I am working on the Andrea Mowry Weekender light sweater.
I can’t believe I did this … weeks of work… but I’m 2/3 of the way done and am not sure I have it in me to frog this sweater.
I picked up the wrong needles after the ribbed band - 7s instead of 4s - and the sweater is huge. The pattern suggests going up a needle size for the sleeves - but if I knit them with the 7s they are going to be enormous. Knitting them with the recommended 5s might look weird with the super loose body. Can I salvage this al all?
Ugh, that’s a pity but isn’t it just typical of this year? You might consider continuing with the 7s but picking up fewer stitches at the shoulders. Perhaps you could then follow the directions for sleeve shaping for a smaller size?
Sometimes it also helps to put this down for a couple of weeks and then come back to it with a fresh look. Do you love the yarn? Would you repurpose it on another sweater?
It’s the Brooklyn tweed yarn she recommends, which honestly I don’t think I’ll use again. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I like the way rustic yarn looks in the skein but not how it feels on me!
I might just frog it. Sigh. That means two other projects just won’t get done until who knows when. Argghhhh I am just kicking myself.
I think we all have “that sweater”, the one that’s more a lesson learned than a joy to wear. Perhaps even more than one of them!
It’s a shame about the yarn which I’m sure is beautiful. Maybe something will come up that just calls out for the Brooklyn tweed.
In the meantime, there are other projects to work on and enjoy.
I knitted one a few years ago now. I only wear it in the house as I could easily fit somebody in it with me and my husband swears that if I flapped my arms fast enough while wearing it I’d take off!
When my daughter was first knitting clothes she made a sweater from a book the body was fine but the sleeves almost looked like puff sleeves and it was unpleasant feeling even though the yarn had seemed soft it is in a tote under my bed with other keepsake but it was 60$ of unwearable yarn and hard work! 13 years later she made herself a beautiful one this summer!
I’d frog it. Like all really difficult decisions, it’s much easier to accept, move on and forget after its done! If you’re not happy with it now, you won’t be with the completed project. Don’t think of the waste of time, value the experience of learning! ( I have just had to accept that I posted the lovely Octopoda mitts made on tiny needles with my arthriticy hands to the wrong address and they’re never coming back!!) And moving on…!
For what it’s worth, I was knitting a sweater for my sister and frogged it twice AND had to fix the cabling in the front several times along the way. It was frustrating at the time, but I love how it came out in the end. I may end up making the same pattern for myself. Hang in there! Like @salmonmac said, you may want to take a break and come back to it later.
