Or should that be the worst of the worst? Anyhoo, taking a tip from Fresh Stitches, this Friday I’m going to feature some of my not so favorite FOs. And some things that never quite became FOs.
A long time ago, I tried knitting a sock from the toe up. It was the Waterfall pattern by Wendy Johnson. The problem wasn’t the pattern, it was the yarn. Apparently, it was from a bad batch because the nylon kept getting wound around the other plies and causing big slubs of nastiness. Well, you can read the full story here.
This is the lone survivor. A sad rememberence to bad yarn and knitter inexperience.
Then in 2011, I tried knitting up a plain vanilla sock. What was wrong? Well I was mostly winging it with no real clue as to what I was doing. And I ended up with this:
A super baggy instep and an oddly pointed toe. This has since been frogged, and the yarn has been salvaged. I just can’t bring myself to knit with it just yet, though. I was so excited for these socks. Again, this mistake is a testament to not listening to your inner voice. If your inner self is saying, “Something’s not right,” LISTEN TO HER!
Finally, here’s a not sock related fail. Right at the end of chemo I decided to crochet myself a sweater. Firstly, the yarn was all wrong for me. It was Knit Picks Shine Sport weight yarn. Which has cotton in it. I don’t like the feel of cotton yarn. It felt so slippery and dried out my hands like crazy. Not good if you’re experiencing neuropathy (numbness in the extremities) like I had in my finger tips.
Not only did I not swatch, I also didn’t measure myself. Nor did I really measure what I was doing. At the very least, I should have measured a sweater to figure out what size to make the different pieces. When I finally did finish the front and back, I washed it and it grew. And grew. And grew. I remember it was a Friday night, 10pm when I finally admitted defeat. The SGT looked and said, “So, who is that for? I think it’s too big for you.”
Moral of my stories? Listen to your inner knitter when she says something’s off. Always measure and make a gauge swatch.
For more FOs, check out Tami’s blog.
6 Responses to “FO Friday: The Best of the Worst”
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I once made a pair of socks for my Hubby that ended up be so small that I gifted them to an 11 year old girl. I agree with you. When your inner knitter is talking to you it’s best to listen.
The inner knitter is very wise, but she speaks quietly and is often ignored.
Oh I hate knitting with cotton as well. I can’t blame my fingers, but it does dry out my skin too. It’s kinda fun to see the “fails” – much better to parade them than hide them
Ah, well, we learn from experience, right? You’re braver than I am to show your flubs. I usually RIP in private and pretend it never happened.
Things like this always teach us crafters something yeah? Hope you can salvage the yarn for something else.
oh, how do they go so wrong?!? But, they’re at least *a little* amusing