Sweaters Don't Lose Weight With You

There is always "practice non-attachment" and give it to someone in need. Just remember the joy it has given you to make those sweaters etc. It also gives you  a "valid reason to make something new for yourself.

Where are your "after" photos?  I have been trying to lose some weight, 14 pounds so far, and was wondering about this same topic.  I am currently in the middle of the Lotus Blossom Tank.  After all the time I have spent on those rows of lace, will it still fit?  I figured, if it's too big, I can wear it with an undershirt a couple of times and then  I can rip it out, and do it over again.  I have had enough practice, that knitting it up won't take nearly as long.  If I am really in love with it, I will have no problem making it again.  Plus, I would be "re-using" the fiber- Reduce, reuse, recycle.  Please think about posting some of photos of the new you, it will give me motivation to keep at it.

Other than being an avid knitter, I am into Simple Living, which to me means getting rid of all excess whether physical, emotional, psychological, etc. Because they are dear to you, take pictures (digital ones) and then donate the sweaters to charity. Second option: after taking a photo, RIP-IT, RIP-IT, RIP-IT and make one that fits.

If you are willing to let some of your beautiful work go, why not auction it off on this or a related web site and have the $$ go to some wonderful charity you support?

Thank you so much for bringing this up. I'm in the process of shedding a LOT of extra weight (over 40 lbs. so far) and have really been struggling with this exact problem. I love my clothes. Love them. The hand-knit sweaters and the Gap jeans and all the rest define who I am. And to be completely unable to wear any of it has been extremely frustrating and confusing. So I'll be re-evaluating my wardrobe right along with you.

And I have to agree with DanielleK - re-make it! That way, you'll always have that reminder of the clothes you love(d), you'll have lots of projects to keep you busy AND who doesn't love a new sweater every now and then - even if it's only a new shape on an old fiber.

How about donating them to a women's shelter or "career closet" that provides business clothes for indigent women entering the job market?

I've been reading a lot lately about "hacking" stuff (clothes, furniture) to remake something different from what was originally intended. Maybe some knitwear can be repurposed into a different style of garment - a pullover could be modified into a cardigan or a tank top could be laced up to make a corset-style top.

Can you block or shrink some of them?

I have a beautiful Alpaca bolero with lace sleeves that I knit too big in the bust and was wondering if I could wet the sections that don't fit and throw the sweater in the dryer to shrink? I hesitate to try this without being certain of the outcome. I'd rather give it away than wreck it.

I do what my mother did. Frog the sweater, wash the yarn to restore it and reknit the sweater (or whatever) in my new size, or give it to someone who will appreciate it.

Turn them into pillows?

You must watch the flic "Harold and Maude" and then, if you really, really love the sweaters, 'let them go'.

Me, they go to a woman's shelter. Sandi, you have "reduced", now either reuse or recylce.

hugs to you and Nicolas and tell us more about the 3 legged love of your life.

PS I am wild about the "Fearless" tape measure and the book I purchase.

Mise

Find a good picture of you in your favorite sweater when it fit (like the green hemp picture), then give the sweater to someone it does fit, who loves it, in exchange for a picture of them in the sweater. Put both in your picture album - and knit a new sweater - the same or different - for your new body. You have the photo memories now.

I've neither been knitting long enough nor lost enough weight since I have been knitting to share your problem, but I can understand your quandary. The first thing that came to mind as a solution is to simply reknit your favorites if you love them that much. Saving the originals is fine since they are a piece of your knitting history, but if you want to be able to wear your faves, then remake them. Chances are you learned things in the making of them the first time that you can put into them the second time and make them even better. Good luck! Hope you find a solution that works for you.

Firstt of all, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Second, the idea of pillows is a favorite - I'm taking old t-shirts of DH's that have memories, and turning them into a quilt, and old sweatshirts of DD's and turning them into pillows.

Third - sigh.  I am drooling over patterns that I just can't bring myself to knit because I "know" I will lose weight... so why doesn't my body agree?? :)

Congrats on the planned move! As another expat living in Toronto, I can assure you the knitting community around here is absolutely unmatched. I hope we'll see you some Wednesday nights at Lettuce Knit!

