Projects
It’s a Fair Question
Dear Kay,
When I wrote last week, I was mulling the sweater situation. My handknit sweaters. Was it time for a reckoning?
I decided it was, but it took me five days to get the steam up to move beyond the theoretical contemplation of my sweater collection. I almost punted on this project because it seems like some kind of Swedish death cleaning thing and I am 100% gonna leave every bit of ephemera in this house for my descendants to fool with. I had to do it; they’ll have to do it too. They’ll discover all sorts of stuff about me. Like, they’ll be rooting around and be all “These silver kitten-heeled booties. What was she thinking?”
It was quite the reckoning. A reunion, a nostalgiafest, a Smithsonian Museum of My Handknits. I kept finding stuff, just all sorts of things.
It was pretty much my entire knitting career all dumped onto the bed in a way that made Hubbo at one point timidly say, “Um, at some point we’re gonna need to go to sleep.”
I set out a few clear-cut guidelines for this project.
The first sorting was sweaters versus nonsweaters.
Conclusion: Massively more sweaters than anything else. Which is a surprise, because it feels like I’ve been knitting mostly rectangles since 2002.
Next: a sorting between storebought and handmade.
Conclusion: six times as many handmades, point of pride! Point to mull: there are two dark-gray TJ Maxx “cashmere” crewneck sweaters I wear more than anything else in my wardrobe.
At this point I began looking for a place to park the sweaters so I could get a better look at them. Hubbo was saying things like “Gosh you have so many kinds of sweaters. In here. On the bed. Where we sleep.”
The best landing zone was the kitchen table. The light is good there, and it’s the place where many of these sweaters had their glory moment when I finished making them.
The Reckoning
How many sweaters?
An even three dozen.
Thirty-six handknit sweaters. I had to laugh.
Certain themes emerged, once I sorted them by color.
Six blues.
Six grays. Actually nine but I liked these stacks of six.
Six brownish. Including one obviously blue one but again, it would have made the blue stack seven high and that was no good.
Six potpourri. My color game fell apart at this point. That tangerine Shakerag Top is a real outlier, isn’t it? Wild!
Six more, a Variety Pak. There are those three gray ones, plus a seafoam blue that ought to go in Pile One or maybe to a New York Liberty game.
Six undyed.
They make a prettier wall of knitting than I’d expected. I like all these yarns and in some cases feel very tender about them.
I could sort these by many other factors: Complexity of pattern. Techniques used. Relative importance of yarn choice. Sentimental value. Fit. The way I feel when wearing it. How often I wear it.
Many of these sweaters I have not worn in a long time. The thing is, they aren’t mere clothing to me. They’re all souvenirs of moments in my life, right? I can recall when and where I made these—and the internet will never let me forget the making of them, thanks to the MDK archive that does in fact go waaay back if you’re in the mood for busted links, missing images, and two-inch-wide blurry photos.
What to do now? I have no idea. But I do think that Thanksgiving is coming any day now and I’m going to need that table. The clock is ticking.
Informal survey: how many sweaters do you own? How do you feel about them?
Love,
Ann
What a collection! In my southern hemisphere seasonal rearrangement I had only 2 of about 20 handknit jumpers that I didn’t wear this winter, which I think is a good proportion. So strongly agree, each one isn’t just a piece of clothing but a tangible memory.
Only a dozen, so far. But it is hard to remember to wear them all.
A glass front armoire with sweaters stacked only 2 high, would be perfect so you could admire even if it was too hot to wear.
Those are incredibly beautiful sweaters!!
I have about 8 hand knitted sweaters in my closet – all very different – which I struggle to wear during the short winters in NYC, that seem to get shorter and warmer every year. Still I keep knitting shawls, vests, cardigans and sweaters. Over the years I have given away many of my creations.
