I had some issues with gauge and I picked up a few too little stitches at the beginning 🤦🏻♀️ So last night I frogged the entire sleeve. I was so annoyed! But I tried it on and it fits SO much better. For me the struggle always pays off because otherwise I wouldn't wear it as much.
My first comment was made too early, before hearing about your disappointment with the back band on the Danish sweater. I may be able to help with a swap if needed. I nearly cried - truly horrifying and soul crushing; especially (as you said) when things seem to be going so perfectly. When I saw your first video on that project, I loved the yarn and color. I think I purchased the last two skeins and thought I saw a difference in depth between the two. Since only two were available, I decided to make a Musselburgh hat. I was considering helical knitting to blend the two skeins, but decided I didn't need to since I could switch at the halfway and brim turn-up points. Long winded way to say that I only have one skein in progress and would be willing to swap the other if you wanted to see if it was a better match. I've already wound it into a ball, but I still have the yarn band.
Something similar happened to me a couple of years back. The culprit was a natural color cotton yarn that i assumed was consistent through all balls, but I realised they weren't all the same when knitted up. I need to finish it, but then i think i'll try and bleach it a little and then dye it with moist tea leaves, so that the result is irregular and the differences less noticeable. We'll see... I trust more on your project ending up just great than mine, but you allways learn something though.
Argghhh. I’ve had the exact same experience and I won’t knit garments from solid/tonal color hand-dyed yarn anymore. Even with alternating skeins, you can end up with unintended stripes. I love hand dyed yarn, but save it for single skein projects.
Hi Roxanne. I am so sorry for the color problems you are having. Madning isn't it.
Here is my horror story. I knitted a linnen t shirt. It nearly broke my hand because the yarn was hard to handle. But it was gorgeous when it was finished. It was my favorite for hot weather and I wore it a lot. Then I decided to wash some old linnens from my cupboard and added my t shirt so I could refresh it for a visit at the end of the week. I wanted to showit off. I didn't add any soap as the table linnens already had a wash and the soap wasn't all gone. So I re-washed the table linnens and added my shirt. Set the machine on no centrifuge and 40 degrees C. It came out as a baby sweater 😭. It was hard and ugly no pattern left even. I could only trow it away. I was so mad at my machine it didn't do what I installed. It did centrifuge and washed it on 60 degrees instead of the 40 I installed. I did washed it often in the machine and it was always oke. The linnen was becoming nicer and softer over time. These modern machines think to much for themselves and ruined my favorite shirt.
Ah yes, as we "age" these body aches etc. seem to creep in. Glad you saw physiotherapist to hopefully get you back on track. Sweater is looking great.
I admire your patience with the yarn of your Danish sweater. I would be so disappointed. And I would probably toss it and find different yarn. I do hope that your plan of knitting it to finish works out for you. It is a beautiful pattern! A few years ago, I bought some hand dyed yarn that looked alike from a distance, but actually knitting with it there were variations in the colors. The lady at the yarn shop suggested that I knit 2 rows from one ball and then the next row from a different ball. That worked, but it was cumbersome having 2 balls of working yarn. I guess the good thing about the yarn was that it wasn't a solid color, but various shades of purple.
Yup, the camera made it very obvious that the lower front of my sweater is darker than the rest. Looks dip dyed. 😏
Those buttons are awesome--love them! (And that tee you are wearing!). I had similar shoulder issues (left one) and over time came across a PT video about similar symptoms that mentioned it could be due to holding your arms up a lot for activities (so it's unsupported) and realized that is exactly what I do when I knit (even though I am right handed). As soon as I started putting a cushion to support my left forearm, the muscle tightness near my left shoulder/deltoid went away and has stayed away (unless I don't use support--then it talks to me). For posture, I have been going to Pilates classes for the past 4 years, to start for core strength and it has helped me make corrections to my posture (eliminated tension headaches completely), but also it strengthens and stretches the whole body; many of my fellow students (all ages) are referred there by PTs as well. I do reformer Pilates rather than just mat, but I highly recommend it as it works everything. Hope it all works out well soon!
Thank you for your visit. It is very discouraging when you have knit so much then get to the try on stage and its too small. I put it in a bag and walk away. I know that it is my fault but I ignore that. I have 2 like that, I just cannot bear to look at them. I will rip thrm back but I am going to gift the wool because I am sure I will not be wearing them.
Gosh I am so sorry to get that off my chest.
Your jacket looks fantastic and will be so very warm.
Anyhow, I think we might comings into Spring but there's one last Antarctic Storm on its way so I am going to leave it there and fill up some log baskets. Take care Roxanne.
For me, if you had enough of the darker color, I would reknit the front band to match the back. So the sleeves and front & back bands would all be the darker color. But I assume you don’t have enough to do that or you probably would have already thought of that. Hand dyed yarn is lovely but there are negatives too.