As for the sweaters---I have to say, donating them is probably your best bet. Photos of the really beloved ones can stay with you forever, and take up a lot less space than the sweaters themselves. Or keep them and just accept that they're bigger than you really need; they could be great house sweaters!

I have recently lost  enough weight that my clothing no longer fits, too. Fortunately I hadn't knit any sweaters yet so that part isn't an issue.

If those two sweaters mean a lot to you then I say keep them for now at least. You can always reevaluate next time you go on a sorting spree. Make some new ones to take their place! More knitting!

And yes...we'd love to see an 'after' photo, too!

What a wonderful accomplishment!  I agree that you could give them to someone who really loves them as much as you do.  My biggest disappointment has been slaving over a very difficult multicolor fairlisle sweater that I had planned to make for myself and was talked into giving it to my daughter in law and I have never seen her wear it even once. :-(

Well, I like the idea of framing it.  But this is where kitchner stitch comes in handy if you want to wear it.

You can re-knit the part that doesn't fit without re-knitting  the whole sweater.    Most of the time, the straps or very top of the sweater fits just fine.  Shoulders don't lose weight.  The length of your arms doesn't change.  Sleeves are very amenable to being taken in at the seam or faux seam.

Cut & remove one row of stitching below and/or above the part that no longer fits.   Re-knit the part that doesn't fit, and kitchner stitch it together.

First of all, commend yourself..pat yourself on the back.....Great JOB!.....And donate the sweater to a homeless shelter for women!....Your sweater can keep on giving instead of being retired in a picture frame.....And then knit yourself a NEW fabulous sweater.....For your NEW fabulous shape..There is something cleansing about Letting go!  Be daring...be fearless.....YOU can do it!!!

Now...Dance around in joy!!!

Tami

I'm soooo happy you're getting to be with your beloved Nicholas.  I've been so worried about you with the long distance marriage.  Its the best news of all and equal to all the weight loss.  Congratulations!  I know how hard it is.  I have no idea what to do.  My weight, aside from pregnancies, hasn't changed all that much.  My sizing issues come from bad gauge and the damn thing doesn't fit right off the needles.  I never get a chance to wear them.  I give them away to someone usually much smaller than myself.  Good Luck!!

First, best wishes on your move!!

Second, this is a tough call.  Do you love the sweaters because of the pattern? Do you love the yarn and so knit it to feel it in your hands?

If the answer is pattern, I'd reknit it in a smaller size

If the answer is yarn, then frog, maybe repurpose and knit something else (reincarnate it?), or reknit it again (I second whoever already said that),or, if we're talking a seriously substantial amount of weight, maybe a twinset; a lady in my knitting guild did that.  She knitted a shell, lost a BUNCH of weight (>100 lbs), frogged the shell, reknit it and had enough left over for a 3/4 sleeve cardigan in the same yarn. (and she looked FABULOUS while doing it).

Bully for you on the weight loss, that's great, and it's a fantastic feeling to feeling it come off - better on the knees, better on the back, better (in Certain Areas) on the shoulders - infer at will. :)

Cheers to you!

If you still love the sweaters I say do them over again to fit the new you. The hot tomato salsa is just too pretty to just give away. Knit it over again is my option. Go for it, and congratulations.

Alternatively, see pages 85-86 in Knit Fix (Interweave, 2006), "Subtracting Body or Sleeve Width."  

It works.  Really.

All best,

Lisa Kartus

Sandi, Sandi, Sandi:  You rock, girl!  So love reading your snippets and this time I may actually be able to help!  I WAS going to suggest the ol' shrink the sweater if you can trick, but after reading some of the blogs I thought I'd place my first vote with the pillow idea.  How cute would a Hot Tomato Pillow be in Canada!  Nothing like some spicy colors to keep you warm during their winters!  Another idea: Keep them for Bertha...can't keep looking at the same sweater all time now can we?  My final suggestion is that you hang them on the walls/ceiling of your NEW office/home where you'll be working out of.  They can be used this way to inspire, reflect, and add interesting decor to your knitting room.

Nice job!

Pam G

My boyfriend's remedy to the situation of a too-big-sweater is to eat and eat until you fit back into it.  

My solution:  Unravel and re-knit, because I'm a knitting maniac.

