Crappity Crap

Boy nothing like a resounding failure to bring you down from a nice knitting high.

Last week I got these two awesome yarns at UNWIND and figured I would whip out a nice and easy tank top with them and be wearing the thing within a week. The yarn was pretty expensive but hey I'm no novice, right? This project should be a done deal.

Like a good girl, I dutifully did a gauge swatch, and determined my gauge was about 4.5 - 4.75 stitches per inch on Size 6 needles. That's about average for what I've been doing lately, so I just did some quick math and cast on for the bottom circumference.

Well you know how once you're into something it just doesn't look right? Since the yarn is shiny ribbon I decided to do a snappy stitch instead of just stockinette (although that was what I swatched in). About 4 inches up from the bottom I changed to two rows stockinette, then one row knit, YO, knit, YO for the whole row. The next row of course was knit, drop the extra, knit, drop the extra.

Do I have to spell out what ended up happening? Even with some pretty major decreasing at the waist this thing is MONSTROUSLY BIG. So big I'm ashamed to take a picture of it on.

Instead of being a tank top, when I put it on it's more of a very low cut minidress - for a woman twice as big around as me! If I get the nerve I will post pictures, but right now it's just too humiliating.

I am of course open to all suggestions on how to salvage this garment. I wouldn't mind if it were a dress really - but I have to do something to fill in the upper front and back - right now the back is a very saucy dip to well below my bra line and the front is four inches too low too.

Aaargh!