Special Saturday Post!!
Thanks for all your extremely kind comments on the Pinwheel Sweater!
Yesterday afternoon I tried it on while knitting the first sleeve, just to get some idea of how long I need to make the sleeves.I couldn’t keep the freaking thing on — it kept falling off my shoulders. The only way it will ever stay on for me is if I pin it together in the front.
The problem is the lack of shoulder shaping, of course.
My first instinct was to stuff it in my knitting bag, to be ripped out. But I slept on it. Now I can’t decide if I want to finish it or rip it out and use the yarn for something else. I’ve got some time to think about it, because I know now I will run out of yarn, and the extra I ordered hasn’t been shipped yet — it’s still marked as “pending” when I check the order online.
I took some not-great photos in the mirror. I do like the back (but had a heck of a time photographing it.
And here’s the front.
So tell me . . . what do you think?
Loading ...Feel free to add opinions in the comments!
As you can see, Lucy thinks it’s just fine:
“I don’t see what the big deal is. “
I voted undecided. Your knitting is beautiful, and the sweater is not ugly, but I wouldn’t like to have a sweater that you have to keep pinned all the time.
I have a really pretty shrug I knit (from a pattern in a magazine) before I understood about the shouder shaping thing. I haven’t worn it once and I just decided this morning to rip it out and use the yarn for something else. I tried adding elastic at the neckline, I-cord ties, pins–but it was just wrong, wrong, wrong.
Kathleen
Rip it. It proves my point that if you have boobs, you can’t wear that line of sweater.
Also, in all the years I’ve read you, you strike me as a person who does not like to fuss with her clothes once dressed.
This sweater is going to be a constant fusser. You’ll always be checking to make sure it’s in the right place (unless you pin the brooch to the front of your bra through your clothes – don’t laugh, I’ve done it), and a fusser sweater is a sweater that won’t be worn.
Use that fabulous colour for something else. Not many of us can wear it. Nice to have something in common with Nicole Kidman, eh?
I think you should keep it for two reasons:
1. You don´t have anything simular
2. There are a lot of pins out there, go and get one or two…ore three….
I think you look fantastic in this sweater. Seeing it on you makes me want to knit one even after everything you’ve written. I don’t think it would look all that great if it wasn’t closed even if it stayed on.
You know, with these two pictures it’s hard to tell, but I know what that front would make my stomach look like. Can you graft the arm holes together and make it an actual shawl? The lace and the color are gorgeous, but fidgeting with it will make you bonkers.
If it’s not comfortable you won’t wear it. Rip it and use the yarn for something you’ll like.
Such a beautiful lace edging; pity to lose that!
I vote to keep it. You have put so much work into it and it is really beautiful. I believe the finished sleeves will give it a whole other look, and once you accept the fact that you may have to button it to keep it on, you may change your mind. As I recall, the finished sweater can be worn with the longer side on top or on the bottom. Have you also tried it the other way? I’ll bet it would be a very different look.
Hi Wendy,
You’ve done a beautiful job knitting it, the yarn is lovely, but the fit is much less flattering than it ought to be. It seems like the kind of garment that would be fiddly to wear, which is never any fun. Unless you can find a table w/unique construction that you could use this as a doily for, I am on the side of ripping it out.
Regretfully, Suzy
V pleased the edging worked out so well.
I’d like to see it on you the other way up to see if that works better – seems to me it might.
Before you rip I think you should try it on some friends with wider/squarer shoulders to see whether the problem is specific to you or whether it is a generally unsatisfactory garment – then you can decide whether to rip now or finish it and give it or sell it.
I once had a vest made this way, circular, and it did slip a lot when I first started wearing it. I just put a tie on it, about where you have the pin. However, the more I wore it, the less it slipped. It stretched a bit, as knitting will, and I learned how to wear it, probably unconsciously.
Maybe if you wear it over shirts or sweaters that aren’t slippery? I’m thinking of the thin knit cotton sweaters from Land’s End, for example. It looks so good on you that I hate to see you frog it. It’s got such a graceful hang. Cardigans have a nasty tendency to look dumpy and fattening, particularly from the rear, but this one doesn’t.
Well, I voted undecided only because the choices were too limiting! I guess I’d vote “It’s very cute, but if you will never wear it because it drives you nuts falling down your arms all the time, then rip it out and use that pretty yarn for something that you WILL want to wear often.” So that’s my vote.
(You blogged on Saturday!)
