a field guide to needlework
  • Tapestry
    • 1994 - 1999
    • 2000 - 2003
    • 2004 - 2007
    • 2008 - 2009
    • 2009 - 2012
    • 2013 - 2015
    • 2016 part one
    • 2016 - 2017
    • 2018
    • 2019
    • 2020
    • 2021
    • 2022
    • 2023
    • 2024
  • Newsletter
  • Store
  • Blog 2014-2021
  • About
  • Comics
    • Fatal Distraction
    • Manuscript Revised
    • Stripes
    • Enid and Crow >
      • Enid and Crow: Days In The Life
      • Enid and Crow: The Peregrinations
      • Enid and Crow: Color Choices
      • Enid and Crow: Carried Away
      • Enid and Crow: Somewhere!

Mending the Oak Bay Aran

4/18/2017

 
Picture
After seven years of hard wear and two cuff mends,
the bottom of my son's sweater had begun to fray.
Shoulder to cuff is my preferred way to knit sleeves, which makes cuff mending a simple matter of unraveling a few rows and re-knitting (with other yarn if necessary).
The cast on edge of a bottom up sweater is not, however, made for unraveling,
so I  went up an inch or so, snipped a strand of yarn, and pulled out one row all the way around, leaving a nice row of stitches to pick up and an inch of sweater to unravel for re-knitting (discarding the yarn from the bottom couple of rounds which was too weak and worn to re-use).
Foolishly, I picked the row right after a cable turn to snip to separate the two sections, so the unraveling was more awkward than it might have been.
Picture
But eventually I got it all sorted and reknit and cast off.  Starting an inch up means that next time I can unravel right from the cast off end which will be much simpler. 

The only drawback to picking up the stitches and going in the opposite direction is that the loops are half a stitch off, but with the cables this really isn't evident.
Picture
Mended cuff and hem of Oak Bay Aran
Nothing miraculous  about any of this,
but a good deal of satisfaction in keeping it going, and much pleasure in handling the sweater and the yarn again.
Picture
It was a thoroughly-planned garment that began with choosing the fleece (grey Rambouillet X)
and went on to months of spindle spinning,
endless samples plied, yarn dyed, swatches knit 
​and
​mailed across several states for perusal and approval.
Picture
Swatches! Samples! Decisions!
Final decisions on yarn weight and color led to massive plying (4 ply won out over 3), huge dyepots,  much  knitting, and even some swatch unraveling at the very end as all those cables used more yarn even than what I thought were overgenerous calculations.
Picture
Rambouillet X spindle spun singles waiting their turn on the Lazy Kate (I was using the wooden bobbins for storage but the toilet paper rolls were easier)
Amazing how much sun fading there has been-- the darker strip at the bottom is the same yarn that I took off, but it shifted just enough when reknit that it appears a different color. 

On the other hand, it's amazing how little fading there has been considering how hard this sweater has been worn, and how much it has been out in the weather.

So glad it can now get back to its exciting life.
Picture
Oak Bay Aran, mended and ready for more. ©SarahCSwett 2010
tilda
4/18/2017 11:33:38 am

just love mending and making a new fabulous out of an old dear sweater- making a terrific new life...neatly done indeed. and good tips
xo

Nancy
4/18/2017 11:43:09 am

Beautiful sweater.......and what dedication! Sounds like your son was a good client. I unraveled a garment from the bottom once to try to save it, and it actually worked. I've found that knitting can actually be more forgiving than one might suppose. You've certainly added to that belief. Cheers.

JANET Kovach
4/18/2017 03:17:56 pm

4.18.2017....
...fasciNATing post...
I love the greenish colored yarn and wonder how it was dyed? From Janet on the Atlantic coast.

sarah
4/20/2017 09:40:30 am

Hi Janet -- if you mean the green yarn in the cuffs, I can't say that I remember for sure, but it looks like the wonderful green that comes from over dying grey wool with yellow (weld? Osage Orange?).

Therese Coucher
4/18/2017 04:25:05 pm

The new cuffs are just so you! Beautiful and different.

I was looking at your color card with dye notes. I was happy to see question marks in the recipes. Much as I try to record exactly what I did, sometimes the heat of the moment just doesn't allow.

Your son is a lucky man!

Margaret stone
4/18/2017 04:34:52 pm

Fantastic! You use the same method my Mother taught me many years ago, snipping a thread and unravelling above the needed mend. I have used it often. Isn't it lovely to have garments worn by our children for years and years and so satisfying to keep them going? I have never,however, had the dedication you had to its original spinning, swatching, designing etc. Mine have been more 'fly by the seat of my pants' affairs! Thanks for another great post.

Mickey
4/18/2017 05:06:55 pm

How wonderful to be able to extend the life of a well loved sweater. And how marvelous to have someone who has cared for the sweater all those years. Makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Mary
4/18/2017 09:58:46 pm

I have never done cable knitting. I am in awe of your sweater! Such beautiful patterning! I have not had to repair any of my knitting so I quake at the idea of "snipping" stitches and knitting repairs! Duly impressed by the sheep to sweater!


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    ​Sarah C Swett 
    tells stories
    with
    ​ and about

     hand spun yarn. 


    Picture
    Click for info on
    my four selvedge
    warping class
    with
    ​ Rebecca Mezoff  
    fringeless


    Categories

    All
    Backstrap
    Books
    Cellulosic Experiments
    Clothes
    Coffee Filter Yarn
    Comics
    Distractions
    Dyeing
    Embroidery
    Hand Spinning
    Knitting
    Linsey Woolsey
    Looping
    Mending
    Milkweed
    Out In The World
    Plain Weave
    PVC Pipe Loom
    Shoes
    Sketchbook
    Slow Literature
    Tapestry
    Textile Tools
    Things To Wear
    Vague Instructions
    Willow

    Archives

    September 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014

things to make:
yarn . music . friends
whatever it is you cannot 

not
begin
Proudly powered by Weebly