Fix it Friday!

Once there was a sweater.

A blocky sweater, kind of wide and short, but much loved by its owner. I think I originally picked it up second hand for Troy, and it is a very well-wearing sweater.

But not indestructible-wearing. Near the end of last winter, Troy pointed out the neckline that was failing and asked if I could mend it before next winter.

It looked like more damage to me than just mending a seam. (I really was worried about moth damage, but I don't think there was any.) I figured on ripping out the neckline and reknitting it. I had two little balls from my grey colour-changing yarn

and decided to start with the darker end.

As the project was turning around in my mind, I thought why just mend the sweater? Why not make it even better?

So before ripping out the collar, I marked some lines to turn this sweater into a V-neck.

Troy has a thing about things pressing on his neck and he much prefers V-necks. And I thought, "I can do that!"

Next step, I pulled out the collar.

It was a little weird because it was knit from the outside edge in and then knit onto the sweater body. Very strange. I can only guess that this makes it possible for them to machine knit the ribbing before attaching it to the sweater.

Once that was off, I stitched along the chalk line and then went right beside it with a slight zig zag.

Next step? You know it....cut!

Since this is a Fix it Friday post, I will also mention that while I had the black thread on the machine, I stitched up the failing leather wallet I use as a tool kit.

It's needed it for a while (of course) and I was so happy to be able to repack it with my accessories and be sure they weren't going to fall out the side!

Back to the sweater...I picked up some stitches around the neck and did some 3x3 rib (which is what the original collar was), making sure to decrease at the centre front to make the V nice and pointy.

I did not do anything to cover up the raw edge on the inside. The extra row of zig zag should be plenty to keep things together.

This is a sturdy, "sticky" wool and I have no trepidation about how it will wear and hold together.

And there you go! In the time it took me to watch the latest Inspector Lewis, Troy has a not-just-mended-but-much-improved sweater!