I am undecided because it depends on your knitting point of view. I think it is a very interesting project as a knitted object—and I find the geometry intriguing–its the kind of thing I would enjoy knitting. However, I would find it a pain to wear and would have to find the right person to give it to. So it depends on whether you see it as an art object where most of the labor has already been done and you don’t mind the “waste” of the yarn, or you don’t mind the hassles involved in wearing it because you are modeling a piece of art, or you have the right person to give it to who would enjoy having it or wearing it. I might knit it, photograph it and then rip it out unless i found someone who loved it madly and wanted it.
I have the same issue with my pinwheel – which is from Elann, but a different version of it. I love it, but I have to wear it closed with something. I made one for a friend who ADORES hers! Its a great sweater, very different and I get lots of compliments on it!
I think it’s more than cute, it’s beautiful and I think it needs the shawl pin, it just fits it. I think it’ll be even better with the sleeves. Don’t rip please! It’d so hurt me to see that. I’ll make you a deal, if you absolutely just hate it, well you send it to me and I will lovingly wear it! OK?!
I made my very first sweater( Kalamazoo form Berreco)r this past month and the same t hing happened with the shoulders. It looked beautiful off but not comfortable at all feeling like when you bra straps are coming down. My knitting friends say use duck tape or put shoulder []pads in there to catch it??? It seems painful to me to rip it out as for yours and all the work you put out – it would be torture!!
I can see in the picture it hangs akwardly on your shoulder but oh my it is absolutely gorgeous!!!!
i’d say keep it if you will really wear it. i think it’s cute and i would wear it!
Hmmm…tough one. I’m undecided. I love the sweater and you’ve done a beautiful job. But I do agree, that it’s not falling right or something. I can’t decide what it is exactly that’s not right, and I’m thinking that the sleeves might improve it a whole lot, you know? I just can’t visualize it without sleeves on. I say keep at it and you’ll either love it when it’s finished or you won’t and you’ve got a gift for someone…
It’s still gorgeous.
I was waiting to hear your verdict on this very subject. I had a feeling you would come to this conclusion. I made a sweater with very similar lack of shaping (in fact, I happen to be wearing it today). The lack of shoulder shaping means that you WILL have to keep it pinned in some way at all times. Mine drives me batty when I try to wear it without a pin. All I do is keep pulling it back up on my shoulders. Unless you are committed to finding a nice pin and learning to love it, you may as well rip because what you see it what you get.
Wendy – I’m in the RIP it camp. Its lovely yarn and if the cardigan/shawl keeps slipping off you won’t wear it. The last option is to finish it and gift it to someone who would love it and wear it.
I don’t know what has been said in the comments so far, but I LOVE the sweater! The edging is gorgeous, and I think that a pin adds to the beauty. Don’t rip! That’s my emphatic vote.
I voted to keep it, but along with everyone else agree it’s up to you: if you won’t wear it and can’t find a suitable giftee (incuding a charity), then rip it!
The edging and the collar are beautiful, and I love the idea of a shawl pin to close the front … thank you for both the knit edging pattern and for other uses for shawl pins.
I think it is cute–but I hate being uncomfortable. Will you wear it?
I must say that the knitting is beautiful and the edging is fabulous. That said, I do not like the back of the sweater how it falls and where it lands. The front with a shawl pin could be ok. But If you are having doubts now, you probably will not wear it. I know how that goes. Maybe just put it aside for a while and really think about it. I probably would rip.
I’m going to cry if you rip it. It looks so flattering, from the back and the front. No no no! Save that sweater! Surely you can find a big ol’ kilt pin to keep it on, or velcro the shoulders or something! xo kay
I’m one of the ones who voted Rip It even though I don’t think it’s ugly at all! It’s quite cute actually and you’ve done a beautiful job with it.
What decided me is ….. look at the model in the picture at Elann. Why does she have her hand on top of her head in both photos like she’s going to do a pirouette or something? And the other hand kind of sticking out akimbo – holding up a tree in one shot, and kind of sticking out at an odd angle in the other?
Answer – duh – it’s to prevent the sweater from dropping off her graceful shoulders, of course. I think the sweater pattern is one of those “nice idea” kinds of things. i.e. it seems like a pretty good idea to build a sweater that way, and very pretty really, but really there are shoulders on sweater patterns for a reason.
Before I voted I looked up a few more pictures online and at Ravelry and there is something very odd about the way this sweater sits on a human body. I saw one that seemed to fit the wearer normally, but she said in the comments that it kept sliding off of her shoulders! All of the others seemed oddly bunched-up at the neckline, presumably because that’s the only way it actually stays on.
