I have finally finished Glade and I have to say – I’m not a happy knitter.
After slogging through 10 pattern repeats on the bottom hem and spending another £20 on extra yarn I was looking forward to something fabulous. I blogged all about the needle size problems and “yarn munching” in my previous Glade post. I won’t bore you with going through that all again. Sufficient to say, this garment took 20 balls of yarn!
The final part of edging was a cute little 4 row pattern that was sewn all around the front open edge – the pattern was refreshingly easy but it took me just as long to sew it on neatly as to knit it – it does really finish it off well though.
Here is the finished article…
What’s happened to my hands?? A serious power tool accident while renovating my garden knitting chair 😯 ?? What’s all the baggy stuff around the waist?? Oh no!! – my head is missing! (OK – the head missing is nothing to do with Glade – I am the world’s least photogenic person!)
It’s too damned big.
I knit the 34″ chest size (second size) as I do with all Rowan patterns. Heck, that’s the size I am! It has come up huge! I have even just whipped out my tape measure and had one last check of my tension on the stocking stitch – in fact, I’m half a stitch and half a row tight if you want to be picky (not enough to change needles) so this should have been a little tight!
I sought advice from my knitting pals at my Sunday morning knitting group – we decided that I’ll have to fasten it like this….
Wrapped over, double breasted style…
That helps a lot and I have spare ribbon to change the way it ties so it’s do-able but really – should I have to do this?
And then there’s the sleeves…
They are past my fingertips and look comical. I could shorten the stocking stitch part and reattach the edging but I’d be pretty close to joining the hem at the armhole! The best the girls and I could come up with is to put elastic and some more ribbon in them so they are permanently pushed up? Or I have my arms perpetually bent to stop them slipping down. The real question is – was Martin Storey designing for a woman or a chimp? The schematics in the pattern say the sleeves are 50 cms long – mine are shorter – 48cm- because of the edging debacle. What was he thinking?
This was the first RYC pattern I’ve knitted and I can’t see me ever knitting one again. I am a seriously disappointed, unhappy knitter.
| Completed Knit Report | ||
| Name: | Glade by Martin Storey | |
| Pattern: | RYC Nature | |
| Yarn: | RYC Bamboo soft | |
| Pattern Problems: | A brief summary – Insufficient information published regarding tension in the pattern for the hem edging. Suspected wrong needle size for Hem edging. Sizing for body much too big. Used 6 more balls than given amount (probably due to wrong needle size/too tight tension on edging). | |
| Pattern Modifications: | Shortrow shaped shoulders and did a three needle bind off. | |
| Washing and Wearing: | Impossible to wear if you want to do anything – the sleeve dangle in everything. Sleeves are sagging and bagging after 4 hours of wear. | |
| Knit It Again???: | Never, ever in a million years…. | |
| Difficulty: | 3/5 Looks a lot harder than it is but does require careful sewing on of the trims and care not to split yarn. | |
| Rating: | 1/5 | |
| Previous postings relating to this | Blinkers on, I’m knitting Glade
Glade edging and Flimsy Needles | |
I’m so sorry you’re not pleased now it’s finished. It’s so disappointing when patterns don’t work out.
And I’m seriously worried about mine now. The knitting is finished – it just needs sewing together and checking I’ve knitted enough border and edge. But even though I only did 2 pattern reps on the sleeves I still needed more yarn than quoted so it must be bigger than it should be.
If mine comes out as big as yours my daughter is definitely not going to be pleased. She likes a nice close fit which is why I chose the smallest size. I’m very worried about the sagging and bagging. The yarn seems to have a lot of “give” in it and that edging is so heavy.
PS Could you take out the sleeves and “reshape” the sleeve head (a bit like cutting a steek) so that they were shortened from the top? Or – probably a more practical suggestion – take off the lower sleeve edging and re-attach it at the top of the garter stitch section.
It looks good as a wrap cardi. But I agree, you shouldn’t have to do that.
Oh my god, you must be seething. I mean, it looks great as a wrapover, it really does. But the sleeves though – you have to do something about them. This is actually too nice a garment not to wear. Find a way to fix the sleeves. Then send something nasty to Martin Storey. How about a horse’s head in his bed, that should do it.
Hello – I’d email Rowan and have a rant at them. If you are 100% sure that this isn’t a tension slippage then this isn’t right and you should complain loudly. And on the Rowan board too. They only learn and print corrections/check patterns when someone kicks up a right rumpus. It’s such a shame it’s a bit big as it’s absolutely gorgeous.
Just wanted to add that I think this is a striking garment made of one of the softest yarns and (as one of the happy band of Guilty Knitters who saw it in the flesh) beautifully knitted. A real feat of endurance that you have every right to feel very proud of. Well done Sue but never again eh!
See you Sunday
Jane (A Guilty Knitter!)
Although it doesn’t look the way you imagined it would, I would say it looks really lovely on. I had really fancied making it but now not so sure! It really hasn’t been an easy knit for you which it certainly looks like from the pattern. Hope the next thing you knit is more straightforward. Enjoy wearing it!
Oh dear, I’m just so sorry that this has been such a let down. Having seen you knitting it and the quality of your work, I would be simply livid that it’s such a disappointment. I know how hugely enthusiastic you were about the pattern etc and now this – infuriating to say the least. It will be very interesting to hear what Rowan have to say about it – if nothing else they should compensate you for the extra yarn used. I’m sure the Rowan rep at JL will be keen to see it.
What a shame! So much work and it looks lovely too. Have you considered getting your arms lengthened? Just a thought…
Hello, I’m from switzerland. I also tried to knit “Glade”. I have the same problems. I changed the needles to 3,25 to knit the hem, but I have definitley not enough yarn. So I try to knit “Meadow” one size smaller. Because I think the knitting is growing bigger during wearing.
Happy Easter
Sabina
Hi,
Thank you so much for sharing this – I recently finished a little cardigan called Jen by Kim Hargreaves, in RYC Bamboo Soft. It seemed to measure up really well, but when I had sewn it all together it had grown massively!! Even stranger – I actually had 1 and a half skeins left after finishing.
Did you try tumble-drying Glade? I’d love to know if there was any magic cure. I’ve shared your post on my blog, because your post was really helpful.