With mixed success. Keeping it honest around here!
Alternatively: What I made with the potato sweater, Part Two.
It all started out so well… beautiful yarn, beautiful pattern, what could go wrong?
Well, it turns out that my brain has a limit to how complicated a pattern can be before making it in small bits annoys me. This was meant to be my “purse project”. The one I stuff in my bag and knit a few rows at a time when I am waiting somewhere. Having to look up where I am in the pattern every single time I picked it up was a bit of a mood killer. I quickly abandoned that plan and just decided to wing it. (Are you starting to notice a theme here?)
The only thing I kept from the original pattern was the stitch count and the inch of ribbing at the bottom. I made a simple eyelet pattern to keep things a bit more interesting and just knit straight up. I figured that I could worry about the arm and neck holes when I got there. I learned from my mistakes in the Part One sweater ( https://www.hodgepodgehomesteading.com/2023/09/22/what-i-made-with-the-potato-sweater-part-1/ ) and used a smaller needle size. So far this has made a huge difference in how well the top holds it’s shape!
My brilliant plan for how to shape the top, was just to lay it out on top of a tank top I liked the fit of and then increase/decrease accordingly. This… sort of worked? The shape is almost right. The armholes are a bit wide and almost make miniature sleeves. I have also learned that ribbing or some kind of edging is more than a design feature. My tank looks kind of sloppy without a more finished edge. I also somehow either changed my gauge or accidentally started knitting the wrong way at this point? If you look closely you can see the line. I got lucky and it is at a point where you can kind of pretend that it is a design feature though.
The Verdict:
Is it my favorite thing I have made? No. Is it still something I will wear or use? Yes, I think so. I may try adding some trip to the neckline, but other than that it fits and I like it enough that I won’t unmake it.
Also, I still somehow still have yarn left over form the potato sweater. But not enough for top round 3, don’t worry!
For the potato sweater joke, you can read the original post here: https://www.hodgepodgehomesteading.com/2023/05/12/making-yarn-from-thrifted-sweaters/
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