So all in all – why throw good knitting time away on a garment that looks cute in the drawer but is a pain in the (ahem) to wear?
I voted rip it. I dunno. It looks funny. I don’t think you’d wear it. The yarn is too pretty to leave knit up in a sweater you’d never wear. But then again, you’ve done that before no? If you’re in it for the experience, then press on. But if you want something to wear after, rip it. A similar sweater, but one that will stay on you, I’d say the Pimlico Shrug from Knit2Together. I wear mine all the time. You can see it here: http://turtlegirl76.com/2007/03/07/the-pimlico-shrug/
I don’t do well with multiple-choice questions – can’t qualify the answer.
Can you fake a shoulder seam into it, hidden under the collar? (Pin it in first, to see.) Otherwise, you do need the shawl pin.
Have you seen these? (no affiliation, yada yada)
http://www.bosombutton.com/
It’s essentially a Swarovski crystal tie tac, to keep you blouse from gaping across the bust, but probably too small for a shawl. How about a large button with i-cord loop? Or i-cord ties attached where the edging meets the body?
It drives me nuts to put this much work into something, and then have issues that seem to be part of the design. There are several related patterns on the same site as this one, and I have to wonder about those as well. If you search the designer’s name on Google, you can find contact information to ask about it.
It’s a beautiful sweater, but am not voting because I don’t know how you feel when you wear it. If you don’t feel good in it, you won’t wear it…and why make something to give away if you wouldn’t wear it yourself? Trust your gut.
I voted rip it but not because it’s ugly. It’s too small. Either that or the sleeve placement is wrong. The front just plain looks too small/narrow. Even with the wide lace.
I voted to keep & finish it because it looks good on you and it’s so strikingly different.
OTOH, if it kept sliding off my shoulders it would drive me batty. OTOOH, if I had to clutch my sweater closed with one hand, at least I wouldn’t be sitting/standing around contemplating pulling out my project and knitting one little row…..or two…..
Wouldn’t the weight of the sleeves help keep the weight of the sweater more forward on your body once they are completed? It is a pleasing to look at the back side – perhaps don’t fold the collar so deep and reposition the pin on it too
Why, Wendy… I do believe that you’ve discovered the missing link between sweaters and shawls. Somebody alert the National Geographic Society!
Beautifully knit — but I can’t imagine on whom, or with what bottom (skirt/pants/tights?) it would be flattering.
The back is cute..the front is NOT. I don’t see how you can salvage the back without the front.
My vote was to rip it, but only the front!
It looks wonderful pinned. Keep it!
I went and took another look at the elann pattern – I wonder if the ‘not staying on’ quality is why the model has at least one arm raised in each photo???
It is a very interesting pattern and I love the edge lace.. but the lack of ‘shoulders’ would drive me bananas – (plus it would continually fall off my shoulders.) I suggest perhaps wearing it around the house for an afternoon and see if stays on before you continue….. it’s a cool pattern, but might not be wearable. sigh.
I would look at it as an opportunity to show off a lovely pin.
By the way, are you planning a yarn splurge after your year of knitting from the stash?
I’m a frequent reader but infrequent commenter. I like the pinwheel sweater on you a lot and think you should keep it. It is unusual and artistic, yet not outrageous. I haven’t been tempted to make it by any of the pictures while you were knitting it up but am tempted now that I’ve seen it on you. Why not wear it out and about before deciding.
The sweater is gorgeous. Did you try it on “the other way” ? Does that make a difference about how it stays on?
Great job….
My 2 cents worth (double your advice back if you are not satisfied): Wear it with the shawl pin shown in the ‘front’ photo. It looks terrific, to me. The lace edging is splendiferous!
I think it’s cute and I would keep it. It’s a nice cozy oversized shawl with sleeves but I think I would sew a big button or toggle on it because I would want it a bit more casual than fussy with a shawl pin. With a big button, it would be my “go to” topper when I felt chilly.
It’s gorgeous to look at but will you want to wear it? If you are a process knitter, then ripping out won’t be so bad because the yarn is beautiful. I would wear it for a week before deciding though. I voted undecided because it depends on how you feel wearing it. If it makes you feel divine or diva-esque that’s one thing. If it makes you feel frumpy or annoyed, that’s something else.
The edging is beautiful, but when the sweater is pinned, the triangles formed at the back of your shoulders make you look like a vintage sci-fi alien emissary. Dear me, that seems a bit harsh, but it’s what it reminded me of, so I voted for ripping.
