Finally, finally, I finished up my Cowl Top from Morehouse Merino. This vest was the first thing I started knitting after Rhinebeck, and then it sat for a very long time after the great sleeve disaster.
After all of your suggestions, I blocked the vest, and it draped beautifully. But the sleeves were still too big. I finally pulled out my sewing machine (there was no way I wanted to rip this back and re-knit it!) and made a seam to make the sleeves smaller. I had a little bit of trouble with this as the bottom part fed through faster than the top did, and I had to rip out a few times. I should have pulled out my walking foot, but I ended up using my fingers to feed the fabric through to my satisfaction. After I was satisfied with the fit, I cut off the extra fabric.
To give you an idea of what I had to do, here's a small schematic.
I sewed across the red lines. This really changed the shape of the sleeves, and didn't make them look quite so... dramatic. I really had no idea what I was getting into with this pattern. The schematic is not what you would expect to see. It was a picture of the modeled sweater with numbers drawn over top of it. If I had realized that the sleeves looked like the above, I might have done something about it sooner.
The end result, however, is an oversized, cozy top. I wouldn't have chosen to have all of the frustration, but I do like the top now that it's done.
Pattern: CowlTop from Morehouse Farms
Yarn: Morehouse Merino 3 strand, 7 skeins
Needles: US 9
PS: My blog got some love recently. A post to pass it on is coming soon!
It came out great!! I bet that it is *very* warm too. Your ability with the sewing machine definitely saved this one. :)
Posted by: Jessica | January 26, 2008 at 04:19 PM
I've always loved cowl necks! Looks great!
Posted by: Tanya | January 26, 2008 at 04:30 PM
You are so clever. I wouldn't have the nerve to sew/cut my knitting. Great job.
Posted by: kim | January 26, 2008 at 04:54 PM
Perfect!
Posted by: Ruth | January 26, 2008 at 05:04 PM
Cute. I think that color looks great on you!
Posted by: Bea | January 26, 2008 at 05:21 PM
what a clever fix - great looking top, too!
Posted by: stacey | January 26, 2008 at 05:32 PM
Great job with the sleeves! Alas, I do not sew (other than the occasional button) and could never duplicate your work with the sewing machine.
Posted by: Linda | January 26, 2008 at 08:12 PM
I should learn how to sew. Last time I did horribly. Your top, however, looks very nice. :)
Posted by: Sacha | January 26, 2008 at 08:43 PM
I'm so glad you were able to save this sweater because it really is adorable. (Love the color!) I'm sorry for all the aggro getting there, but your persistence definitely paid off. Great job!
Posted by: Jean | January 26, 2008 at 10:42 PM
Hi Kristy. I really love your blog and would like to subscribe to its RSS feed, but the articles in the feed only have a measly sentence or two, and I know from experience that I don't tend to read or click through those. Any chance you could provide a full feed? You'd get at least one new reader out of it.
K.
Posted by: Kirrily | January 27, 2008 at 01:25 PM
Very cute! I can't imagine what it would have looked like with the "extra" sleeve parts. You did a nice job fixing it!
Posted by: stacey | January 28, 2008 at 09:06 AM
You sure worked hard on that vest & it paid off! Love the color and the texture and it looks so comfy & cozy. Excellent photo with kitty in the background.
Posted by: Kim | January 28, 2008 at 11:34 AM
You are both clever and brave. :-)
Posted by: Beth S. | January 28, 2008 at 03:08 PM
Aaaah, the things we do! :) I would've done the same... It looks beautiful.
Posted by: Nora | January 28, 2008 at 03:12 PM
I think you solved the problem very nicely! It looks very wearable now, and the color is quite nice.
Posted by: Brenda | January 28, 2008 at 05:20 PM
I think you solved the problem very nicely! It looks very wearable now, and the color is quite nice.
Posted by: Brenda | January 28, 2008 at 05:21 PM
Way to find a way to make it work! It looks great.
Posted by: Stella | January 28, 2008 at 09:03 PM
I love it when people whip out the schematics. I like this cowl. I am obsessed with cowl sweaters for some reason. I feel like I need to knit one. But the last thing I need to start right now is another sweater.
Posted by: nova | February 01, 2008 at 07:16 PM