Don't worry, this is not some extra-terrestrial, sci-fi loving post. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
No, I'm talking Unfinished Objects of the project kind.
This sweater is fast making me want to throw it into a UFO pile.
Recently I encountered this problem in the process of knitting the front/back of my sweater.
WTF???
And yes it took me several more inches of knitting to even discover this monstrosity.
Dropped stitch? Nup, all stitches accounted for.
The most frustrating annoying yarn known to man? Yep, that'd be it. See how you can see the stitch, it's just super fine? That's partly user error and partly the most annoyingly thick-and-thin yarn ever. This is already a lace-weight yarn (even though it often listed as DK, and it's recommended to use DK sized needles) and over the differently dyed lengths of yarn the thickness does vary. Particularly in that light grey yarn where the hole appeared. The grey lengths are particularly fine.
I truly do not know how I missed this, but miss it I did and a solution was needed.
Call in the lifeline!
In knitting, a lifeline is a temporary thread inserted through a row of stitches below an error. It "holds" those stitches so you can remove your needle/s and rip back past the error in order to fix it. This means you don't risk dropping any stitches and totally making a mess of your work. When you rip back to the lifeline row you simply pick all those stiches back up onto your needles and start knitting again.
I used waxed dental floss for my lifeline. Yep, dental floss. It works really well as the floss is finer than the yarn being knitted and has a bit of body - this means it doesn't simply collapse and go all floppy when holding the stitches, making it much easier to slip your needles back in.
You can see its "body" in the shot above.
It can be a little difficult to pull out after you've reinserted your needles as it can snag or stick to the yarn due to its waxed properties, but it's well worth using and I've had greater success with this than using regular sewing thread or a contrasting coloured yarn.
This sweater is still making me feel like UFO-ing it. It really is.
I purchased this pattern and yarn in a rush of newfound adoration. So pretty... so cropped/high waisted! I don't do high-waisted! I'm long-bodied and a low-slung hipster wearing girl! I'm lengthening the body by 2 inches and its still looking short.
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I've only had one UFO in all the years I've been sewing/knitting. I was working on a gorgeous vintage dress from the 1950's, with acres and acres of material (it was one of those awesome swooshy skirted ones) when it all went terribly wrong...
I cut right through the centre front bodice whilst serging some seam allowances. *GASP*. There was just so much fabric to handle! I was rushing along! It was the most heartbreaking moment of my sewing life...
I ran screaming from the room and didn't return for several days. On return I sadly bundled up my half finished dress and shoved it in the back of a cupboard. I can't bear to look at it.
I have no room in my life for more UFOs. Finish this I will.
Do you have a pile of UFOs sitting shame-facedly in a cupboard somewhere or do you finish everything you start?