Huge Sweater: The Sequel or Oops, I Did it Again!

I think I need to join a self-help group. Inappropriately-sized Sweaters Anonymous, perhaps? Something geared toward parents who habitually knit enormous clothing for their children. You may remember the "Huge Sweater. Big Hat." post from earlier this year. If Audrey grows at the turtle-pace her father and I did, she might be able to fill out that sweater by middle school. But, probably not. One day, while working on it in the back of the room while Audrey enjoyed story time at the library, another mother asked me if I was making it for myself. Sadly, when I tried it on at home that evening (yes, I went home and tried it on), it fit. It was a belly sweater, but if the house were on fire and it was the only thing I could grab on my way out, I could make it work.

After that incident, I've been trying to pay more attention to the actual measurements listed for finished garments. Audrey is petite around the middle, sometimes matching the measurements for 6-month-old sizing. But her height is average, leaving me in a bit of a quandary at times, as with this green sweater, The Wrap Top from Easy Baby Knits by Claire Montgomerie (knit up in Lion Brand's Nature's Choice Organic Cotton in Pistachio). While I tried to adjust the pattern to decrease the width while keeping the length average, I ended up with yet another enormous sweater. When seen with pants, it doesn't look too bad. But when we put it over the dress she was wearing for Easter, it looked nothing short of ridiculous.


The size was not the only drama with this little-but-too-big sweater. I went down to the wire with this one, finishing it late Saturday night. Saturday afternoon, I ran to the fabric store for the yard of ribbon you see tied at the back. I took the sweater (and Audrey) with me to pick out the right ribbon, had one yard cut, stood in line at the check-out, and realized after the cashier had rung me up that I had left my wallet at home. We left the store, picked up Jason (and my wallet) and went back to the store. We retrieved and paid for the cut ribbon. En route to buy dinner, I realized I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen the sweater. Was it at home? I couldn't remember putting it inside the house. I only remembered moving the sweater aside to rifle through my bag for the wallet. Odds are, I thought, it was still back at the store, in the basket of a shopping cart. Luckily, Jason (always level-headed in a crisis) was already on his phone calling information to get the number for the fabric store. The sweater was still there, safely returned by some kind soul, which seemed to start the Easter weekend out right. Because something not being the perfect fit, doesn't make it any less precious, and having a perfect stranger get your back - well, that's what Easter is all about.