My biggest failure—how about you?

I have to tell/show you something today that’s never happened to me before🫣:

I knitted this sweater with gradient yarn; the second sleeve was finished, and the neckline was edged (unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture) 😕 So, I tried the sweater on—it fits perfectly and looks pretty, too. The yarn label specifies size 3.25 needles, but I knitted with size 3.0. It also says that the yarn 🧶 can be washed at 30°, no ironing, and no dryer. 200 g = 770 meters; it’s called Nina, and 200 g costs 7.99 euros. The whole body of the sweater uses just 200 g, and then the sleeves are extra. Anyway, I still have a lot of yarn left over.

I always wash my woolen items in the machine on the wool cycle at just 20°—it takes forever, but nothing ever goes wrong. Yes, nothing ever goes wrong—except this time. 😠 I even put the sweater in a laundry bag just to be safe. When the cycle ended—everything else (cardigan, knit sweater) was fine except for my new piece. 😇 If it hadn’t been so funny, I might have cried; instead, I got a fit of the giggles. 😂 The sweater was totally felted and tiny—I’ve never seen anything like it, honestly. Well, what did I end up doing with the sweater? It was too big for a doll, so see for yourselves. 🤭 My clothespins are in good hands. (I just cut off the sleeves.)

Has something like this ever happened to you? Oh yeah, I hand-washed the gauge swatch—it turned out fine, too.🙂

That happened to me once with a men’s cardigan. Back then, those Aran patterns were all the rage, so I knitted a huge one for my husband, who isn’t exactly petite. Of course, it eventually stretched out, so someone gave me the tip to wash it at a slightly warmer temperature and spin it briefly. It had survived previous machine washes just fine, but not this attempt. It shrank to a tiny size and was so felted that it could stand on its own. 🤣

It’s really amazing how much it shrunk—no, I’ve never seen anything like that either. Especially since there was absolutely no shrinkage in the gauge swatch when hand-washing, just like you said... But hats off to you for taking it with a sense of humor. When I see your clothespin bag (sweater), I have to laugh too. Great idea! :D

Such a shame—the sweater turned out great. I don’t think I could have taken it with a sense of humor. 

I once felted a store-bought sweater. It ended up being only children’s size. I washed it in the machine, but it was only supposed to be hand-washed—and not on the wool cycle, but at 40 degrees. Nowadays, I wash my knitwear very carefully so nothing gets felted. 

Well, I was actually in the mood to cry😢, because the yarn wasn’t exactly cheap. But that little sweater ended up making me laugh after all🤭. My husband just shook his head. 🤣 But I’m going to use the rest of the yarn for something else now—like the toilet paper roll hats I mentioned in the other thread (one’s already done)—maybe a few doll things too; we’ll see. I saved the cut-off sleeves; maybe I can make some felt doll shoes out of them 😇. 

It’s a shame, though—the sweater fit so well. 

Love, Regina 

The clothespin bag looks pretty, so the work wasn’t entirely in vain ... *smile* ...

Best regards, Petra

Dear Ina, I know all about washing machine cycles too. I had an AEG that served me well for over 10 years—until I had to get a new one. Now I have a Siemens; it has lots of cycles, some of which take over 3 hours. But I’m slowly getting the hang of it. ;-)

The sweater went straight into the bin—I’d simply put too much work into it to just throw it away, even though it was annoying. But since my clothespin bag (one of those little dress-shaped ones on a hanger) was already falling apart, I thought I could use the shrunken sweater for that. 

That thing with your felted slippers is annoying too—not just because of the wool, but also because of all the work that went into them; now it all has to be done all over again.

Thanks, Petra—you’re right, at least the shrunken sweater still has a use.

But I think you learn from these silly mishaps, too. I’ll probably start washing the gauge swatches in the machine first—then I’ll be able to see whether the wool felts. :-);-)

Best, Regina

There’s simply no such thing as 100% certainty. Looking on the bright side, we learn from our mistakes—even the ones technology throws at us. We get past it and turn the failed result into something new. Many discoveries have been made this way. It’s always a matter of perspective.

Here’s an example that catches my eye regularly. Ever since all companies have had to cut costs (electricity’s more expensive, materials are more expensive, labor is more expensive), the clothing industry has been trying to convince us that pants should end above the ankle and down jackets no longer need sleeves. Here, too, necessity is being turned into a virtue. In any case, I certainly won’t wear pants that look like they’ve shrunk in the wash, and a thick down jacket without sleeves is pretty pointless to me. But a designer can’t say that, of course. He has to talk up whatever he wants to sell. 

Best regards, Ina

Yes, Ina, you can say that again! I felt exactly the same when I was looking for a light shirt that would reliably cover the little love handles at the sides—everything was somehow too short, and I wondered whether I was imagining it or whether they were actually skimping on the length....not everyone is 20, toned, and slim, after all.<\/p>

And Regina, I hadn’t answered your question at all—so far, I’ve been lucky with the wool and the machine—I did it the same way you did, on the wool cycle. But your experience tells me—don’t count on it. <\/p>

I was also looking for a shirt the other day—since I’m unfortunately a bit on the curvy side, I wanted something casual—and I’d found one I liked. When I tried it on, it was way too tight—I looked like a sausage in a casing—but the saleswoman said that’s how people wear them now. I left without the shirt and have been avoiding that store ever since...

Ever since I once turned my husband’s expensive Italian sweater into a children’s sweater, I’ve been hand-washing wool items....

Best, Petra

I once had the opposite experience with felt slippers. I’d already knitted several and felted them in the machine, and they’d always turned out well. I wanted to make some for my son as a Christmas gift too. But after felting, they were much too big.  I tried a second cycle at 60 degrees. But the size didn’t change at all; they just became rock-hard. Later, we saw felted insoles at the Christmas market and laughed, because now we can cut some ourselves from my failed attempt.<\/p>

That’s right, GittiGirl—you can always turn mishaps into something useful. I once cut a coaster for my coffee cup out of a garment that had become too badly felted. Everyone in the office loved it so much that they wanted one too. That’s how creativity works :-)

Best wishes, Ina

In hindsight, it’s often these kinds of failed projects—of all things—that stick in my mind longer than the ones that went smoothly. But next time, you’ll know exactly what to watch out for.