K.D. for Knitting Disaster

Are you ready for drama - and for a change this blog entry is entirely dedicated to knitting. KNITTING GONE BAD... Maybe you can imagine the soundtrack from "Psycho" or "Jaws" at this point.

Not that this has not happened to me before. I start knitting a project, finish it and it turns into something I will never wear. I can understand if I don't swatch that I might end up with a piece of clothing too big or too small. But this time I swatched to make sure... I am sure you've heard about this phenomenon or - even worse - it happened to you, too (my deepest heartfelt sympathies at this point). This is especially bad when it is a big project like a sweater, which means you put a lot of knitting hours into it.

Well - it happened again last week. Thankfully it was not a sweater, only a tank top. But I wanted to finish it so badly before my vacation. It is finished alright... OK - I am over the screaming, the cursing and the thoughts about lighting a fire and burning this baby...

I am talking about the avocado green tank top, knitted in the round with a lace border, the Cami Soleil from knitty.com. I was so thrilled when I found the yarn (silk/rayon mix) online for a good price – maybe that should have been my first red flag... I really liked the pattern and off I went, swatching and all. It did not take me very long either. One thing I noticed while knitting with this yarn, there was green stuff everywhere I knit with it. That should have been a second red flag...

After I finished knitting it, weaving in the ends and adding a crochet border at the armholes, I soaked the piece in water, let the excess water run out, and went on to block it. OMG – the yarn turned into a pilling nightmare and it stretched to the horizon – YUCK!!! The only part I like about this “thing” is the lace border – that turned out really nice. This is a close up of the yarn:


And this is what the cami is supposed to look like - never mind the yarn but the shape:


And now look how my version looks...


Hubby took a picture of me wearing it. He kept telling me to smile - this is how much smiling I could muster... I think I look like I belong in a Russian summer camp. Not a very flattering piece of clothing.

Since the cami is knitted in the round I have no seams on either side but I figured I could hold in the sides a bit and kind of tailor it a little more. Or I could cut off the lace border and turn it into a cowl and throw the rest away... What do you think?

Any suggestions on what to do to try and salvage the piece would be highly appreciated. I am putting you lovely knitting friends to the task!

In addition, I now have to overcome the anxiety of finishing up another sweater that is completed and is waiting to be put together. Do you know the feeling? I am thinking about not blocking it because I don't want to mess it up. Fortunately it is a cotton sweater. The yarn is not an unknown factor this time...

OK - off for now.