Well, maybe because I grew up in Norway and I've always felt comfortable with steeking, what I usually do if a beloved sweater is suddenly way out-sized is pin it to the measurements I want.  Then I use chalk to draw a line where I will want to cut it.  I take out my sewing machine and sew on either side of the chalk as I would on either side of a steek and then I cut and resew.  

I think the charitable auction idea suggested above is marvelous, especially if you do it through this site, where you are so well-known.  Then, you could still donate the proceeds to a program supporting women in need, but the impact would be many times that of simply donating a single sweater.  The other possibility would be to do a "sponsorship auction" in which you choose the nonprofit beneficiary of your choice, write a column about it, and request very small donations from a large readership to "sponsor" the donation of the sweater to that cause.  In that instance, the nonprofit will receive the sweater, to give to one individual in need, AND the funds collected...can't beat that!

Congratulations! I'm knocking wood with you that you stay the size that makes you happy (and I'll knock wood for myself that I get to a size that makes me happy!)

As for what to do with the sweaters---I understand the dilemma. I'm a pack rat, myself, so I have a hard time throwing out, but honestly, it doesn't seem to be the same for giving away. That I can usually do without too much trouble. I think the idea that *I* no longer have my work-intensive and loved garment is not as painful of the idea of all that work living in a closet. I think I'd be wandering around, holding up my sweaters to anyone who looks about right!

Good luck!  

Good for you - happier and healthier.  I, too, recently shed a bunch of lbs in a manner I wouldn't recommend to anyone, and have enjoyed reading these comments.

My favorite would be to find a battered women/childrens shelter - and it won't be easy.  They try to keep their information unattainable for a reason.  But don't let that stop you.  There are many (too many) women out there who left with the literal shirts on their backs, and they would be very grateful for something that is nice.  I think the fact that it is handmade would make it particularly prizeful.

Also remember, most of the women in shelters are not size 0 - 6.  They *need* the "plus" size stuff more than anything, particularly something nice enough to wear to job interviews.

Good for you.  Keep healthy, and pass it along.  :)

Congratulations on your weight loss, Sandi.

Would really like to see a picture of you, skinny.

Knit yourself some new sweaters, and donate the old ones or give them to someone that can use them. Focus on your weight loss, not your old sweaters.

We have heard so much about the new you, when are we going to see some pictures?  We would just love to be simpathertic to your plight! And we will be able to relate to the separation anxiety you are feeling to your previous wardrobe :)  p.s. Sweaters don't gain weight with you either!

I just, in the last nine months, lost about a third of me!  I couldn't keep up with my kidlets anymore and found myself a great trainer and diet coach.  50 pounds and counting!  So, I kept a two of my faves and put them away in my "Special box" with the kidlet's favorite sweaters from their baby days.  They rest I gifted to friends who always wanted me to knit them a sweater.  The ones that were truly "beloved" read "too ragged to wear in public, were fianlly put to rest.  Now I can knit new sweaters from the enormous stash without feeling like i am making one more cardigan/pullover/vest for me!  

Sandi, I've been there where you are with losing weight, and my solution was to either give it to a friend who would love it (for the real special ones) or, if I didn't care much about it, put it in my give-away-to-charity bag.  Sometimes, even if it's painful at first, the best thing is to just let go.  Alterations just don't work, especially when it's a favorite garment.  However, if the sweaters are that important to you, how about knitting another one that fits properly - and put that great bust dart spreadsheet to work!  I really enjoy reading your column.

I lost 4.5 stone last year (63lb?) via a very low calorie diet regime and I decided to break my lifelong fat-thin-fat cycle by donating everything over a UK size 16 to charity.  Gone - I am not to allow myself to gain weight to more than a UK size 14 again.

However I had started the Norah Gaughan Phyllo Yoked Pullover in a size 48" at the start of my diet and by summer I had reached the point where I had done all of the stocking stitch elements (all I needed to do was join the pieces for the lace yoke) and I realised that this jumper was going to hang off me like an Edgar Suit (MIB).  

So it has sat unattended for a whole year.

I have just got it out to finish it because I love the pattern and I cannot bear that I did all of the dull bits and did not get to do the fun bit that is the point of the whole pattern.

