Friday, April 13, 2007

I *am miffed at* Debbie Bliss's pattern.


Edit: I had to change the title from "I hate DB" to " I'm miffed at DB's pattern" - because there's too much bad energy out there - & because - really I'm as much to blame as the pattern.

My little guy in a gansey-style sweater from "How to Knit". The yarn is a beautiful and silky (although a little splitty) Luxury Cotton DK from Rowan.

My temper has cooled a little on Ms. Bliss, because it's really just my fault. I borrowed the book back in August of last year. I thought it'd be a great practice sweater to learn Western knitting. (I'm an Eastern style knitter.)

I looked at the size chart and thought, "Wow, these are HUGE for kids" and so made the 2-3 year old pattern for my 4-5 year old. Guess what? It's still huge for a 4-5 year old. And mine is a big 4-5er. But, get this, the neckline is for a 3 year old.

So, what are my choices? Connor loves it, but says it's the arms are too big. I could just wait the body out for a year and re-knit the neck appropriately sized for his age. Or - frog the whole thing, treat the yarn for the kinks and knit him something else. Gah! I think I'll let it rest for a while.

I'll take him to my LYS and get some yarn for the quicko cheapo. The poor kid just wants a sweater to wear.

Oh - why all the negativity? She specialises in kids' knits - beautiful designs. Why the ridiculous sizing? It's true to gauge, knit correctly, blocked right, so there should have been some logic to the sizes. That's why I sort of trusted it, but I really should have just gone with my gut and left it alone. As it is, I'm leaving her patterns alone.

2 comments:

  1. I am scrolling down on your blog as I just discovered you. I know about this issue with Debbie Bliss patterns for kids. While we were putting away winter clothes, my DD1 who is 11 yeard old insisted she still fits in Debbie Bliss aran cardigan I knitted when she was really small, yes, she was 4 years old. I chose size 3 years old then. We were just laughing about it. Sleeves are too short for her but the body is just right. I also heard of a knitter who knits adult versions using DB kids patterns. So, yes, follow your gut feeling.

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  2. I'm glad to know I wasn't crazy. Connor is wearing it - he especially loves to whirl the arms around like a windmill. Positive attitude! At least it'll last him a good few years.

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