Ok, so, I’ve been wearing my new Tea Leaves cardigan everywhere, and pretty much every day since I finished it. I realized maybe I was going overboard when I dropped by my parents’ house last week and my mother quipped, “gee, I haven’t seen that sweater before…” Ok, point taken. Heh.
So in an effort to be a little more well-rounded in my wardrobe choices, I am taking a look at some of my other sweaters and figuring out how I can make them more wearable. Today I want to focus on this one:
My biggest problem with it is the neck. It’s so stretchy that if I wear it as intended (with the button bands meeting up), the top slides off of my shoulders.
I added a button in order to combat that issue, figuring I could live with overlapping front panels if I had to, but the neck still stretches, and after a few minutes of wear, the whole thing shifts, pivots at the button point, and just looks really wonky.
I am always fiddling with it to make it fit well and sit well on me. I love the color and style of this sweater, but fit-wise, it’s just annoying to wear!
So, here are what I see as my options for fixing it:
- Do something to make the neck less stretchy. I’ve read that you can do a row of single crochet along the neckline, but I don’t want it to be visible – I like the look of the collar as-is. Do you think a little crochet would fix the problem, and if so, any suggestions for keeping it from significantly altering the design? Could it be done on the inside?
- Add another button or two. This may help the pivoting issue, but I still think that it will bunch up and hang funny after a while.
- Get rid of the first button, and add a row of smaller buttons along the button band. This could work, but then I’d definitely need to do something to reign in the neck.
I turn to you, more experienced knitters than me: any tricks you can share to make this sweater more enjoyable to wear?
You could try the chain crochet stitch. Just find a repeating knit on the inside to add to the chain stitch. It will lay flat to the inside if you don’t use a double or single stitch. The tighter you chain, the tighter the neckline.
Good luck!
carrie
I didn’t think of just doing a chain – that makes sense, if I want it to lie flat. Thanks!
sew a grosgrain ribbon onto the inside of the neckline and down the buttonband to stabilize it. Then you can use snaps that are covered by pretty buttons and the weight of the buttons won’t stretch the buttonholes.
Oh, I really love this idea! It also gives me an opportunity to get a little playful, if I choose a ribbon in a contrasting color, or with a pattern or something. Thanks for the tip!
I like the above idea if you are planning on trying to salvage the whole thing. Personally, I would frog it and use the yarn to make another tea leaves sweater, since you like that one so much. But I’m awfully persnickety and if it’s not perfect by my standards, I start over. With a few exceptions…..
I don’t think I’m at the frogging stage just yet – it has potential still to be wearable 🙂 I do plan to frog the first sweater I knit, though. That yarn could definitely be put to better use!
Pretty sweater! I would take some dark elastic or “invisible” thread and hand sew through the top couple of rows. Pull the thread to the desired amount of stretch and tie it off.
Cheers!
Sally
Hmm, there’s an idea I never would have thought of. Thanks!
I like the elastic idea. They used to make an elastic thread to use on ribbing to keep it firm-wonder if they still sell it. If you frog it, you’ll never want to start it again.
I have never seen elastic thread in the stores, but I know it exists, given how popular it is for sewing garments with ruching lately.
[…] to have a weekend of craftiness ahead of me. Which reminds me, thank you for the suggestions on my droopy sweater. I loved the grosgrain ribbon idea and have ordered a fun polka dot ribbon to use – […]
[…] Sarah, for suggesting grosgrain ribbon. My sweater no longer falls off of my shoulders, and I was even able to move the button closer to […]