I am going to see what it looks like when it is finished and whether I can get away with it as an oversized, sloppy jumper.  It is going to hurt a bit if it does not because I love the pattern.

If it doesn't work (deep down, I suspect it looks best with just a little negative ease), then I plan to see if anyone would like to swap it with me for a jumper that they have knitted that doesn't fit them?  

In the beautiful neat and tidy world that exists only in my mind, maybe someone who would like to have a go at the phyllo pullover but doesn't fancy knitting it in a size 48" but maybe in a size 38" instead?!

Failing that, I am not sure.  I feel uncomfortable about gifting it.  Simply because I know that I knitted this jumper for me.  To give it away to someone else could be emotive:  'I knitted this and as I have lost weight and it will not fit me anymore - I thought of you?'

Hmm. Even if I did not say those words out loud?  I'd would hear them in my head and I would worry that they would be thinking this in theirs, even if they were too polite to say so.  

Also, when I finish this jumper, it will be a real achievement for me.  There is absolutely no way that I am going to rip out all of that hard work (I am a slow knitter).

I would rather (if possible) that this jumper will go to a home that will appreciate it. So we'll see....!

Congrats on your weight loss and relocation plans :)

I agree with those who've encouraged you to pass the treasured garments on.  Something tells me you don't have a shortage of yarn to re-knit them in your new size ;)

Sandi,

You just completely rock!  I know you will figure out the "right" thing to do with your sweaters.  Best to you and your hubby, together again!

I so hope that I will someday share your problem...I'm trying!

When clothing, hand knitted or otherwise, I put it on freecycle.  It just happens I've gained weight and I'd happily give your lovely hand knits a wonderful home where they'd be cared for properly <grin>.

I'm sure there are charities in your area who provide 'work appropriate' clothing to people going back into the work place that would love to have them.  I also like the idea of auctioning them.

WooHoo! Congrats on the weight loss.  As you said, most of us have the opposite problem.  I usually do 1 of 3 things with my no-longer-fitting sweaters.  First, they sit in the drawer just waiting and hoping that I will again lose the weight I've gained.  Then after a few years of languishing there in the drawer, I take them out and sigh and say "OK, I guess you'll fit one of my daughters and you'll look really cute on her."  After several weeks of sitting on top of the dresser, I finally get up the courage to take the sweater to said daughter and doubtfully suggest that if she thinks she might like it, I could let her have it but only if she promises to take extremely good care of it and only wash it by hand.  Finally,  if I just can't part with it...I rip it out and make something that does fit! HA

You should put after photos.

ok here is an idea for pieced articles.  Can you un-seam them, then with a sewing maching stitch across the sides as if you were going to steek it then cut off the extra and re-seam it all together.

if the rest felt how about felting them and cutting them up for coasters or as a bathroom rug or something.

The rest I would frog and give new life as a new better fitting project (since you are smaller now you know you have enough yarn.  

I might even put one or two in a box for "just in case" or "someday" but I know, they will just be wasted.

I recently took a sweater that no longer fit, was in style, etc. (all of those things) and because it was made of very nice (and very expensive) bulky 100% wool, I took it completely apart (sneezing from the wool lint shed in the process) and have been making lovely felted bags, bowls and mittens out of the four different colors.  This was one of the first sweaters I ever made and I'm glad it lives on in more usable form!

P.S. Do we get to see your "today" photo somewhere?  Lots of us are trying to lose weight like you did.  You should be extremely proud of yourself!

Ann

Congrats on losing weight Sandi! I too have had this problem, but not since becoming a knitter, thank goodness. I have however knit myself a sweater that just didn't look great on my body and will just rip the finished project to find something I like better to knit later. You can knit something you liked again only smalle with the salvaged yarn or something new altogether out of a yarn you just LOVED. You can give it to a friend who is more consistently that size that you trust to take care of the garment (because I have trouble giving something handmade to a shelter like another commenter mentioned— only because they aren't easy care garments, usually and require more trouble in washing than many non-knitting folks want to be bothered with even when something was knit specifically for them).

