Monday 26 January 2015

The Butcher of Sheepy things

Like I said in a previous post, I somewhat lost my knitting mojo after then holidays.  Once I got all the gifties sent out to the four corners of the globe, I sat down and looked around and just couldn't find the inspiration to do diddly.

I dislike unfinished projects in general, which is why I was disgusted with myself for having a hat brim sitting on the shelf for more than a month.


A long stretch of simple knitting in the round was abandoned in favor of just not wanting to deal with it for 14 inches.  


I did chip away at a crochet blanket for a while:


The Babette, the best way I could think of to use up all the scraps of sock yarn that I've accumulated the past few years.  A memory of socks and shawls and sweaters, slowly being pieced together in a colorful spread of clown barf.  However...I now need to create more scraps as I'm running out of yarn for it.  

Part of this big stall was the fault of this jumper:


An incredibly warm men's Icelandic lopi sweater called Riddari, knit in the natural colors of sheep of the Birtish Isles: Black Wesh, moorit Shetland, white BFL, and steel gray Suffolk.  It was lovely to knit- the wool was rustic and had a lovely sheepy smell, and it was comforting and joyful to make.

Once I was done and blocked, I decided I didn't want it to be a pullover- a zipper install to let it be worn open would be a good idea since it was extraordinarily warm. So I crocheted steeks, slicked it from nave to throat, and basted in a lovely vintage brass zipper.

Hours later, I was in a mass of ripped seems and bits of thread.


No matter how carefully I install a zipper, no matter how many tutorials I read and follow step-by step, I can not get the stupid giant bulge out.


 Really?

I'm at a loss as to what to do- after picking it out and re-sewing it, trying to keep the fabric loose and the tension even, the bulges would not go away.

Should I try again, send it off to a pro to pic, or try to sew it back up and call it a pullover?




4 comments:

  1. I would pick up stitches and make a button band... and cut THAT zipper in teeny tiny pieces

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    1. NNNNoooo it was like 10 quid. I want to master this.

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  2. Oh god, I have never been able to muster up the courage to put a zipper into a jumper. You have all my sympathy on that one. If you really want a zippered jacket, and know someone out there who can set a zipper in, I'd send it to them with no shame. Otherwise a cardi with a button band might work. I'm not sure I'd go for trying to sew it back up again, unless you went with some design element in the front, as I don't think it would ever look quite the same as it did pre-steeking...

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    Replies
    1. yeah, I think sewing it back up will just be all wrong with the colorwork. All wrong.

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