"...and there is part of my brain that - even though I know it can't be true, believes that knitting things quickly uses less yarn."

True story: when I begin to fear that I will run out of yarn, I actually knit faster. Like I can trick the yarn into lasting until I'm done, or something. I know it's ridiculous, but...well, there it is. :) Nice to know I have good company in my yarn-related neuroses!

Rip it, you know it'll make you crazier than the 127 print square sweater if you don't.
I'll toast Screech wit' ya!

Well... I hate to say it, but I'd rip. I'm one of those sorts that can't bear knowing things don't line up right. Don't know if you're the same.

And I'm exactly the opposite with yarn-fear! I knit slower, thinking maybe the yarn won't notice that I'm using it up. Come to think of it, maybe my problem lies more in presuming my yarn has sentient thought-processes...

"I could simply flip over the back, making the right side the wrong side, the knits all purls, but then my cast on edge wouldn't match all the way around the sweater and that would show, and I think that would drive me nuts."

I'd do this. If it was really driving me that crazy, I'd tear out the bottom four rows of the sweater at the end, put them back on the needle, knit down and cast off all even-like.

If you don't rip it now it will be all you can see until you do, or maybe that is just me...

Rip, but rip the fronts. (Less ripping.) If the reversed cast-on edge is going to drive you crazy, you know that bumpy shoulders are no better!

My favorite way to rip is unknitting: I rip only as I reknit. It isn't quite so painful. And you don't have to rewind that way.

Dear Harlot, we all know you are a perfectionist. I say rip it and do it right. It'll drive you crazy if you don't....

I would totally rip and redo either the fronts or the back so they match. It would forever haunt me that they didn't match up. Even if it were completely hidden under the collar, I would know and it would take all the joy out of wearing the finished product. Plus, lets not even talk about how the sleeves not matching on both sides would probably inspire a nervous tic over my eye.

I'd rip it. I've not ripped with other projects (pretty much every craft I've ever done except beading), and leaving the error in means I eventually hate the product/project. If you notice the error each time you look at it, you're not going to want to wear it even if no one else in the world would know the mistake was there.

"there is part of my brain that - even though I know it can't be true, believes that knitting things quickly uses less yarn."

I had to laugh. I know yarn doesn't last longer that way, but I do speed up my sewing machine so I can get all the stitches I need before the bobbin runs out. sigh.

I can't believe how fast you knit and wish I could watch you sometime. Your blog gives me great pleasure because sometimes (okay, always) I wind up laughing at myself as much as I laugh with you.

Don't rip!!!!Flip the back and crochet a single-crochet around the bottom edge of the entire garment...Won't even be able to see the bottom edge!!!!

That's a tough one. So far, being a fairly new knitter (with a small "k"), I have been leaving errors in because I'm afraid I won't be able to do again what I've already done. There has even been some glaring mistakes (weaving "crapped out" on the back of a sweater) that I have worn, just happy I could finish the thing. As I am getting better, though, the "principle" thing does ring true. You want to make sure that what you are making is the best that it can be.

At the end of it all, though, almost nobody will see the error but you. Can you live with it?

I'm living with it over here so far!!! Happy Weekend Harlot!

(P.S. - How's Mr. Gansey doing, still in time-out?)

breathe with me...ahhh...let...it...gooooooo....i know i'm in the minority here, but let's remember, it's just knitting. why waste and redo all that work if it will just be hidden anyway? totally rock the collar and you'll forget all about it.

do NOT rip out. As you said, the shoulders are under a collar. Side seams are under your arms. When you are making a dramatic gesture with your arms up, no one will be analyzing the side seams of your garment. Perfection is over-rated.

I would let it be as it is. The collar is ferociously large and will hide the lack of matchy matchy. Be bold, live with the mismatch.

Rip it!

Wow! I'm in the minority here, but that makes me feel compelled to express my opinion-- if it's under that beautiful showpiece of a collar, how will you even remember the seams don't line up? But of course, you must do whatever makes you happy!

Ah..perfection. I have a huge problem with it. Unfortunately...I've been pretty lazy about it. If I didn't like the way something was knitting up or god forbid made a mistake...I stuffed it somewhere in a bag and that was the end of that. Recently, I've been working on being a grown up and fixing those mistakes that I can't live with and learning to live with the rest.

Could you possibly rip out just the cast-on on the back edge and flip it around to make it face the other way? (I have no idea how to do this, but maybe you do?)

What Paula and Mala said. It's going to be hidden under the collar, it wouldn't bug me. But it's up to you in the end, bien sur!

Agreeing with TinsleyMumsey because that is what I was going to say.

Knitting faster totally uses less yarn. Who doesn't know that?

