The Unruly Sweater

There are rules.

And there are reasons for rules.

And it irritates me to no end when someone breaks the rules.

And the rule breaker? This sweater:

I was coasting along with this thing... stripe after stripe, inch after inch, every single colour change managed, every single yarn end woven in. I got to a length that I liked, and thought, "Woo yeah. Time to knit the edges."

That's when all the chaos started.

Rule: Stockinette stitch rolls along each edge. Working edges like i-cords, garter stitch, ribbing or seed stitch will prevent this from happening.

I liked the idea of an i-cord. I don't like knitting them (I'm not very good at them, and they're time-consuming), but I liked the idea. So, I started working an i-cord along the bottom edge... but it wouldn't stop rolling. And the thought of slogging through an entire edge of something that might not work did not appeal to me.

So, I ripped back and picked up a crochet hook. I worked one row of half-double crochet stitch on the wrong side, and another row on the right side. It was a nice idea. I still have to work the edges of each of the fronts of the cardigan, and working a crochet edge would mean I wouldn't have to do the laborious job of picking up a gazillion stitches with a knitting needle.

But it rolled like Proud Mary.

I ripped back and knitted a seed stitch edge. It's a promising edge.

But well... yeah. It's kinda rolling.

I didn't rip back. I decided that I'm going to use a tried-and-tested blocking method for blocking rolled bottom edges on a long cardigan like this one:

I'm gonna sit on it until it stays down.

And no, I didn't try knitting a ribbed edge, mostly because ribbing tends to pull the knitting inwards, and I wanted the bottom edge to be more flat. But if this sweater is anything, it ain't flat.

I've gone ahead and picked up the gazillion stitches along each front edge and the neckline and I am currently working through a seed stitch edge for it. After that, I'm considering knitting a belt for it... but we'll see how sick of this thing I get. If I have to discipline this sweater anymore, it's not going to be pretty.

I better get out my stick.