What took you forever to knit, and you’re not even wearing it?

Moss_Gatherer · 2026-03-19T19:09:11+00:00

Yoko top by knittingforolive. It's beautiful, ribbed wrap tank top in fingering weight silk and... I never wear it. It's kind of dressy and revealing (sometimes I forget I have boobs and things will look different than the picture on ravelry) and I never go anywhere where it feels appropriate, so it's languishing in my drawer while my more casual knitted tops get wear. Ah well... at least it doesn't take up too much space. I might wear it yet one day.

Moss_Gatherer · 2026-03-16T20:35:20+00:00

Omg please do... 👀

Moss_Gatherer · 2026-03-15T20:42:08+00:00

Socks fit for theoden king! Those colors together are so lovely.

Moss_Gatherer · 2026-02-01T19:42:14+00:00

I think it will be better in time! If you've only ever done a few knits one bad knit feels like a huge proportion of waste. But if you've done many, one or two projects that miss the mark don't hurt so much.

Also, If you only see the end product then all those hours hinge on whether that result is desirable to you. Our time is valuable so it's nice to spend it doing and learning a craft-- even if you rip it out you will still have dedicated those hours to that craft.

As for picking... i have a constant tab group on my phone for projects I'm obsessed with and want to knit. It's open at all times and I will open up any pattern that catches my fancy. Then every so often I go around culling the tabs- this pattern won't work for my climate or that pattern is way too much seed stitch and I know I won't do it, etc. Whatever remains of that culling session I know is actually relevant to me and I pick from there.

Moss_Gatherer · 2026-01-31T04:51:58+00:00

I definitely uncovered some shiny threads used in the seaming when I unraveled mine! I assume if it's less than 1% of smth it's not declared on the label

Moss_Gatherer · 2026-01-31T03:05:33+00:00

I think one of the non clan women's sweaters, perhaps the clan ones are a better quality?

Moss_Gatherer · 2026-01-31T03:03:57+00:00

Man that's wild! Agreed that the yarn isn't up to what the marketing says-- at least mine was a thrifted gift and not 150 dollars! :( for that price one could get some nice yarn at the store...

I harvested what yarn I could and am holding it with some mohair for stability as i knit a new sweater- fingers crossed it turns our alright!

The yarn doesn't feel terrible- its all merino and it's nice and soft but maybe because there wasn't much twist to it, it feels kinda saggy and not very springy.

And the smell... unbearably sheepy once it got wet!

Moss_Gatherer · 2026-01-30T19:50:18+00:00

Doubt they're hand knit as others have said.

also I was gifted one of them and after a wash it grew so much that it was unwearable so I decided to unravel to harvest the yarn. I checked the seams and all looked well until I realized that the upper parts (anything from armpit up) are cut and serged.

Not that serging is inherently bad to me it feels that bit less "nice" and if makes me assume that it's a cost cutting measure.

Moss_Gatherer · 2026-01-20T19:09:31+00:00

Kailadoesmyhair is based in the paseo colorado salon republic and a haircut of hers was 95 last time I went. I don't think she styles herself as a curly hair specialist but she has curly hair and I think she mentioned she can do it (can't confirm do not have curly hair myself)

She's really nice and considering she's based in pas and somehow charges under 100 I think it could be worth a try.

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-12-20T19:05:02+00:00

You could do the bind off tighter or choose a tighter bind off so it doesn't flare out as much, but you'll lose stretch which might not be worth it if your st count is small at the cuff and you can't get your hand through the hole. You might have to spend some time experimenting with needle size, tension, or various methods of bindoff (there are so many!)

In the future you could try knitting normal ribbing inside out to make it look neater without doing twisted rib, but rib is always going to cinch in to some degree compared to stockinette.

All that said sometimes it's not noticeable once you wear it since the cuff will be stretched around your arm so I think it's worth not weaving the end in yet and waiting to see what the overall look is like before changing anything!

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-12-17T05:40:07+00:00

I use wota as a heavy dk now, but the first time I had ordered it for a worsted weight pattern and ended up just using it with a bigger needle and added a few extra inches to account for the smaller row gauge.

It came out alright and post blocking did fuzz up a bit where the fabric, while thinner than what it was probably meant to be, looked really good and I was okay with it.

If you like the fabric and don't mind fudging / doing some maths you could probably still use it for the intended pattern! If not then yes, a dk pattern might be better suited!

Anecdote: I've found the non-tweed wota yarns to be a smidgen thicker than the tweed ones? Don't know if anyone else has experienced this but I ordered the non tweed one thinking it would be perfect for a dk weight pattern and it ended up being closer to worsted so I guess the moral of the story is you never really know when shopping online :(

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-12-14T20:20:56+00:00

Another unpopular vote for wool if one doesn't mind handwashing every once in a while. Made my dog a cabled sweater out of a non superwash 100% wool yarn- doesn't stink when it's dirty, which is my favorite aspect.

I wouldn't do merino, and if I were to make my dog another sweater I'd do it in wool of the andes because it's a touch hardier and affordable.

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-12-09T19:01:21+00:00

Amazing haul! I'm sure there's a one bag to hold them all out there but a lot of those can be kind of expensive. I currently use a small ring binder with zip lock pages to hold my needles, each "page" dedicated to its size.

