I thought this would be a post about a Finished Object, as I washed and blocked my Akoya cardigan with a sense of relief …
Almost.
With a sinking heart, I gave in to the nagging suspicion that the sleeves were several centimetres too long. The extra length caused the lace section to bunch around my wrist. I didn’ t like it.
As the sleeves are joined to the body by a yoke, I had two choices – live with it, or take drastic action.
Knowing that the cardigan would remain unworn if I took option 1, I took a deep breath and fetched the scissors.
I carefully picked up one ‘leg’ of each stitch on the row above the lace pattern.
Then snipped the yarn on the row beneath. No going back!
I carefully eased the thread from each stitch until the lower part of the sleeve was completely free, and the sleeve stitches were ‘live’ on the needle.
I’m now reknitting the 2×2 rib, ‘top down’, to create a new cuff. As a result, I won’t have the lace pattern on the sleeve, only the small cable that was at the top of the original pattern. I contemplated removing an additional 10 cm, and starting the cable higher up to be able to replicate the full lace/cable pattern, but decided that the ‘join’ and change of knitting direction might be less noticeable at the rib. Besides, the amount I needed to remove was exactly the depth of the lace section. This seemed to be a good compromise.
The crinkles should ease when I re-wash it.
And then no one need ever know it was meant to look any other way 😉
I’ll fill you in when I’ve finished it!
Have you ever taken the scissors to your knitting to carry out an alteration like this? Was it successful? I’d love to hear about it!
🙂
yarnsmithery 
I will rip back, but I cannot bring myself to take scissors to my knitting.
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It’s nerve-wracking, I have to admit, but it felt like the only solution in this case. Let me know if you give it a go! Thanks for commenting – I appreciate it 🙂
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If I ever have to do this, I’m handing it over to you!
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That’s one option 😉 Or I could run a how-to workshop? 🙂
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That’s a scary step=you are brave! But looks like it will work.
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It wasn’t an easy decision, but I knew in my heart that I wouldn’t wear it as it was. One of those ‘put it on and take it straight off again’ garments that would never see the light of day. At least this way it has a chance. Thank you for commenting – I appreciate it 🙂
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Oh drat, sorry you had to give up the lace on the sleeves 😮 But nonetheless, very clever! Perhaps you should have videoed it, since I hope you won’t EVER have to do it again, lol.
I still haven’t steeked my cardigan, it’s that scissor thing… !!!
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Thanks – it was scary and not perfect, but a good compromise! I’m not sure I’m up to video yet, but it’s definitely something to consider 😉 I’ll look into it! I completely understand about the steering … Go for it, good luck and let me know how it goes! 🙂
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Brave! But worth it…the sweater is just beautiful!
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Thank you 🙂 I was pleased with it apart from the sleeve length, so it seemed a shame to give up on it. It has come so far, it deserved the extra effort to get it over the finishing line! It’s currently drying, so I’m curious to see how it turns out. I’ll keep you posted! 🙂
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