kitty: Deborah's questions about the Sand Dollar Sweater

Hi Deborah, Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comments and questions about the Sand Dollar sweater. . Here are my final thoughts good and bad. Positives: a) The way the front panels fit together is a brilliant geometrical design; the pentagon is way to cool (What made me fall in love with the sweater.) b) I originally thought there was no way that the pieces could fit together, but they did magically. Every stitch I made I just marveled at how well it was sewing together. c) The picture in the book is amazing. I love most of the designs in the book; maybe it is just the geek in me.

Negatives a) The sweater is designed to ride up about 2 inches in the front where the Sand Dollar sits. So you have straight lines that point to the center, that draw your eyes to any stomach flaws. (see photo to the right)

b) The biggest problem in my opinion lies in the front two panels that attach to the top of the Sand Dollar; I think the pattern is written about 3-4 inches to short on each side. The sweater does fit me across the shoulders, though the back is pulled tight. This causes a huge bulk of fabric that has no room to lie down. There ends up at least on me, about 4 inches of fabric that sits at the neck. It just looks bad and more over incredibly uncomfortable. Had it been longer I would have added 2 inches on top of the shoulders and an extra 1-2 inches across the back. There is more than enough fabric in the sleeves to take up the extra 2 inches so that wouldn't be a problem.

c) The sweater is really boxy, maybe my yarn was to stiff, but I just didn't get the elegant drape of the model in the picture, even when it was on the dress form. If I were to redesign it; a) Add waist shaping to the sweater b) Make it about three inches longer so the sand dollar wasn't dead in the center of my stomach c) Create a straight line across the bottom and not do the slanted decreases on the side panels d) Redesign the neck, bringing the back up higher and then not have the front panels wrap around e) Shorten the arms eyes thus having a shorter cap in the sleeve. I didn't like all the bulk under the arm What is so hard about this sweater for me is that I do love the picture in the book. But after trying on the sweater it made me think of a comment that Maggie Jackson (Maggie's Ireland fame) made in a class I took. She talked about the fact that a lot of the models in her books have no backs or are left totally open. Placing models against walls or trees hides a multiple of sins. So I wonder if the neck on the model sweater just wasn't finished. I don't see how the pattern that is written can lay down that flat on a human being and have the elegant drape. I couldn't even get it to drape like the photo on a dress form. So, the sweater will go swimming... It hasn't yet since I hate to frog with a passion, but one brave evening it will be gone. The sand dollar may be saved since it is such a cool idea and pattern. Hope this helps a little. I hate to say it but, I wouldn't recommend the pattern in the largest size at the end of the day. Could it be fixed, yes, but probably more time than I want to spend on it. I did learn alot about construction for this sweater so not a complete lost. Kitty Kitty