As I think I said in my comment to Ann’s previous post on the subject, it is a modern knitter’s (ethical) dilemma that weighs on me. I personally feel a bit guilty and am compelled to try harder to think about recycling, reuse, gifting, donation, and perhaps channeling my creative urges in a more sustainable direction. In the meantime I just got some beautiful ito yarn for the September 26 virtual workshop with Cecelia Campochiaro on the technique of reversible cables for the Wriley Shawl
i have 2 handknit sweaters and 2 hand knit cardigans in my collection, i wear the sweaters regularly over autumn and winter but haven’t worn either of the cardigans in years – one doesn’t sit quite right on me (i blame the shawl collar) and the other is way too small for me now having been knitted about 17 or 18 years ago (it must be around that because i got back into knitting when my sister-in-law was expecting her first baby and he was 19 last month!)
up to now i haven’t knitted sweaters for myself and maybe i should start – there are loads of single skeins of souvenir sock yarn in my stash that would make marvellous Fade sweaters.
68. I may need help.
Kate in New England-Outstanding! That is a wonderful fete!
Impressive
(I blame Covid. I did a lot of knitting in lockdown)
I’ve never finished a sweater for me but have 1 gift from Peru and 1 from a mail order company and 2 from a local store. My “storage problem” is socks . At any given time I have 30 pair in my rotation. They don’t fit in my drawer so I keep them in a large plastic bag. Oy vez! I recently donated 10 pair so I wouldn’t feel any guilt keeping some of my new creations. I’m giddy with my new ones. Once my donated ones were gone I consoled myself that someone else was enjoying them. Hope this helps. Good luck!
I have lots of socks too. I found a flat ornament box works amazing. I can slide it anywhere. And the little dividers can be moved around to keep them tidy
Good on you for donating those socks; I have heard that socks are the most requested item. I now donate most of my knitting. After all, if I spend most of my time knitting, what do I want loads of fancy clothes for?
I have about 4 handmade sweaters (lived in FL most of my life so not much need for sweaters).
I dearly love each sweater .
I only have two handknit sweaters, but a lot of shawls! Shawls do not require German short rows! Now that I live in a very rural area, my shawl-wearing is limited. It basically involves selecting a shawl to wear to the feed mill to pick up chicken scratch.
I do thank you for my morning guffaw, Ann. You had me at “Swedish death cleaning”. And those silver kitten-heeled booties made a second appearance. Even the sorting method made me smile.
The sweaters are so lovely. I am eager to learn what you decide to do….before Thanksgiving. 🙂 Can you include a photo of the booties at some point? Inquiring minds want to see them.
I pulled out all my sweaters for the great spring wash & repair & pack … 3 weeks later I packed up 78 handknit sweaters.
Both alarmed and impressed. It’s a lovely body of work… I’m afraid to look at all the other categories of knitted/crocheted items.
Sweater problem – nope, but don’t ask me about shawls. I have a shawl problem. Really must do an airing because I’ve lived in Florida for the past 6 years and they just sit in clear plastic bins for all but 2 weeks of the year.
At least 20. A red jobbie that’s about 40 years old. Lots of cables, twist stitches, causes in real Ramsey yarn, and a bunch of Shetland Fair Isle yoke things. Gave up making allover Shetland sweaters replete with steeks years ago.
I do donate sweaters to local thrift shops, so somebody gets to wear them when I’m done with them.
Yes to donation, Ruth. It’s a shame to have all that warmth and love sitting unused in a drawer. Let people wear them!
I’m beginning to feel this way about my earring collection. They need to be out in the world.
I sorted all of my jewelry earlier this year! I ended up sending tons of jewelry to family members, and donating a bunch as well. And now everything is out where I can see it, instead of in tiny little bowls, where I lose track of things. It felt like such an accomplishment.
I’ve amassed quite a collection of sweaters, hats, cardigans, etc over the past 10 years and it may be time for a reckoning here too. I’ll wait to see how your saga unfolds and make my decisions after I return from my vacation (a knitting cruise, hahaha)
I can’t count them all without a lot of effort to put them all in one place, but I feel your pain at letting go. Several of mine should leave to a better home now that I have lost a lot of weight and they don’t fit, but I still want to enjoy the memories of making them.
