I have a problem. I just finished a sweater for my husband knitted with yarn comprised of Alpaca, merino wool and silk. It has several cable columns and moss stitch. It is beautiful but…the neckline is losing shape quickly. It has a 3" rib folded over to a crew neckline. It opens almost to the sholders now when it is on him. I think the yarn may be too heavy for this design. Is there anythink I should (can) do to the neckline to make it hold it’s shape? I can rip it out and start over with the neck if anyone has a solution.
PS- I’m a new member and have only been knitting for 2 years. This looks like a good place to get my answers since my knitting instructor closed her shop and moved away.
Hi Gloriamimi,
I can only guess you have too many stitches on the neck rib or your needle could have been better smaller, or worse, both problems.
But for a good Sweater is worth the trouble, I think.
A circular needle will come handy, so you only have to remove the old neck band without unpicking parts of the body.
Hope everything goes well.
Regards, Dolly
Alpaca can stretch a lot, so that’s probably how it grew. For now, maybe some elastic thread to pull in the neckband, or maybe crochet it with a slip stitch on the inside. You could also try knitting the neckband on smaller needles.
Thanks for the replies. I think I will take the neck band off and do over. The number of stitches is what was called for but I’ve been thinking of decreasing them and using a smaller needle. And maybe also doing the elastic in there as well. It is a heavy sweater and has “grown” almost past his rear end. I guess maybe this yarn is best for small projects.
I have some alpaca/acrylic blend that I first tried to make into a rectangular shawl. That ended up stretching the long way. So it’s going to be a triangular one that will hopefully control the stretch a bit.