Wednesday 27 October 2010

FO: Folded

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Pattern: Folded

Yarn: Valley Yarns Huntington

Needles: 3.5 mm and 4.0 mm (US 4 and 6)

Mods: I knitted the sleeves flat and seamed them, adding an extra stitch at each side to allow for the seams. I despise knitting sleeves in the round, I have no idea why.
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Notes: I love Veera's patterns. The lines are simple, flattering, classic, yet somehow really modern. Folded is no exception- it's a lovely, perfect little sweater. I wnat to knit one in every colour, that's how much I love it. And when I had it with me in Sudbury to visit my parents for Canadian Thanksgiving, my mom was in love with it. I don't blame her- it's super comfortable and I love this colour.

What I did not love, however, was the yarn. Huntington was a dream to knit with, I really liked everything about it until I wet blocked the sweater and was horrified at the results. The yarn bled, and the whole sweater grew. And I don't mean it grew a bit, I mean it transformed itself into a gigantic curtain of sweater and scared the heck out of me. I actually put it in the tumble dryer, that's how desperate I was to get it back to it's small size again. And then the yarn pilled and fuzzed and immediately looked like some broken in, old sweater that had seen the inside of both a washing machine and a tumble dryer multiple times. 

It made me want to cry. Hours spent knitting a sweater I adore only to have it look like an old hand me down before I've even got photos.That's why there's no close up- I couldn't' stand to wallow in the fuzz.
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There was a lot of cursing going on at my place that afternoon, let me tell you. The worst part? I was totally going to give this to my mom for Christmas, since she loved it so much. But I can't gift a prematurely-aged sweater. I'm so sad.

40 comments:

French Press Knits said...

What a bummer- are the pictures pre-blocked? Because it looks fabulous here!

French Press Knits said...

Nevermind- just read the part about the dryer. I just did this to a sweater two week ago- did the trick, but SO scary!

Sarah said...

Oh I'm sorry that happened to your sweater! It still looks really pretty though, and I love the simple style of the pattern.

Chantal Boucher said...

Nice sweater, really. Too bad for the yarn though... we must remember that. I can understand your despair !

Sam said...

Oh, this is beautiful. The perfect combination of elegant and casual.

How scary when it stretched so, I think I would have cried too, and not been brave enough to try the tumble dryer.

I've just added this pattern to my Ravelry queue on the strength of your beautiful FO.

Anonymous said...

Oh, that sucks. I have issues with some superwash yarn for that exact reason - the stretching when wet = scary thing. It looks great though. Also, your hair has lightened considerably, yes?

Unknown said...

Is there any worse feeling then being disappointed by an FO? Your sweater is absolutely beautiful, it's such a shame that the yarn didn't live up to expectations. I just finished my Stilwell sweater only to try it on and discover that it was totally too big for me... I was very disappointed, until my sister tried it on and it fit her perfectly! One Christmas gift checked off the list!

Jacey said...

It is gorgeous, and I'm so sorry to hear about the yarn issue. Will you make another one in a different yarn? It's super flattering and the color is so lovely on you.

Sherral said...

That happened to me once and it broke my heart... so I sympathize! Yours still looks really nice though. Good save!

KARIN said...

Oh, that is so sad. The sweater is just beautiful. You should definitely make another one for yourself. It looks great on you.

The Sweatshop of Love said...

That is the worst! I can't even believe it. It's always the worst when the yarn lets you down. It still looks cute from what I can see!

Anonymous said...

it looks so lovely! would a sweater shaver work? Try it, I made a lot of my old store-bought sweaters looking newer by spending some time with a shaver (the electric one).

I'm beginning to think purple is your favorite color. It's mine as well. =)

weezalana said...

Oh no! All that work to have the yarn turn on you. :( Well, it looks beautiful in the photos!

Anonymous said...

Oh thats terrible about the yarn :(
I love Veera's patterns too, I'm planning to attempt the Still Light Tunic very soon... http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/still-light-tunic

Knit 1 LA said...

OMG I'm laughing but not at your expense only because that's happened to me and you perfectly describe the horror! I'm feeling your pain Julie!