Can you repurpose sweaters into pillows, bags or blankets instead of keeping them in the closet? This way you can still enjoy them ?!
Take photos put them in a folder and then donate!
Only four, and those all date from before my years-long knitting hiatus. I’ll be okay.
We’re not talking about socks, right? Just sweaters?
Please take care with donations to Chatity/Thrift stores. For a while I worked in one, and the policy was that all handknits went straight to the rag bag. The reason was that all garments on sale must have a care labels, as they have the washing instructions. Eileen X
mind blowing…! what a waste of great knits.
If one finds what one needs in a thrift store at a right price it is up to them to look after the item. If in doubt – hand wash or dry clean.
This kind of requirements for donated items landing them in a “rag bag” is a total hog wash and makes zero sense.
I counted over 40 last year when asked. But have added since then. Thank you for this!
I’m away from home at the moment (I’m in Canada trying to help pump up the Canadian economy—a sort of personal trade delegation) so I can’t do an official count, but 40 sounds about right. My big question is: so what are you going to do with them all? How long do we have to wait to hear your solution? I need to know.
Oh, wait—I just went to my Ravelry page and counted 91. Holy cow, I need to hear your solution soon.
How many in my possession? Or how many knit over 40 years? Ravelry says: 186, all catalogued. I have made for myself and also gifted sweaters for the last 25 years to friends, my mother and father, daughter, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, babies. Last year, I gathered up a huge pile and put them up for sale (quite cheap) and got rid of a few.
I posted that 68 was impressive, but the high number keeps going up!
Starting today, I am on the lookout for the armoire with the glass doors to hold my eventual sweater inventory. I don’t have so many right now. Your beautiful display inspires me. I want to be sure I match the variety of your display. I see so many lessons in your “stacks.” Thanks for the effort of the sort and for the sharing of it. If some of them must go, maybe a flipstack?
I’m embarrassed to say over 100. I’ve been knitting sweaters for over 50 years and I love them all. Living in Michigan, I wear most of them…but it is time to share my love of yarn and knitting with others. As I’ve run out of closet storage, you have motivated me to clean a few out and regift–perhaps someone will want to unravel the sweater and repurpose the yarn. I will miss them. Now I knit sweaters for my grandchildren and will continue to do so until they tire of them. I love to knit!
Wow! You take the cake. I’m in awe.
I’m so impressed! I have not yet mustered the courage to attempt to make my first sweater. Your post is inspiring. They are all lovely! I think wear them joyfully or find someone who will….which should not be difficult.
I’ve knit dozens of sweaters. Every year, or two, I get all of them out, refresh them, in batches, with a short tumble in the dryer, check them for needed darning then neatly refold them. After that I sometimes send some to the donation box because I know I will knit more. The keepers go back in tidy stacks sorted by type and how frequently I wear them. I do have a few relics from decades past that go on an upper shelf that requires a step stool to reach.
I just recently moved to a retirement community (and north to a more sweater-friendly state!) and in my version of Swedish Death Cleaning, I did donate some sweaters that just do not fit me anymore at that time and many of the knitted items (but not sweaters – they were all for me!) I’ve knit were gifts to others. Looking on Ravelry just now, I’ve handknit 22 sweaters, 21 cowls, 30 shawls, 5 ponchos and 9 vests over the past 30 years. Also a lot of gnomes, snowmen, necklaces, blankets, hats, socks, bags, scarves and a wallhanging. The handknit garments are sorted, labeled and stored in Container Store plastic tubs up on shelving in my closet and I do get enjoyment looking at the colors and variety of them every morning when I’m getting dressed.
