I have a beautiful cotton turtleneck sweater that I knit this past spring! Unfortunately the neck does not sit as nicely as it used to. It squashes down like a pumpkin after November (we’ve all seen those sad pumpkins sitting on the porch, looking like they’re melting)
If I use elastic thread to hopefully give the neck back its original shape (so it sits higher, it doesn’t fall onto itself quite so much) - should I thread up the neck (vertically) or across the neck (horizontally)? Both directions?
Sometimes yarn, especially superwash will relax like this. I know this is something you may not want to do but you might consider re-knitting the neck with fewer sts.
It’s possible that a horizontal line or two of elastic will pull the neck in without being too noticeable but I’m not sure it will really strengthen the turtleneck enough. It’s easy enough to try however and if it doesn’t work, go to the re-knit option.
The sweater is so lovely and soft looking. I actually like the relaxed turtleneck on it. Very nice work!
Is it 100% cotton? Was the original pattern in cotton? Anything I knit in cotton tends to hang heavy, especially once it’s been washed. You could tighten the neck opening with a line of single crochet inside the garment, but that won’t help the excess in the neck. I agree with salmonmac re reknitting with fewer stitches but I’d be tempted to swatch and wash first to see how the yarn behaves. You could also cast off the body and pick up neck stitches for a more stable edge.
