Sweater Blocking Conundrum: Grey Tweed Pullover, Episode 2
Last March I started knitting my dark grey Donegal tweed yarn into a simple pullover, and then the weather got pretty warm, so I put it away. Then during the hottest part of July, I ran into a decision-requiring situation with my attempt at the February Lady Sweater (don’t ask why I thought worsted weight wool-mohair was cooler than worsted weight tweed, I don’t know), so I put that sweater aside while I mulled. But I wanted to knit on a sweater. So, even though it was July, I took up the tweed again. Now I finally have all the pieces knit. But how to block to rolled edges?
The front and back are already joined at the shoulder seam with a 3-needle bind-off. I did that so I could figure out how long to make the sleeves. Anyway the bottom edge of the sleeves and body are rolled. So do I pin the rolls out while blocking? Or do I just pin down to the roll (the bottom-most garter ridge) and let it roll up as it drys? What to do? Suggestions welcome!
The neckband is supposed to be rolled too, but I don’t think that’s what I want to do. I think a few rounds of garter stitch will be better. My thinking is that with the purled ridge details above the rolled edges will keep a garter neckband from looking out of place. Any thoughts?
The sweater, which I want to wear primarily as outerwear, is going to be too big. I measured my bust in March and it was 40.5 inches, so I thought a 44 inch outerwear sweater would be fine. When I realized this summer that certain of my undergarments were unacceptably roomy, I measured again: 38 inches. This sweater is going to be HUGE. sigh.
I will have 3.5 skeins of yarn left over, so I can make some tweed accessories that will fit!
i love the style and color…but alas i suck at blocking! i always feel like i am doing it wrong! good luckk!
I love the way the yarn has knit up, it looks great, pattern and color-wise. I’m assuming the loss in inches was a good thing (outside of sweater-sizing) so congratulations. Whoo! I’m still a blocking novice so I’m no help there but I am sure good advice will arrive soon.
I think that the garter neckband will be fine – the purl rows have a similar look, and it’s just spaced out garter (sort of).
I’ve been pouring through WIPs lately, and it feels great to make progress on them.
So does that mean congratulations are in order for a weight loss?
Whoohoo!
I have no comment on the blocking issue – as I’ve never knit a sweater, much less blocked one!
(((hugs)))
Do something that won’t smoosh the roll or cause it to block sort of flat.
That was remarkably unhelpful, wasn’t it?! Sorry!
Brenda- Just flatten the sleeves out and let them do what they do. They won’t roll up that much.
….I’m probably about as helpful as Chris.
You can’t go wrong with tweed! If you don’t want too much of a roll, soak it in warm water, dry flat, and smooth out the roll. Then, lay something heavy-ish on the bottom roll section, or even something the will prevent it from rolling too much. I just lay a few straight needles across the bottom. Pining it may give it some funky looking stretched areas!
Anyway, don’t know how helpful that was!
Hmm…I don’t know. It is a lovely color – exactly the colors that I like working with.
Hmm, for outerwear you wouldn’t want to tight, right? As for the rolling, it sounds like laying something heavy on it is the best option. I think the neckline sounds like it will look nice. You wouldn’t want it to roll up too much and expose your neck if its outerwear.
Hooray for tweed! I don’t do anything in particular to block a rolled-edge garment. The only thing I *wouldn’t* do is pin–you’ll get points.
(And while a sweater that doesn’t fit is very sad, a shrinking body is a great reason for it! Congrats to you!)