Tag Archives: acrylic

Getting Steamy

2 Replies

I did it.  I finally did it!  I steamed blocked my husband’s sweater!  It took me long enough, but I finally got up the guts.

And it wasn’t even that bad!

I guess I was afraid of accidentally messing up the sweater I had worked so hard on.  After all, I rarely iron anything, and never anything that’s as heat sensitive as acrylic.  I was 90% sure that I would end up melting the sweater.

Anyway, here’s what I did to avoid the Big Melt:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI flattened out the sweater on my ironing board and set the iron to the lowest steam setting.  I covered the sweater with a cotton tea towel, and delicately hit it with the iron- almost skimming across the top of the towel, not pressing down. Once each area was thoroughly steamed, I put down the iron and peeled back the towel.  Then, I kind of tugged on the still-hot sweater to make it grow a little bit while it cooled.

I don’t know if you’ll be able to see the difference in these pictures, but here’s the before (a little wrinkly):

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnd the after (lovely and smooth):OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI even steamed the textured yoke a little bit.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt looks good!  And I think it’ll fit my husband better- which was the goal of this whole thing, in the first place!

Acrylic & Sweaters (or at least acrylic and my sweater)

4 Replies

I’m making great headway on my husband’s sweater!  It’s very exciting.  I’ve got the body done, and one sleeve. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe shoulders/sleeve situation looks great, if I say so my self, and I really like the ribbing on the hem and cuff.  (I added a row of purls along the top of the ribbing to make a defined line between the body and the hem.  I think it turned out well!)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABut, I’m pretty sure I messed up.  I the body is maybe 2  inches too short.   And that’s really too much to let slide.   If this was a wool sweater, I’d at least try to block it out a little longer.  And if it was a cotton one, I’d hang it up for a while to see if it would sag down to a more reasonable length.

But, I’m knitting this bad boy in acrylic Brava Worsted, which means that neither of those tricks are really going to work.  (Unless there’s some other secret trick that I don’t know.  Tell me if there is!)

I think my only recourse is to rip out the hem and knit a couple extra inches to the body, then re-knit the ribbing.  Sigh.

But, maybe I’ll just wait for a while before ripping anything out, I don’t know if I have the heart to go to town on this sweater quite yet.

Remember, kids, always measure twice before binding off.   Sigh.

Do you have any tips on blocking acrylic?

The Husband Sweater: Yarn!

9 Replies

My husband picked out the pattern for his sweater, and the yarn, too. And here it is:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAKnit Picks Comfy Sport in Planetarium and Whisker (AKA, navy blue and gray).

Let’s just take a moment to remember the example pictures on the pattern:

img_4328_medium2_medium[1]I wonder where he got the idea for a blue and gray sweater?  A sweater with stripes is far enough out of his comfort zone, so I’m not going to raise a stink about the color choice.  (And, he is a Ravenclaw, so I suppose blue and silver is pretty on point.)

The yarn is a cotton/acrylic blend, which I usually wouldn’t use for a sweater.  But, my husband runs super warm, so anything with even a touch of wool doesn’t get worn, except on vacation to the Great White North.  So we’ll see how it works as a sweater.  Have any of you knit a sweater out of cotton?

I worked up a little swatch on size 5 needles:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI got gauge with size 5 needles, not size 7, like the pattern suggests.  Which is weird.  I’m usually a pretty average knitter, but I guess I won’t argue with the swatch gods.  Maybe it has to do with the fiber content?  Cottons don’t really stretch, but wool (like the pattern asks for) is quite stretchy.  We’ll just have to see.

Cross your fingers for me!

 

 

An Apology

1 Reply

Dear Acrylic Yarn,

I would like to offer you a heartfelt apology.  I know I have been less than charitable about you in the past, and would like to clear the air between us.

Please understand that I meant no personal insult by my comments.  I was blinded by my own prejudice.  I have scoffed at yarn lacking natural fibers.  I have laughed at Red Heart Super Saver and rolled my eyes at Caron Simply Soft.  I have never given you, Acrylic Yarn, the time of day.

This last week and a half that we’ve spent together has been wonderful.  I picked you up out of desperation- the Ice Storm was coming, and I didn’t have enough sock yarn to keep me entertained while I was stuck inside.  You were the only yarn I could find within walking distance, and I was desperate.  It was with trepidation that I purchased you, after all, could yarn that cost only $5.99 per pound really be worth it?  Could I really make a worthwhile sweater out of acrylic?

I should never have questioned you.  You are softer than wool, and are knitting up into a lovely dense fabric.  Because you come in such large quantities, I haven’t had to worry about joining in new skeins of yarn.  And, my sweater is going to be wonderfully cozy and warm, and totally washable.

Thank you, Acrylic Yarn, for giving me a second chance.  Thank you for showing me my mistakes, and please forgive my ignorance.  I now know better than to be so judgmental against you.

My sincerest apologies,

Allison

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA(The yarn I’m using is Loops & Threads Impeccable, from Michael’s, in Clear Blue and Chocolate.)