Fair Isle Fiasco

Three years ago (or so) I saw this fair isle sweater kit on the Knit Picks website and bugged everyone I knew to get it for me as a gift. Aylin O. answered the call and I got the kit for me as a Christmas gift. Back then, I poured over the directions - read them a few times - just because I'd never done fair isle before and I wanted to give it a try.

I read every instruction, read all about the body tube, the sleeve steeks, the center steek, the fat or slim sleeves, everything. I KNEW what to expect, I'd read it all. Unfortnately, that was three years ago.

I know how it all went so wrong. After a 3 year visit at the frog meditation pond, my interest in reading the directions again was UNNECESSARY since I'd already done so. Yep, that's what I said - already done so. And after three years I only glanced over them. I read just enough to reinforce my fear of steeking.

As a consequence, the fair isle sweater has taken a step (or 10) backwards. My philosophy on knitting is that sometimes it goes forward and sometimes it goes backwards. I, personally, am not averse to ripping something back - in moderation, of course. If you know my history, then you know what happened with the sleeves of the Must Have Cardigan (my blog 12/3/08).

I was almost done knitting the tube which I heartily bragged about and this project was pretty much flying off the needles. I was ready to laugh in the face of the folks who were afraid for me, who said that I had taken on too big a project to be giving fair isle a "try". It's just knitting. What's the big deal?


Well, I was about to bind off the top of the tube so I referred back to the directions. And sure enough, what I was supposed to do was stop knitting the tube at 14" to add stitches for the sleeves. You know, just so one sleeve isn't too far back or too far forward causing me to walk with my arms swinging in an unnatural way.

So, I had to rip back a few hundred rows.


No problem. I just pulled the needle out, and prayed that I'd be able to recapture all 330 stitches.

I tell the ladies in my class all the time, read the directions! Read them through and make sure you know what you're supposed to be doing and I didn't even do that myself.

Sometimes I make my own self sick.