Sweater Woes

Pooh Corner

Pattern: Jules by Julie Hoover
Yarn: Swans Island Natural Colors Merino Worsted in Teal
Needles: US 7 & 8
Project Page

I finished the sweater and it looks much better than I thought it might, but it's not all I had dreamed. :P I wanted one that fit me like the model's fits her, but I was too dumb to read beforehand that the model is wearing a sweater two sizes larger than the one I chose to knit (the size that is my size). So now I have this pretty sweater that fits me well, just not in the same way I had hoped it would. The sleeve bind-off is too tight on both sleeves, so I'm going to redo them, binding off regularly instead of tubularly and see if that make me even a smidgen happier.

So now I'm sort of at a loss what to do. Should I block the crap out of it and see if I can get it a bit bigger and drapier (you can see in this picture it's sort of bunchy and not very flowing)? Should I frog it and find another project (the third for this yarn)? Should I just come to terms with the fact that it's not exactly what I wanted but it's still pretty great and just wear it anyway?

There's a beautiful stack of straw-colored Cascade 220 at my LYS that has been beckoning to me since February or so. I decided the moment I put this sweater on that that yarn would become my dream Jules (Return to Pooh Corner, you'll see! ;]). I'll have it one way or another, the question is merely what to do with this one.

Notes for my next go-'round (and yours, because you should if you like this style of clothing): make it two sizes lager, don't do the written selvedge edge, just a regular one, and remember to do the tubular bind-off at the neck edge (and maybe the lower hem, but definitely the neck edge) so it will keep its shape.

The pattern is great, as all Julie Hoover and Brooklyn Tweed patterns are. My now common complaint about Brooklyn Tween patterns is that they are incredibly long (this one is 13) and the information is either at the front or the back, but it's hard to know which, so there is a lot of page flipping. The yarn is really soft and beautiful, but I can't tell you how many times I had to rinse it before the water finally ran clear. Not to mention the dye it left on my hands every time I knit with it. I won't bother buying it again.

I'll redo the sleeve bind-offs and let you know what becomes of this thing. I try pretty hard to be certain I'll love the sweater I'm making, but I missed a step or two here. My last sweater was the same way, but I can blame that on the yarn pretty squarely (mostly). This one is my fault.