A Difficult Choice

Over this Thanksgiving holiday, I've been finishing things up.  I got a lot done on Betty.   I steeked the arm holes, and seamed them into the sweater body.

Alas, the sweater is too small.  I tried it on to show a couple of people, and their response is "Well, maybe it could work...", or "It's not really that bad."  But, I know myself when it comes to the sweaters I knit.  If I feel uncomfortable in them before they're finished, I'm likely to never wear them once they're done. So I think I've got a few options, some of which I've ruled out already.

1. I could finish the sweater and try to block it out and wear it.  I don't want to do this.  I don't think it will result in success.

2. I could frog this sweater and re-knit the pattern in a larger size.  I think I'm kind of "done" with this pattern for the moment.  I don't want to knit it again.

3. I could give this sweater to a smaller person, like my mother. My mom tried it on, and it fit her pretty well.  But she seemed pretty uncomfortable when she was wearing it, and she admitted that she would be too nervous to wear it very often because she would be afraid of ruining it.

4. I could frog the sweater and use the yarn to knit a different pattern. I cannot get all of the yarn back from this sweater because it's steeked past the armholes, but that leaves a large part of the body and sleeves that can be salvaged.  I also have about 600 yards of this yarn that's un-knit, so I think there's enough to do something with it.

Are there any other options I'm missing? I've been thinking about it for a couple of days now, and I'm leaning towards option 4, but I'm open to suggestions. I was thinking about option 3, but my mom really didn't seem comfortable with the idea, and I think she was the best candidate to wear the sweater.

I think that the sweater was fitting when I was knitting it.  Perhaps it shrunk some when I blocked it?  Anyway, I'm sad that it didn't work out, and I hope I'll be able to move on soon!

Comments

[willemtje]

What if you made it into a cardigan?

[grumperina]

Where is it too small? All over? Because if it's just across the chest, you can add a few inches when you make it into a cardigan (I see the stitches for steeking, so I'm guessing you were going to cardigan-ize anyway). If it's too small all over, maybe you can salvage the lower half and the sleeves, and reknit the colorwork and shoulder sections to be bigger? Otherwise, I think I would choose option 4, too. Good luck!

[Lisa R]

I second Willemtje. Cardiganize it. You're planning on steeking the front anyway, just continue it all the way down. Depending on how much larger it needs to be, the button bands could make up the difference.

[Sarah]

I had a very similar experience once and I actually sold the sweater to a coworker. I think I made about a $40 profit on the yarn, which obviously doesn't cover labor, but it was nice knowing that someone would love the sweater I put so much time and effort into knitting.

[Mildawg]

My first thought was like the commenters above - steek it into a cute cardigan, and you don't have to button it up all the way!

[Shortly]

Yep, totally with the steek-into-a-cardigan crew. That was my first thought too - and it will be so cute!

[Chrispy]

why not block it in its current state. If it fits then you haven't cut into it. I suspect as superwash sock yarns, they will grow more than you expect.

Since it is a cardigan, you can always add a bit more onto the button band to make it a bit wider easily.

[Brenda]

Since it is a cardigan pattern to begin with, I'd really opt for #4, especially if it doesn't fit in the shoulders/arms area. Sometimes the radical change is the best, like when you changed your job.