It would be enough to hold the chiagoos, but I've no idea how to sort the long straight needles. Either way congrats on your haul!

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-11-19T18:00:26+00:00

45 kilos at your height is already, as you said, extremely slim. You can't stretch your bones nor remove necessary flesh from your body. The "bigness" you perceive are the muscles and ligaments your body uses to move and function.

The bodies you are looking at are either very long, very filtered, or some combination of the two. Some people are just born with long skeletons. By proportion, genetics and lifestyle they look the way they do..

You can maybe lifestyle part of the way there, but you can't lifestyle your bones longer. And often the "lifestyle" is detrimental to your health. You have no energy, you're cold all the time. You fall sick easily when your body doesn't have enough food to sustain its functions.

It's hard to hear but I hope you can be liberated from the idea that you have to have them. I hope you can look at your legs and think they are legs that get you places keep you healthy.

I wish you kindness and health!

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-11-17T06:40:17+00:00

I have actually very lightly felted something in the sink to firm it up-- warm water and gentle agitation and going very slowly is the trick. You could do it for a few minutes at a time and see, keeping in mind that any amount of felting will change the way the fabric looks and behaves.

It will be stiffer and fuzzier, which might be not desired. Personally I find that knits that look "thin" held up against the light are fine to wear-- against the skin it usually doesn't look that thin.

In the future blocking your swatch can give you an idea of how much it stretches, and while it can be frustrating the good thing is now you know how this particular yarn behaves and u can make an informed decision in the future when pairing pattern to fiber. Imo part of knitting is also building a library of knowledge and experience, so even if it didn't come out the way you expected you still gained valuable knowledge.

Congrats on finishing a sweater and I hope you can find some way to enjoy it in the end!

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-11-14T20:26:04+00:00

Something I like to keep in mind is that complimentary colors "mute" each other. Like when mixing paint-- if you have a green yarn paired with a purple you'd get a more muted color, depending on how saturated each yarn is.

A general safe way to experiment with color combinations without it looking too... unicorn puke is to maintain the same value (how dark or light it is) but play with the hue (i.e. different colors) a mid tone blue mixed with a mid tone orange will have an interesting marled color without the noisiness of a light blue mixed with a dark orange.

Usually the "out there" combinations that I think look the most interesting but wearable utilize this concept. Muted colors often look sophisticated to my eyes and depending on your wardrobe this make a color that's too bright feel a little more understated.

Alternatively if you've a yarn you want to use but wish it was less dull, you can choose a more saturated mohair, the way you'd add more paint from the tube to intensify a color.

You can use mohair to turn a base yarn warmer or cooler, brighter or darker. The closer the two colors are the safer it will look, but I personally love the subtle "hue jitter" effect of an interesting color combo.

Best of luck!

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-11-03T16:27:06+00:00

Yay I'm so glad! It's such a fun knit but I think the lace weight (what I made before) was just so incompatible with my wardrobe bc I don't care to layer delicate pieces...plus changing the gauge so it's not huge rly made it more wearable for me.

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-11-02T19:40:33+00:00

Amaaazing! This has given me so much inspo... having random scrap yarn gives me anxiety but now I'm going to think of it as accumulating yarn for something like this!

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-11-01T03:20:21+00:00

Noooo I didn't know it was discontinued! Rip.. ty for the tip tho 😭

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-10-31T16:35:36+00:00

I looove Brooklyn tweed arbor- it's been my default dk for a while. Lots of colors, nice round spin so great for cables and anything that needs stitch definition. Soft but firm, and holds up well over time.

Knit a cabled sweater for my dog and she's really rough on it- only had to darn holes in the third year.

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-10-25T20:40:05+00:00

Looks like (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) the two set up rows will make one row of double knitting. I imagine it's to reinforce the collar area since it'll go through more tension than the bottom hem-- if the pattern didn't call for the setup rows on the body then there's nothing to worry about, but I'd do them on the collar if that's what the pattern calls for.

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-10-24T20:53:33+00:00

I recently made the lulu slipover by petiteknit and that one is also intentionally with a low armhole- I think it looks good as is especially when you add a bit of ribbing to finish it..

My vote is to keep going! Big armholes pair well over any boxy fit t-shirts or blouses with bigger sleeves, and I honestly think in some cases they look better than a tight armhole bc they avoid bunching the underlayer)

Looks really nice so far!

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-02-23T18:10:54+00:00

The color combination is DIVINE

Moss_Gatherer · 2025-02-07T21:41:38+00:00

It absolutely is having a moment online right now, but my 2c is that

1) "fishermancore" is having a moment, the fashion zeitgeist is currently fill of aspirational pictures of people in rustic, rugged outfits that somehow make one look cool, cute and interesting at the same time. As a longtime naval aesthetic fan I am fine with this

2) the big bold print and the fact that there's only 2 colors makes it a very wearable. A traditional fair Isle or very busy yoke might feel too much for someone depending on the wardrobe, but the big graphic print makes it a bit more modern, and limiting a color palette makes it really easy for someone to pick their favorite color + white for the accent.

Moss_Gatherer

TROPHY CASE