Undycided

General Knitting
1

Ok…so…I have this knitters perfectionist thing going on…

I am knitting a quidditch sweater again (by again, I mean, I knit the first one when I was a noob, and used crap to knit it, and now - knowing so much better…wanted to go back to do it with nicer wool, with no errors etc)

To get the right colours, I went KP, and bough the dye your own, and a couple of jaquards acid dyes. Being a noob now at dying…I dyed several of these skeins (russet and aztec gold) let them dry, and now I am in in about 4-5 inches or so into the body on the round.

My dye job was…lets say…kettled. It goes though lighter and darker shades…from a far, one would not notice, but up close you do see a streakiness. It is ok…it does not look bad…but it isn’t what I was envisioning for the project.

There are 7 skeins of russet (the 5 skeins of DK for the sweater and two fingering for a matching pair of knee high socks - this is going to be my halloween costume) and 2 skeins of gold. They have already been lovingly wound by my ball winder.

Do I rip back what I have started, skein up 9 skeins of yarn, presoak, redye and re dry them, just to start again. At least a weeks worth of work re done…for a minor flaw…

Or

Do I leave it, accept that it is charming and somewhat original and that no one but me is dwelling on it.

I understand that as a knitter, it really has to be about what makes the creator/knitter happy. This isn’t just a frog to fix a missed stitch though, it is a major rehaul.

Yes…I do think about it each time I sit down and start knitting on it, but I also think of the hours of retooling it is going to take, and honestly I have to wonder ever time if it is worth it.

A friend of mine always says, if you have to go back and look at something more than once, you are going to buy it anyway whether it is justifible or not. And by that logic, I really should do…but I feel torn.


You can see it is subtle but there…

I know it is ultimately my decision…but I am going to ask…what would you do if you were faced with the same decision?

2

Crycket, I think the kettle dyed look is really great and I like the way it looks. I think it will be lovely. :muah:

3

I agree–people go out of their way to buy yarn with subtle color changes. I think it will look great!

4

I know for actual knitting mistakes, it’s like a hangnail I can’t ever just ignore. I will always look at it. However, I’m not as sensitive to a colour issue. I see it much like Ingrid does, subtle shifts in tone are lovely, and will not be noticeable as an error. I wouldn’t do all that extra work to re-do, re-dye and etc.

5

That’s a tough one…Honestly, I think it looks fine, but, if it’s not exactly what you wanted, you may never be happy with it…I think you should ask yourself if you would actually use it once finished though it’s not exactly what you have in mind…Do you think, if you finish it as it is, you will be happy enough not to decide to do it all over again at some point?

6

See…there is the rub. I have already done this project once…

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Crycket/quidditch-sweater-ladies-large-size

Was happy with it at the time…but now…I know more about natural fibres, am not so freaked out over some of the prices, know more about how to fix mistakes…it seems natural to want to do it over again. Beyond which I am an avid Harry Potter fan, so…I don’t mind putting in the effort…especially to get a matching Quidditch uniform.

From a distance you can’t tell…and I do agree with the fact that a kettle dye doesn’t look bad…perhaps even good…it all goes back to, will I be happy enough with it down the line to not want to try and fix it later…

Hmmm…

7

I think it is ultimately up to you…did you want it to look solid up close or is it o.k. to be a bit stripey? Either way, it is still a gorgeous color and doesn’t look bad as it is now.

8

It’s really up to you, but I do like the whole “impressionist” feel. Plus, I think that slight contrast like that always makes the color pop better for the eye instead of just a monochromatic pallet.

9

I love the look of kettle dyed yarn, but is it appropriate for the Harry Potter theme? I don’t know anything about that since I haven’t seen the movies or read the books, but I’m assuming you’re wanting the FO to look a certain way.

I think for most types of mistakes if you have an inkling early on that something will bother you, it will only bother you MORE as time goes by. Kind of like when you get a bad feeling on a first date because of something they say… usually that bad feeling is right on! :teehee:

I think your project looks lovely and I think it’s cool you dyed your own yarn… I’ve never tried that.

10

I love what I’m seeing in the photo! :heart::heart::heart:

11

I think I may go lazy on this one. It is the fight between is it going to bug me more to redo it all again or to see it the way it is.

At a distance one can’t tell it is shading. Upclose…it does look kinda cool. Not what I had in mind…but perhaps just as well…

Thanks for the input.

12

I love the shading so I’d leave it!

13

I think I’d go over the rest of the yarn with a fine-toothed comb on the color issue to make sure that if you continue with the “kettle dyed” yarn that you’re working with that it will all mesh together. The biggest problem would be if you have significantly lighter or darker strands that will look funky.

You’re not that far into yet. Take a few days to decide before continuing on.

I think I’d have to say that if the FO is not going to be true to what you want with your Harry Potter objects then maybe you should re-dye. But, like others have said, it looks great in any event.

14

It was all the same dye lot…so the uneven happens though out.

I think part of it too is, I have maybe just enough dye to do it all over again, but still need what I have for another project. That being said…I would have to make a KP order…for two pots of dye…which is 7.99 shipping to Canada…

15

Personally, I think I would enjoy it as one of the aspects of hand dyed yarn. I don’t think it would bother me … but that’s me.

16

ok…so it is official…I have frogged and it is in the dye pot as we speak!!! sigh

In the end, I was asking myself if I liked it every time I picked it up…so here I go…with yet another KP order to make!!

17

you know…after all that…I am not sure it made much of a difference…I will let you all know!