Dulce De Leche Decisions

First off, I decided to frog my Dulce de Leche sweater in December.  After the problem I had with Betty, I could tell that I was on the wrong track with DdL. But I loved the design and decided to try it again with a larger needle and a larger size. I finished knitting the body of the sweater recently, and it fits! But, if you look at the original photo and the modeled shots on Ravelry, you might notice that this has a pretty deep neckline. 

This might not have bothered me a few years ago when I was a computer programmer, but now I'm a teacher who works with children who are about 3 1/2 feet tall.  Necklines definitely need to be considered. Ahem.

So, what to do?  I see several options here.

1. Rip out the front part of the sweater and re-do the neckline higher. This is my favorite option, I think.  But then, do I continue the short rows to make the gathering at the placket?  If I don't continue them, will it look dumb to have gathering on the lower part and straight on the upper part?

2. Rip out to the beginning of the placket and start over from there.  This would take away the problems from #1, but that would mean taking out a lot more knitting.  Also, I assume the short row shaping from the placket accommodates some bust fit issues, and taking them out might cause problems. If I rip back this far (about 3 inches before armhole shaping), I could basically make any sweater I wanted-- patterned yoke, seamless construction, etc.  But I was looking forward to trying the sleeves as written, and I think I'd like to go ahead with that.

3.  Stop worrying about it, and finish the sweater.  I can always wear a shirt under it.  Nope, I'm not going to do this.  This option is mainly here to prevent getting this suggestion :)  I think it's a hassle finding the right shirt to go under such a sweater, and it would be more likely that I don't wear the sweater as a result.  Also, I want DdL to look like it fits me, not like I have to do something to make up for fit issues. The great thing about knitting is being able to modify projects to fit the intended recipient!

I think this might just depend on trial and error, starting with the first option, and moving to the second if I can't get the first one to work.  Do you have any thoughts or suggestions?

Comments

[Mildawg]

I think you should go with #1. There are plenty of tops I've seen that only have gathers on a small part.

[SueO]

Or you could knit an insert in the same yarn but in plain stockinette with a bit of a lacy top edge and just sew it in place. I did something similar years ago to a V-neck sweater but since it was a purchased sweater I used plain white for the insert. It looked like I had a camisole on beneath it and was always complimented.

Just a thought!

[grumperina]

The only thing I can think of... is there any extra room in the shoulders? If you can take away even 1" from the armholes, you might be able to hike up the front enough to make you comfortable.

[Brenda]

I would try #1. I wonder if you could taper the short-row gathers so that they die out gradually as you increase the length of the placket.

That is a gorgeous color!

[Meg]

I think that if the bottom of the gathering on the bust hits you in a good place, I would rip back and continue the placket/gathering thing for a inch or two more - however high you want it to go. I definitely think it would look odd to have straight knitting above the gathers.

[Meredith C.]

I'm for option #1 and continuing the short row gathers. Maybe making them less pleated, if that is possible, as you get towards the top would look best, as Brenda suggested. But to eliminate the gathers entirely for the last couple inches would probably look odd. On the other hand, the idea of the gathers is to make room for "the girls" and the last inch or two is above "the girls," right? I bet if you emailed Marnie, she would help you figure this out. I read her blog and she's really very nice. She got right back to me when I had a question about one of her designs. Good luck!