Either way, I'm BIG into recycling and hope that might be something that works for more people as a long term solution :~)

I didn't use a hand knit sweater for this, but I have an old sweater hanging on the wall behind my door with a ton of earrings hanging from it - makes it easy to find a pair to wear in the morning, and the sweater looks great.

I would either give it away or recycle the yarn.

Sandi,

I have just finished reading the section on washing sweaters.  EZ did state on page ll5 that you can wash and block and ease the sweater into a smaller.size if needed.  Doing this while reshaping.  I know this will not cure it all but maybe it might save one of them huh?  Also,  congrats with your new you and your moving to Toronto.  That is just wonderful!

Knittingly,

Carole

unravelling sounds dreadful to me - you need friends in assorted sizes!!  I gave my thick wooly sweater that was huge on me to a friend recovering from cancer who lived in a colder climate.  it worked beautifully.  I've also framed things - I had a sweater (kaffe fasset's 'foolish virgins' ) that I knitted the back of and realized that it would require me to gain about 100 pounds to wear.  (gauge?  what's that?)  so I framed it and love having it on my wall.

Woo HOO!  Sandi's moving to Toronto!!!  Are you moving north, west or east of TO?  FYI.. there is no south.. well there is, but it'd be rather damp...

As far as your beautiful sweaters... I'd frog and reknit... to re-live the enjoyable experience.  How many times in life do we have the opportunity to do just that, eh?

PS. You look fantastic!

Congratulations and I am in the same boat!  I have lost over 50 pounds since last July and hope to loose about that much more.  My quandry isn't over sweaters I have made (since I never made them for myself at that size), but over what sweaters to make now that will last me loosing more weight...I have qeued the sweater you mentioned and will look into that one...any other suggestions?

Holy Cow, there's a lot of responses, here!

I'd either:

1) Wash them in really, really hot water and dry them in the dryer, thus becoming "boiled wool" sweaters

2)Give them to a needy friend or organization

3) Present them to someone who might fit them

4) Recycle, recycle, recycle

5) Sew up the holes and start a new SweaterBag trend, perhaps using the arms as the straps?

BTW, congrats on the weight loss, girl!!!!!

Yay, Sandi & Nicholas!  It sounds like you have some fabulous things going on in your life; despite not knowing you in person, I'm very happy for you.  Hope that doesn't sound odd!  :)

Is there anyone you might want to gift your beloved too-big sweaters to?  If not, perhaps a LYS could use them as sample sweaters or sell them for you?

Honey, rip those puppies out and re-knit them if the yarn's still good. Remember what EZ said about making mistakes and ripping back--it's just more of your favorite hobby! Same thing applies here. And you'd get to do more bust darts--how cool is that?

Congratulations on the weight loss.  In regards to your lovely but too big clothes, can I recommend that you give them to a battered women's shelter or other charity.  There are many extremely poor, larger women who don't have anything, and would really appreciate some quality clothes that fit.

Congrats!  I've been losing weight myself (65 lbs so far) and knitting is what made it happen (it's an interesting story, but I won't go into it here) and I'm about to move to Philly to get my MFA as a knitting artist.

I refused to knit myself sweaters when I was fat, so I don't have any that don't fit.  But I was thinking that maybe you could organize a swap with others who also have sweaters that don't fit.  But I also like the idea of auctioning off your sweaters for charity.

I am so happy to finally be able to AFFORD to knit a sweater (because I don't have to buy a gajillion skeins of yarn) and finish w/in the time they'll actually be in style (because there are so many fewer stitches) yarn to knit myself something other than socks and mittens.  That's what I'm looking forward to, as I'm just about to cast on my first TANK top (yes, sleeveless, for the first time ever!)

If you love to WEAR the sweater, and it's wool, seam it. You can steek and cut when a pattern calls for it, right? You can cut this. If you loved knitting it and don't mind knitting it again, frog and re-knit. Make shrugs, shawls, hats, gloves, and socks.

Welcome to (just outside of) Toronto! I see you already got a recommendation for Lettuce Knit. Their s'n'b is on Wednesdays -- if you have a Tuesday night free, come check out The Purple Purl at Queen & Jones in the east end.

Someone (not me!) in TO does every major s'n'b each night of the week. I don't know them, but if you have the time and stamina it might be fun to do "the tour" over a few weeks just to get to meet people...