So you probably remember my ill-fitting argyle vest post, right? I got some great suggestions in the comments (some greatly hilarious, others greatly practical), the most compelling of which came from Carolyn, who suggested some alterations on her sewing machine. I figured - what do I have to lose here? Carolyn was just the woman to help me salvage this project - she's a master knitter AND sewer! If there's anyone I want running a sewing machine over my knitting, it's her. Now before I tell you what she did to make the vest fit, let me show you how much better it is now.
To say I'm thrilled with it is a huge understatement. That thing FITS and it is going to get tons of wear. Thanks to our ridiculously over-air conditioned library it's already seen some wear.
Now - the process. I went up to Carolyn's house last week, with my vest and an old sweater I was willing to cut up and experiment on. C's original idea was to just take up the shoulder seams. We tried this on the dummy sweater.
While it worked fine on my old pink and green sweater, Carolyn pointed out that it wouldn't solve the problem of shoulder width on my vest. I'd end up with a shorter vest, but not one that was more narrow. She folded and pinned until she came up with this:
A DART. Down the middle of my back! It's brilliant! This pulls the garment in about 2.5" at the top, and gradually tapers off into the middle of the back. So she pinned up my vest, sewed it down, and this is the result:
(this picture courtesy of Carolyn, taken in the magical beam of light in her entryway)
Pretty smooth! There is a disruption in the pattern, it's true, but to be honest with you she lined it up really well and it really doesn't bother me at all. It's nowhere NEAR as annoying as the fit problem was. So there you have it - a mere, er, almost 2 years after I cast on, I have a fabulous stranded vest that fits.
When I made that colorwork vest for June last year, I machine reinforced the areas around where I would be steeking and it was a MAJOR PAIN IN THE ASS to feed the knitted fabric through the machine without catching on any floats or stretching it out, etc. Did Carolyn have no problems with this at all?!
Wow, that is really amazing. It look great!
Yay! A vest that fits! Good job, both you and Carolyn.
Yay! I’m glad it was able to be salvaged. Great job, Carolyn! (and you, of course)
Lauren, this is so fabulous! I’m really glad you and Carolyn were able to come up with a solution and that you will be wearing it all the time. I am looking forward to giving you compliments every time I see it
A perfect solution! Now I want to try to alter the ill-fitting sweaters i’ve knit for myself, but I’m not as fearless with the machine as Carolyn is.
Congrats on your lovely vest!
This? Fabulous. That Carolyn is one crafty woman.
Fantastic fix! It looks great on you, and makes me think that improving my sewing skills might not be a bad idea…
Wow, that looks great! I’m very impressed with the sewing and it fits great.
Also, I WANT that Darth Vader poster in that hallway picture!
I am impressed that you guys salvaged it! And it looks great now. Very professorial.
That looks AMAZING! Great job, Carolyn!
Fantastic! That Carolyn is a woman of many talents.
I am super impressed with how you (and Carolyn) handled this. And the end result looks super and fits you perfectly. I’m so glad you were able to make this work and thanks so much for sharing the process.
Sewing your knitting – I wish I had thought of doing that to a few old projects! Genius! Yay for fitted vests that fit!
Love it! Knitting/Sewing friends are the absolute best! And now your vest totally rocks…just like you!