New comment after having watched everything now: Your Danish sweater is really gorgeous and my hope is that the color difference has a satisfying ultimate solution. Thank you for keeping us in mind about how you will approach its fix when it is ready to be addressed. I learn so much from all of your successes and all of your (very few) challenges.
Love those vintage buttons, Rox!!! 😍
Me too, I'm trying to have better posture.
I have never heard of Star sweaters but am interested in Danish culture and language. I will look into this, thanks.
My mother had a button like that on a coat in the 1960s. It was a coat that had one button at the neck and the rest of the buttons were hidden under the coat placket. So perhaps that supports why they are all different. And I love your buttons.
I can't believe the amount of difference between the skeins. Will be interested to see the swatches. How disappointing. 😢
I am knitting my first sample knit and just as everything is going great, the yarn is fantastic, I finish grafting two big pieces together and I realize I've read the pattern wrong and completely messed up short row sequence, on both sides 🤯 All the measurements are correct and the look is ok, I wouldn't fix it if it wasn't a sample, but it is, so after I finish the back part, I will undo the grafting and rip both parts almost to the beginning 😅 Good thing is that after the first shock always it gets easier 😂
Cute buttons !!! Happy to hear you are geeting better on your shoulder/postture. Do you also carry a bag on your left shoulder when you go out ? Sometimes heavy bags can cause us to raise our shoulder a bit so they don't slide off, it is better to use a backpack, wearing it with straps on each shoulder backpack.
I am so sorru this wondeful project might turn out to take a longer time to knit. Still I hope you will enjoy every stitch. For my part, usually my eyes do not see color difference between skeins, so I tend to take a picture of my skeins before I start a project, usually from the picture I can see if there are differences, then I number my skeins form lighter to darker and just use them that way unless there is a very big difference, than I alternate skeins as I knit. I also tend to take frequent progress pictures because they do reveal mistakes much more than I can see just looking at my work. Plus I find it very encouraging to se the project grow from day to day.
So in love with the buttons you found! They’re perfect!
Pity there wasn't enough dark yarn to replace the bottom band on the front of the "Annie's" night sweater , I really like that contrast, and that would have balanced the sleeves; especially as the paler wool appears on my screen as knitting up slightly dark & light stripey. Alternatively, leave it as it is, and if anyone notices, explain that Danish fishermen liked the sleeves & the back band to be darker to hide the dirt from their fishing work. Nobody except you & a Danish knitter will know if that story is true or not. I love the book so thank you for recommending it. There is a list of symbols on p251 that has me confused; the box with X in it says "WS pl, WS k1" ?? Hoping it's a typo.
LOVE your black vintage buttons, chef's kiss! Edited to add, as I watch on, thrilled your PT is helping, have your therapists mentioned anything about a soft back brace to keep your scapulae retracted? Just wondered as I have recently been going through PT due to a sore neck worsened by an international flight this spring. I am doing better now, too, and that was one of the available devices that was suggested as a posture reinforcer.
No, that was not suggested.
@@RoxanneRichardson I was just curious, I am so happy to know that the strategies from your PT are helping. All comfort to you!
Love the buttons! But then I used to collect old buttons.
Roxanne, could you Fin ish the sweater and then over dye it. Then there wouldn't be colour difference. Perhaps I don't know enough about dyeing. Good luck. The buttons are fabulous!
I would remove the light color at the band, and replace it with the darker color. Then I would use the darker color at the arm cuffs, and neckband.
Thank you for sharing your journey with frozen shoulder and how knitting posture can affect it. All the best.
The topic of correct knitting posture is so overlooked. I feel like the instructions for beginners should be how to knit, purl and sit correctly while knitting. As a person with spinal issues I really need to be careful how I sit while knitting, otherwise I regret it so much and I regret it often. I also have issues with knitting with hands too close to the torso. The only way I found to not do it is to knit on deskchair with armrests, because I can't move if I don't keep my elbows on them. But if I only sit somewhere else the elbows go back close to the torso and my shoulders hurt so badly, I really annoy myself by doing it.
Oh noooo… I had the same thing happen with hand-dyed yarn. Mine was in the middle of the front of the garment and I never noticed it until I decided to sit outside into the sun one day. Ugh! I ripped it all out and started again- using helical knitting. That isn’t my worst horror story. My most horrible story is an all over colorwork sweater that I steeked. It was a Norwegian pattern with very little guidance and was a struggle all the way through. At last, it was done! It was looking lovely. I grabbed my scissors and cut the steek as I had done many times before. I snipped that baby right up the front. I lifted it off the table to find that I had cut straight through the back, as well as the front. There is no fixing that. I actually made my husband pick it up and throw it in the trash so I didn’t have to ever see it again. I am very careful now to always put my hand between the layers of fabric before cutting. That was a lesson that I learned the hard way. 😂. I am still annoyed just thinking about it and it was at least 10 years ago! Good luck with your beautiful sweater- if anyone can fix it, you can!