How many friends do you have – invite them over and offer up as a gift, their favorite from your pile – surely they have one or two that have secretly tugged at their heart
I love sweaters and live in a climate where I wear them 2/3 of the year. I am very possessive about them and rarely do I get rid of them. They all hold memories for me. I didn’t knit most of them but many are hand knit, especially the fisherman knit sweaters, my favorites.
All I can say is… Keep them and be proud of your beautiful work! (and maybe never count them again!)
What a joy to read and view.
I’ve been s l o w l y honing my sweater department. Many I don’t wear but can’t bear to . . .
Gotta do it!
Let me help you find a home for your Donegal!
What to do now? Wear them. Establish a rotation of sorts – like wearing one stack at a time, with each item in the stack worn 3x, then stored in a sweater bag. That’s my plan for the multitude of makes I have stacked up. All meant to be enjoyed and those not so – passed on to a new wearer.
Bottom line: aren’t you glad you made them? I sure am happy to see my collection and the life history knitted between the stitches.
I love this. Every time I go into the sweaters, mourn the ones I got rid of, sort through my woven and handspun things, ……I just can’t do it.
Not alone in this feels good.
I have maybe 5 or 6 handknit sweaters, and about the same number of RTW sweaters, which- in total- is about 8 sweaters too many for Texas winters.
I think the question at hand here is “how would you feel if one of them were gone?”. I once had a sweater called Big Blue. It was the coziest sweater ever, knit by me in Brown Sheep Bulky and worn by dozens of people over it’s lifespan. I still remember the first time I wore it. It was for Thanksgiving in Vermont and my dad, very strangely, was suddenly very interested in what kind of yarn I liked to work with it. A few weeks later, I found why. He had found a yarn shop in Vermont and gotten me a lovely assortment of yarn for my birthday of all different weights and he was panicking because he was afraid I only liked bulky yarn. He always got the best gifts–the man bought Noro without being told to so you get the idea–and all was well in the end.
Big Blue ended up living in my office. It was a beautiful old building in a great deal of disrepair and it was always cold and drafty. Big Blue was a fan favorite and was loved by all but, at the end of the day, it always came home to the back of my chair. Until it didn’t. I didn’t notice on the first day but on the second day, I had a Miss Clavell moment. It’s the highlight of Madeline when she wakes up and says “something is not right.” Well something was not right. Big Blue was gone. I worked at the time with a crazy woman who fixated on stealing things out of my office. My water glass, my plant, my watering can, anything she could get her hands on all disappeared. She stole Big Blue and threw her in the dumpster which had been picked up in the morning. I am clearly still not over it and if I ever know the date of the day I will die, I will invite her for dinner the night before and serve her poison mushrooms. In a nice risotto.
I am so sorry you lost Big Blue in such a callous manner. I would cry if I lost my blue cardigan.
OMG. What a crazy (& entertaining) story!!
I am so sorry about the Big Blue saga. At the same time, I can’t stop laughing at your revenge dream!
Wow!!
Current inventory is under a dozen, did my own clean out/donation last year. None are handmade; maybe this will be the year? Lived NE of Seattle for 12 years and could wear sweaters almost 9 months of the year.
If you’re thinking of putting TJ Maxx sweaters in donation stack maybe hang onto one for those fall garden cleanup projects!
Can we count the ones that aren’t finished yet?
Haha! Works for me 🙂
In 2012 I started recording my output in Ravelry, on my profile page. I knit 24 sweaters/year for 4 years (most for me) and then dropped down to 19, 16, 11 and 10 for the next 4. I have knit over 200 sweaters plus blankets, 59 Christmas stockings, some socks and some gnomes. I am happy to report that although I knit most days, I also hike or exercise most days (something I didn’t do in the early knitting years). Last year I gave 40 sweaters to my sisters-in-law and nieces. I wear a sweater almost every day (it’s cold in my house in the summer) and have 2 more on the needles now. Can you say “addiction”? I laughed, because at the bottom of the comments page is the MDK “Need Help?” button. Maybe.