Kara said...

That is so sad! You would never tell from the pictures. It looks wonderful. It really is an elegant pattern.

Susan said...

OMGoodness! That is unfortunate. The sweater looks amazing on your blog, but I can only imaging how sad you must feel about this yarn mishap.

Michele said...

I'm sorry that the yarn ended up sucking! But, for what it's worth, it looks lovely on you!

Mom said...

I am also sooo sad:( It is definitely a MOM Sweater and would look adorable on me. Can it be salvaged?

jen said...

I have to say, the whole time I was thinking "this is a great looking sweater, I would knit that" then I read about the destruction. So sorry to hear about that, but it still looks pretty awesome in your photos!

Anonymous said...

oh, no! it *is* a gorgeous sweater, and it looks fine from a distance! hopefully your next one will work out better.

Alana said...

It looks really pretty in the pictures. Its a beautiful sweater and it looks gorgeous on you!

elli said...

ugh...how disappointing for you. If you hadn't told us your tale of woe I don't think any of us would have noticed since it really is a great-looking sweater! But still...ugh.

Pam said...

What a beautiful sweater -- I can see why you and your mom like it. I have had superwash wools do that -- but with the nylon blend, I wouldn't think the wool would need to be processed as superwash.

My favorite sweater has issues like this - Cashmerino Aran -- beautiful, but close up, it looks old.

Erin said...

This is a tragic post. The sweater is GORgeous. I am so sad that the yarn ruined it for you. Ugh. So sad.

NJ said...

I love this sweater. I came across the pattern last week on Ravelry and now I see you have made it. Shame about the yarn. I've had a couple yarns really disappoint me as well.

yoel said...

This is such a "perfect" sweater I am so sorry to hear about the yarn! On the other hand, now you have a go-to top pattern for when you get a good yarn. This color purple looks so great btw!

Michele Saunders said...

The sweater turned out lovely - it looks great in the photos. I had an issue with a superwash yarn growing to massive proportions and I refuse to use one again. There's no way to shrink it back to its original size. Ugh! So sorry - all that knitting for the yarn to go awry.

Anonymous said...

Hey Julie, what a laugh, I'm going to cast on for this tomorrow! I've got the yarn wound up and the pattern printed out and a long train ride ahead. And it looks really great on you so my hopes are high!

Sometimes we just have to be brave and use tumble dryers or hotter washing machines. I have a huge winter sweater that got it's perfect fit in a 40 °C wash. I love it now although it is not as soft anymore (when is it going to be cold enough for that one?)

Cheers
Eva

Reckless Glue said...

I think this looks beautiful, you can't tell anything went wrong with it--my kind of sweater--the simplest patterns are always the best :)

Jolene said...

How heartbreaking, but really it looks quite lovely from here!

Anonymous said...

So sorry to hear about the yarn woes. Regardless, it looks absolutely stunning on you. Maybe it's better that you get to keep it...

Ally Jay said...

You must feel so disappointed. It looks fab in the photos, elegant and classic. Beautiful colour. What a shame about the way it reacted.

Maryse said...

I've been eyeing this pattern too! Your version is beautiful... and quite an adventure!

Hilary said...

I'm so sorry to hear about the yarn crappiness. :( But the sweater looks really, really pretty! Maybe you've just done a good job hiding the fuzz, but I don't think it looks old OR overly fuzzy.

Your hair also looks so pretty! I love the reddish color on you!

Robin said...

What a shame about the yarn, thanks for the heads up! But otherwise, the sweater looks really pretty, you'd never know about the yarn issus if you didn't mention it. You did a nice job with it.

Teresa said...

I'm so sorry to hear that happened! I have to say, the photos totally disguise the issues you've had with the sweater.

Yarny Days said...

So sorry to hear about that st*pid yarn. Grr. Well, that sweater look so beautiful on you. Live and learn I guess.

sachiko said...

That would make me want to cry too! But it looks gorgeous in the photos, I adore that colour!

Monique said...

Shave the fuzz off and wear it proudly cause it looks great. The fit is perfect and the color looks great on you.
Hey, do you still have that weather? We had our first snowfall yesterday.