For core & lower back strength try exercising on a Rebounder. It only takes a few min a day and you will see a difference within a few weeks.
I wound up with a debilitating tennis elbow and I believe it was due to bad marathon knitting posture, exacerbated by my habit of propping myself up by my right elbow whilst at work & sleeping with that arm folded up under my head. It was fully 4 MONTHS before I regained any grip strength back in my right hand… it was miserable, and I am super conscious of my knitting posture now 😅
I don't mind the bottom back band as matching the sleeves. I would just leave it. It matches the sleeves.
Great info for your community! Get better soon ❤
We knit because we enjoy it, not because we need the garments, so undoing and reknitting shouldn't be a problem..........but I would need to put that sweater in the naughty corner for a while.
Sorry this happened but glad to hear you have a plan.
I’ve never heard of Danish designs before. Thank you. Love textured patterns. WOW! So sorry to see the colour variation. Such a lovely pattern. I’m sure you will make work.😊 I’ve just looked up Danish patterns on Ravelry thanks to you.
Your buttons are awesome!
My heart sunk looking at the difference in color of your sweater. It would definitely become a UFO for me, but I admire your perseverance. Next, I had frozen shoulder and took fish oil for 4 weeks and it worked its way out. Lastly, the most comfortable chair I bought specifically for knitting is a Lazyboy Harbor Place, available at Wayfair. It is a rocker recliner, small for a women's frame and the arms are padded and the perfect height to rest your elbows while knitting. Mine is leather but I found it at a consignment store for $160. Then I found one on Facebook markplace for $40 and bought that too. So I have 2 great chairs for knitting or reading. Good luck with your recovery.
i love the buttons
I know you are crushed by the color change, but it doesn't/wouldn't bother me. Wabi sabi energy and the beauty of imperfection. It's a gorgeous design and a lovely color, plus you love making it---that's perfection!
PLEASE BRING BACK TECHNIQUE TUESDAY!!! I ❤ TECHNIQUES!!!
Technique Tuesday hasn't gone away. I do one video a week, alternating between Technique Tuesday and Casual Friday. Last week was a Casual Friday week, so this week is a Technique Tuesday week.
Love the buttons! Sorry about your Danish sweater.
I like your buttons!! Hope your arm is feeling better. I have a problem with my neck and have to be careful how long I am knitting and the position. Recently I was away on vacation and did no knitting and never had a problem. I don’t know what I would do with the yarn color.
Oh devastating. I’d be wanting to chuck it out of the window !! I recently finished the Sabai top and I knew that I was going to be short on yarn so I stopped half way down the body and contacted the yarn company (not located in my country) and I was so so lucky they still had the same dye lot available so I ordered 2. I’ve now finished the top and I have a full ball left over and not sure what I’ll be doing with it. Your work is alway beautiful and I’m sure whatever you need to do to rectify this will make you happy. It will be interesting to know what your solution will be. Thanks for sharing your pain with us Roxanne 🙋🏼🏴
I LOVE your black buttons. They are simply gorgeous. Sorry to hear about yarn colour horror - I'm sure it'll work out just fine in the end.
Roxanne, I highly recommend you find a beginners' pilates class to go to. This will help you improve both your core strength and balance - both vital for a healthy, active life as we age. I hope you feel bettter soon.
There was a great interview with a therapist on a recent Fruity Knitting episode. I have since tried some of the simple changes to knitting styles that the therapist suggested and I found it really made a difference.
LOVE the buttons!!!! Also I think that PT's are the unsung hero of the medical world! I have had lots of success with PT for various things, many of which you mentioned. Also years ago I was able to get the book by Carson and found it helpful. One thing that helps to reset my crooked body is laying horizontally on a 6 inch round foam roller for a couple of minutes. I do this several times a week) Crazy, but it really helps. Also want to die with my knitting needles in my hand!!!!
as always, another great epidsode, I, too, chuckled at your comment re: if you don’t like the buttons, don’t tell me! I think they are smashing and perfect for the sweater. I am so sorry about the current WIP. The color of the yarn is stunning, yet I could see the big difference between the back hem and the front of the sweater when you used the overhead. I am working on a sweater using yarn from a small fiber mill… I am starting to use 2 balls, switching every other row., now to prevent what happened to you… anyway, I hope you start to receive relief from your hip and shoulder pain. I, too, want to die with my needles in my hands…wait, we can’t knit in heaven???
Great episode!
I’m so interested in knitting posture. I try to use the Alexander Method a classical clarinetist taught me. It is unique to each person and more of an awareness of movements. I hope that your shoulder feels better soon.
Drawing your attention to your comment about how much you're enjoying working the stitch patterns; it's few enough inches in that, if other dye lots cooperate, take the pain in one go now, rip back and redo the hem. That you can surgery it later doesnt necessarily mean it's the best option. Painful either way, been there know that and feel for ya. Those mini cables at the seam are spectacular!