The Growing Jacket...
I've copied and pasted an e-mail I received below, if anyone has any suggestions for Dawn, please do post them here, she checks the KAL blog regularly!!! Also, if anyone does have contact info for Norah Gaughan, let me know...I haven't come across any yet.
"Amby,I am not a member of your knit along, but have been watching the progress online for a while. I finished my own jacket yesterday and washed it to block it. I am using the suggested yarn, which is wonderful, but now have a major problem! Once my sweater hit water, it stretched to twice it's original width.
I was wondering if you have contact information for the designer so I could ask if I am the only one, or if there is a simple solution. I would also like to know if this has happened to anyone else in the KAL. I see that a few of the people are using the suggested yarn. I have contacted Berroco about it and hope that they might write back, but I'm not sure.
If nothing else, I'd like to pass on what happened to me to your KAL so that others using the same yarn can be careful. I think that washing the swatch before taking the gauge would help. It really is a wonderful yarn, but I would hate to see anyone else go through this, since I think that I'll probably have to frog it and start over.Thank you for any information you have, and for passing along my warning.
Dawn"
"Amby,I am not a member of your knit along, but have been watching the progress online for a while. I finished my own jacket yesterday and washed it to block it. I am using the suggested yarn, which is wonderful, but now have a major problem! Once my sweater hit water, it stretched to twice it's original width.
I was wondering if you have contact information for the designer so I could ask if I am the only one, or if there is a simple solution. I would also like to know if this has happened to anyone else in the KAL. I see that a few of the people are using the suggested yarn. I have contacted Berroco about it and hope that they might write back, but I'm not sure.
If nothing else, I'd like to pass on what happened to me to your KAL so that others using the same yarn can be careful. I think that washing the swatch before taking the gauge would help. It really is a wonderful yarn, but I would hate to see anyone else go through this, since I think that I'll probably have to frog it and start over.Thank you for any information you have, and for passing along my warning.
Dawn"
Labels: Yarn
posted by Amby at 7:29 PM
7 Comments:
I'll email this to Dawn as well...
My swatch of Berroco Pure merino did the exact same thing -- but dried down to its original size. I'd suggest smooshing your sweater into the final dimensions that you're shooting for, then seeing what you have once it's completely dry.
Thanks for the heads-up!
Sweaters with a lot of ribbing can be tricky - tricky to measure the gauge and tricky to know what size to make. You are so right - it's very important to treat your swatch as you will treat you sweater. Washing your swatch would have told you how the yarn reacts to water. You also would have seen how much the ribbing stretched out when washed. Had you done this it's possible you would have chosen to use a smaller needle.
Now that your garment is complete, you should rewet your sweater. Be VERY careful to hold it completely in your hands when taking out of the water. Don't let it stretch out! Get as much extra moisture out as you can by sqeezing it in your hands and with a towel without twisting. Do as Adrienne says - lay you sweater out to the disired dimensions, squishing it up if you have to and let it air dry.
Norah Gaughan
Design Director
Berroco Inc.
How about contacting the designer via Interweave? The following is cut and pasted from their website.
Mail: Interweave Knits Magazine
201 E. Fourth St.
Loveland, CO 80537
E-mail: knits@interweave.com
Phone: (800) 272-2193
(Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. MST)
Fax: (970) 669-6117
Good luck.--Dorathy
Oops--I just realized Nora Gaughan already responded. Sorry.--Dorathy
wow, I am so honored that Nora Gaughan, the designer, is actually checking out our KAL and responded. How cool, thank you Nora, your pattern is awesome. Lori
I'm using the yarn that the pattern also was originally knit in, and I'm making the larger size because I don't like things to fit too tight. This may be an advantage for me. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Definitely let us know how it works out, Dawn!!!
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