I think it is pretty…the edging really makes it so. From that aspect, I’d say keep it. However, if it doesn’t float your boat and you’ll be unlikely to wear and enjoy it, then it’s probably better to rip it and put the yarn to better use on something you’ll genuinely enjoy.
The yarn is gorgeous, the sweater cute, the edging smashing, the workmanship excellent. However, are you willing to fuss with a sweater that won’t stay on without pinning? I vote for ripping and making something that won’t be frustrating to wear.
Tablecloth, sorry. It looks good on the table.
I said rip it, but not because it’s ugly. I love the edging especially. But really, if you’re not comfortable with the way it fits you and you’ll be fiddling with it when it’s on, you won’t wear it very often (the voice of experience speaking here). So why not use the gorgeous yarn and edging to make something you will enjoy wearing?
Pinning it closed in front creates a beautiful neckline that floats on your shoulders. It’s a very elegant look.
Have you thought about doing some short-rowing at the top of the sleeves to make a little bit of a sleeve-cap or pseudo-raglan shaping to give the thing some shoulders? I haven’t read the pattern so don’t know if this idea will work but maybe some extra fabric at the top of the sleeves would help the neckline ride higher and stay on better?
With a little tweaking it could stop being a beautiful, flattering colored tablecloth and become a wearable long shrug/shawl with sleeves.
If you figure out a way to do this please share!
I voted to keep it… With a gorgeous shawl pin it would look beautiful! It will probably never be an “everyday” type of sweater, but for dressing up it would be perfect!
Rip the sleeves, graft the openings closed and make a nice circular shawl out of it. Otherwise, rip it. I also think that it’s gorgeous, but if you won’t wear it, you won’t wear it.
Much as I love the idea of circular shawls-with-sleeves, I think they are a bit like batwing sweaters were in the 80s. They look so incredibly cool that everyone wants to make one, does so … and then finds out that human bodies don’t work like that. Batwings and sleeved circular shawls are the reigning king and queen of Knitting Ideas That Look Good in Theory But Just Don’t Work.
The work looks excellent. Remember we are very critical of our own work, so you have created a new pattern lol! Congratulations it looks verynice.
I actually think with short sleeves it will be nice. That is just another option. Also with a pin in front is looks good. The color is fantastic but then again green is my favorite color.
I made this sweater. To get it to go across my ample bosom the circle was so large it reached the back of my knees. Very bathrobe like. Hmmm… I got two giant snaps and snuggle with it around the house on chilly days. Not the cutest or best looking thing I have made, but it’s so comfortable to wear and knit it, I’m glad I made it.
It really is beautiful. The slipping problem should be alleviated by a shawl pin. For my pinwheel sweater, I’ve been using a Moving Mud shawl pin. Pictures are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkknitter/2072496766/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkknitter/2072496762/in/photostream/
I’m not totally happy with my Pinwheel because of the weight of the yarn … it’s too hot for inside & not warm enough for outside. But you knit your Pinwheel in a perfect weight for inside wear (IMO). Plus, it’s so elegant with the lace edging.
I have been debating whether or not to add this to my queue on Ravlery – now I know I want to knit it! It not only looks comfortable, but I know it will hide my “junk in the trunk”.
I LOVE IT!
Thank you so much for sharing. AND I will be sure to use your knitting edging. It’s absolutly beautiful.
IMHO- I think it looks great! So-what if you have to add a pin- it gives you an excuse to buy a “special” pin that maybe you fall in love with as soon as you see it! Have you searched the web and seen the latest designs?? If you do- I guarantee that you will find more than one to accent that gorgeous sweater!
I love it, you should totally keep it! Blocking will more than likely solve the shoulder-sliding problems (a good blocking can fix any number of screw-ups… er, design features). I’m knitting the same sweater myself in the Lara Cotton called for in the pattern, and I’ve had my doubts about the sizing – I’d love to pick your brain if that’s okay?
It is gorgeous!!
It’s very pretty actually. I like the look of it, and I’ve thought several times of knitting it for myself, except my tummy would show way too much for my liking! Then again… because of the way it sits on the shoulders, I’d probably rip it out anyway. That would just bug the crap out of me to no end, and I’d end up putting it away in a dark corner never to be worn again, so… I voted to rip it.
It’s cute, and very now. Love the lace edges, especially on the sleeves.
Keep it? No.
Rip it out? Um, are you short of yarn for other projects?
It’s pretty. It would be stunning on someone 6′ tall.
I know you’re not 6′ tall. Give this one up, you gorgeous Mophead.