Well, yes, the sweater collection is impressive and the project admirable, but your writing, Ann… It’s hilarious!
Di you include cardigans in this reckoning or were they considered sacred?
You could always unknit your least-liked sweaters into skeins and reknit. My British mother and her mother did this once a handknit sweater was showing signs of wear or was simply not worn any more.
I made a baby pink and blue pullover when I was in my teens in acrylic yarn….awful. I’ve just started back into sweater knitting….made a gorgeous blue cardigan in superwash merino….big mistake….need to make it shorter so there’s less weight….and I have the yarn for three more sweaters in my queue. And I’m eyeing donegal tweed at the LYS…..
My problem is with shawls too….I don’t think I will ever be done with knitting them…lol
One sweater for each daughter when they were 6-7-ish. One baby sweater which they shared (babies are quite time-consuming and they grow quickly). An oversize cardigan which I made for myself in high school and unraveled in college to make something else which never got finished (it was the ’70’s; who had time?). And one which is still in the making and will be unraveled and reworked because I realized only when I reached the bind off that I didn’t account for ease. Knitting is more of a journey for me than a destination.
At least 40 sweaters of which 20 are handknit. Don’t even get me started on the number of handknit lace shawls I’ve got here. I live in the Houston, TX area (not exactly a hotbed for handknit woolen wear). Thank goodness I get chilled easily so that I DO wear my sweaters year-round. I continue to find it hard to resist starting another neat sweater design. I consider it part of my “knitter’s mental health regimen.”
What a great collection, Ann!
I probably have at least 30 handknit sweaters, I will have to count. I’ve been trying to knit for my teen, but she moved to a college dorm and couldn’t take many sweaters with her… sigh.
This summer I did a really good job of wearing my dresses. Every time I wore something, I turned the hanger around, and that helped. I am going to use a similar strategy for the sweaters- keep them in visual range at all times and turn them around in the pile once worn. We are due for cold weather soon. Can I say I am sick of the high humidity in the Twin Cities? Ugh. Bring on the sweater weather!
Ha. Ha. One solution is to live until you are 95 and your grandchildren are all grown (and hopefully female). And from now on knit mostly socks. For some reason people devour them. My sweater collection (if I had one -I’ve only knit three so far – would be the inverse of yours – mostly reds and purples with a few grays and the odd green one. I think I wear the cheaper store-bought ones more often because I want to save the hand-knit “heirlooms” for “good” – places where I am not apt to spill food, snag, or outright lose while traveling. (I have a fantasy of being that elegant, gray-haired lady perusing museum paintings while wearing a gray cashmere mock-turtleneck and a bias cut wool skirt. Spoiler alert: not gonna happen, hence, TJ Maxx, etc.). I am thinking, tho’, the next one should be with Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool. Not too precious but still a bit iconic and hard-wearing. Kinda grandchild-proof. (Wow, Karen, you have my sympathies (Big Blue) and my admiration for your gift of storytelling.)
I have knit at least one sweater a year since 2001 when I started knitting them as Christmas gifts for my daughter every year — it’s a handy trick — I get to knit, someone else gets to decided the fate of the sweater after a few years (my daughter wears them and she’s more ruthless than I am when they wear out or her style changes!) a lot of them have gone to new homes, and a few were so worn that they came back for being ripped out and the good portions of the yarn reused for new things.
As for my own sweaters I have one very wild patterned cardigan in fall colors and I’m currently working on a cardigan in winter colors —-
I admit that a lot of my knitting is given away either a gifts or for charity
Looking at Ravelry helps . There are 24 sweaters there that are still in this house. There are two or three more that are from before Ravelry. Most of them I love. Most of them I wear. There’s a few that never suited me, and one or two that were worn to death. I love most of them. In the past, I’ve occasionally figured out a better home for a sweater I’ve made, and then I offer it or give it away. But some things, like the white Sayelle cardigan I made when I was 13, are probably not leaving till one of my kids shakes it out in confusion after I’m gone.
