Ugh!

I've been cheerfully knitting along on my CowlTop.  I tried on the sample at the Morehouse Merino party, and I've been excited to get this knit done so I could wear it.  There was a little bit of trouble along the way.  I only got enough yarn for the size small, but I found out later the store sample was a size medium, and I had to order more yarn.  That was a simple problem to solve.

This might not be.

How can the "sleeves" on the thing I just knit look so awful when I tried on the store sample and it looked great? 

Want a side shot?

Ugh.  I think that I'll knit up the neck (but probably not nearly as cheerfully or devotedly), try blocking it and see how it looks.  If it still looks dumb, I can make some more reasonable shoulder seams and cut away the excess.

Sigh.  Any other suggestions?

Comments

[David]

Stupid sleeves not listening to the sample! :(

[Brenda]

I agree with David. How too bad! I've been tricked by sneaky magazine photography in the past, but you TRIED ON the sample. I'm sure you'll come up with a good solution as you are very visual and smart. I'm just sorry that you have to go to such lengths. The color is very pretty.

[Ruth]

Perhaps it will get smaller and drapier with a good wet blocking? Maybe? It is a bit.... dramatic, isn't it?

[kim]

Oh, how frustrating. I'm confident that you will come up with the perfect solution!

[Liz K.]

I was going to suggest a good wet-block, which gives a lot of yarns a nice drape. You could also rip out the sleeves and knit them at a looser gauge, but compensate by decreasing more stitches at the neckline...

[stacey]

that is very annoying! maybe calling them and seeing what they say? block for sure, but if that doesn't work, I'd give a call...maybe they can let you email whoever knit the model?

[Jacquie]

Oh, nooooooooooes! :(

I hope blocking fixes the issue. And I hope you still love it after you're done. The colour is great on you!

[Amy]

Definitely block, since it seems like (from the pictures) the problem is that your fabric is just stiffer than the sample?

No ideas if that doesn't work, but oof! I'm so sorry. :(

[Oiyi]

Woah! That is a huge sleeve.

[Jessica]

Hmmm... that's weird. I wonder if the sleeves were knit at a different gauge and it was forgotten in the pattern? My experience with Morehouse yarns makes me believe that blocking probably won't make much of a difference, but it might be worth a try. It definitely seems like something about the fabric is too stiff. They draped so nicely on the sample... perhaps another call is in order...

[Ariel]

Hoping a good blocking solves the problem! Though I'm beginning to wonder if there's some sort of bad sleeve juju going around???

[Stella]

It looks like more of a drape issue than a size issue, am i right? Which makes me think the old "maybe blocking will help" thing might actually pan out this time.

[Tanya]

I'm sure it will all come out in the blocking. My thoughts are with you....

[Mintyfresh]

woah. that's . . . intense. make them much, much smaller if at all possible!

[Nora]

Oh, how bloody annoying! Fingers crossed that it will all be ok once blocked.

[tiennie]

How frustrating! Could it be a drape issue with different yarn (not knowing if it was the same yarn.) I hope it all works out !

[pamela wynne]

wha?? that sucks!
keep us posted -- we're all rooting for you!

[Beth S.]

It's kind of futuristic-looking, isn't it? ;-)

[Christine]

Maybe a smaller size needle for the "sleeves?" Good luck with it, I'm sorry that this is so frustrating.

[=Tamar]

Others have suggested blocking may help, and that the texture might be stiffer. So having looked at the photograph you linked to, I'll ask the next dumb question: were there some decreases somewhere that were left out of the pattern? Can you contact the publisher too see if there's an errata sheet? Because it looks to me like the shoulder slopes down without any folds or wrinkles, and I think that means some decreases somewhere.

[Kim]

Crapola! How did that happen? Too weird. So disappointing for you. :( The huge sleeves remind me of Yoda's ears.

[Lynne E.]

Did you use a three-needle bindoff for the shoulders? If so, I'd take it out, and substitute grafted shoulders, to get the smooth, less-firm shoulder line. After that you may still have a problem, because the cowl neckline is not going to pull the shoulders in much. I wonder whether you needed a smaller size across the shoulders? I'd consider ripping back to the neckline split, and adding decreases so that the shoulders won't stick out so much.

[Jean]

So weird. It looks like you have more sleeve than the sweater in the picture. Seems like there must be a discrepancy between the pattern as written and how the sample was knit. I'm definitely in the crowd hoping that a good blocking will resolve some drape issues, but you may also need to do some pattern tweaking. It's totally annoying but if anyone can resolve this, it's you! Good luck!