Blocking Woes: From Bad to Worse

Have you ever noticed that one mistake often leads to another, and yet another?

Let me refresh your memory of the last mishap with the Classic Twist sweater:

I finished knitting it, and deciding it was a tad snug, blocked it by steam blocking. Unfortunately, I was watching TV at the time and so wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing. The sad result was a Classic Twist sweater for a hippopotamus.

After nearly fainting from horror, I sent out a desperate plea for help, and you dear bloggers responded with comforting advice: put it in the washing machine. So, after considering such sage advice, I did so. This would no doubt have been the happy conclusion of a sad story, had it not been for the fact that I stupidly relied on my stitch holders to hold the neck stitches during the wash cycle.

Yes, I can hear your gasp of horror. Believe me, mine was much, much worse. What was I thinking? I have no idea. I must assume that I wasn't thinking at all. What other excuse do I have for throwing a nearly completed sweater in the washing machine with live stitches loose?

Imagine my utter shock as I opened the lid of the washing machine and found a green sodden mass of yarn - not nicely knitted yarn, mind you, but horribly twisted green yarn. The pile greatly resembled a disgusting serving of green spaghetti. The stitch holders for the front and back neck had come off, and the result was that the neck had unraveled at least 8 inches each side.

Without too much emotion (I think I was still in a state of shock), I began to carefully unravel the shoulder seams. I frogged both front and back to the point of the run, and rewound the yarn.

So, the unhappy, yet happy conclusion to this awful knitting tale is that nearly every knitting disaster can be rectified. I have to re-knit 8 inches for the front and the back, but at least the sweater should not look the worse for it (although I might!). Also, I think it has shrunk to the size for which I was originally knitting. Ah well, more to knit, I suppose. That can't be too bad, can it?