My dilemma each year, living in the mountains of California, but migrating to Washington State for four months in summer, is whether I take all my sweaters and handknits down the hill to my daughter’s house in case of fire. Some years I take all the totes down to her house as well as irreplaceable photos and some years I’m just too lazy and tell myself there will be no fires. Five years ago I didn’t take them down to her house, our mountain burned, our house survived but I agonized about possibly losing my sweaters.
This summer, I again got lazy and again another big fire threatened. I called my daughter and asked her if she could drive up to my house (one hour away) and get my boxes of handknits and photos. She lovingly did so for her poor mom, but then told me when she got the totes from the house, that I HAD brought down a very large plastic tote filled with sweaters before I left this year. I didn’t even remember. One year runs into the next and I completely forgot that I took my absolute favorite sweaters down to her house for safe keeping.
Happy ending, the fire is now 75% contained, all my handknits are safe, as is our house, which has survived again. (and we no longer have fire insurance because it’s prohibitively expensive). A big sigh of relief.
I own way too many to count! Some fit, some don’t, some were gifts from dear ones long gone. I take them out from time to time. Steam them, remember when they were made or gifted, fold them, wish I was thinner, and put them away. Its always melancholy.
Keep them all, forever. They are part of your soul.
Thanks for keeping it real!
At present, I possess only ONE sweater knit by me (a Daytripper, thanks for the post about those!) that I’m willing to wear. I have one other cardi that’s an object lesson in knowing what NOT to do, plus one purchased pullover that is better looking than a sweatshirt, and several purchased cashmere cardis. What I have far too many of are scarves and shawlettes. When I was working, I wore a scarf or shawlette nearly daily.
I’ve always wanted more sweaters, but knitting gifts for others has a way of derailing my knitting plans. Nonetheless, I have two OTN at present. It will be sweater weather here soon (I hope!).
My daughter and I go through my sweaters each season….there are quite a few she has added to her wardrobe; likewise with my daughter-in-law. So good to have them enjoyed by others. Also have gifted a few to friends whom I knew would enjoy. They will live another day!!!
I think step 2 should be trying them all on. That may change your feelings about some of them. Last question, no disrespect intended in any way, but you live in Nashville right? Some of those sweaters look a little heavier…
Just a thought, I know there are a lot of unhoused in Nashville and NYC, could your heart let go of the extra sweaters to a women’s shelter or someone you ran into on the street?
They are like children or pets. I still keep the ones I loved that don’t fit anymore. The first sweater and first cabled cardigan. Who knows I may get skinny again. I like to buy yarn on trips, so those items bring back memories. I’ve only let go of sweaters that were never special and don’t fit. But I do still remember them fondly.
I have more in the queue than I’ve knit, but the one I wear all the time is the Main Squeeze cardigan I did for my first Bang-out-a-sweater February. It’s blue and warm and I wear it all the time. I have a couple of others that I wear for special events, but that cardigan is my favorite.
My dream is to have a cedar chest full of seaters.
Only one finished handknit sweater, a Daytripper (thanks MDK!), and two OTN
For an alternative way to donate, Anne Vally at littleskein.com does a knitwear swap twice a year…
https://www.littleskein.com/pages/swap-shop-faqs
I own about 5 plus a cardigan i knitted.
I like them all. They interact with my moods.
Like you i was clearing out then my mum gave me a wool box and half a library of patterns.
They too are georgeous.
I’m still in the looking at them phase.
Dear Ann,
I have so enjoyed reading your article. I laughed out loud, thank you!
Well, we invest so much TIME in our handknits it’s no wonder we feel so attached to them.
By comparison Im just a beginner but have several sweaters, scarves and one mitten which will meet its other half this winter.
Enjoy Thanksgiving and good luck with the table!
Hope Hubbo got some sleep…wherever that may have been x
Lovely variety