On the matchy thing, sorry, you're on your own. As you've taught us over and over again, it depends what kind of knitter you are. Let your conscience be your guide. (C'mon, rip it. You know you have to.)

I wouldn't undo all that work, myself. But I am a much slower knitter, and ripping out the entire back would pretty much guarantee that I would never finish the sweater, no matter how lovely.

I look forward to seeing the pictures of the Big Pink Thing, and congrats on getting it out on time!

My vote is to finish it as is, and then give it away to someone that it fits. It won't bother them, and then it won't bother you either!! LOL

I have done this a couple times, and it always makes me feel better. :)

if you're a perfectionist, this is a great chance to fight that urge! Because it doesn't really matter. If it doesn't show, and doesn't affect the fit, don't rip. Why waste good knitting time that can be spent on your next projetc?

Find the designer/editor/proofreader and slap'em.

I have to go with the "leave it" crowd. That is one big collar just made to make you forget. I also like the "reverse the back and single crochet around the bottom" solution - that way, you can live with the shoulders and the bottom is happy in a good way, too. Life, dear Harlot, is too short to rip when a good solution is at hand...

Oh... crap. I started this also (inspired...), and didn't look for corrections. I'm not as far as you, but.... crap. Crap. Crap.

You know, when I'm running out of gas, I drive faster. Go figure.
I have no opinion, sadly, on the sweater. It gets my goat when patterns are printed wrong -- seriously, proof reading, people, look into it -- but I am in awe at your knitting prowess.
Rock on.

rip. it's the only way you'll ever get another decent nights sleep.

If you must rip, rip the fronts. Although, you definitely won't see anything with the monster collar on the thing. And your arms will hide the side seams. Problems solved! You may be able to fiddle with the side seams as well. Maybe a slightly more generous seam (aka go an extra stitch or two in so stuff lines up)?

Logically, let it go. It won't show. But if you can't love it, then it must go. Rippit, rippit!

I'd hate for you not to wear that gorgeous collar after all.

Having just come here from Queer Joe's blog, I have the legal system on my mind. I think you should sue Rowan for a gazillion dollars for pain and suffering and for a "ghost knitter" to reknit the thing back to where you are now! (yeah, right) What is with the egregious errors in so many patterns--especially ones where the company has test knitters making various samples before they decide on the photographs. Whether it's errors in the patterns or knots in the yarn we should be demanding the same quality control in our knitting products as we do in other things we buy.--Oops, sorry the tuna can didn't seal right. Oops, sorry the TV picture is all snowy. I don't think so.

Seriously, I'd probably rip--maybe redesign the fronts if that's less ripping. I would also do some heavy duty swearing and drinking!

I concur with the flip the back and do a single crochet edging around the bottom to disguise the mismatching cast-on edge (but I like crochet, so that's what I'd do, but I know some people don't favor crochet). But avoid ripping at all costs, that's what I think.

I concur with the flip the back and do a single crochet edging around the bottom to disguise the mismatching cast-on edge (but I like crochet, so that's what I'd do, but I know some people don't favor crochet). But avoid ripping at all costs, that's what I think.

You know, Amish people put a "deliberate error" in their work to prove that they're not perfect. Does thay concept do anything for you??? OR, My Grandmother had some crazy arse saying that was something like "it will never be noticed on a galloping horse". I'm not entirely sure but I may have been too dumb as a kid to know that I was being insulted!

OK, I've knit the back, the fronts (with button bands) and almost both of the sleeves for Juno, and I didn't know about the errata until just now.

Know what? My shoulder seems line up perfectly.

The only problems I'm having are:
a) My sleeves are monkey-arm length. I didn't measure until I got all of my increases done (a watched pot doesn't boil, after all), and by then they were already 3 cm too long. I'm going to leave it until I get the sleeves blocked and attached because blocking the ribs flat should pull up some length, I don't mind the idea of cuffing the sleeves, and if I do mind I can snip snip and then do a sewn bind-off. No biggie.
b) I think my row guage may be off (see monkey-sleeves), because these armholes are really deep. Again, gonna block and set in the sleeves and then reblock the whole shebang before I decide what to do.

Having just ripped out the back of a sweater for a similar reason, I can appreciate your inner debate.

As far as this: "...and there is part of my brain that - even though I know it can't be true, believes that knitting things quickly uses less yarn."

Oh yeah, me too. We even drive faster in my family "to get there before we run out of gas."

I, personally, would keep knitting and let the collar cover it up. :shrug: but I'm low-maintenance that way (I make up for it in other ways, trust me) the only way I'd rip and re-knit would be if it was a commissioned piece, and that's a whole different ball of wax.

And another thing....You definitely should let Rowan know about your unhappiness. Make sure they know who you are. My complaint would just go in the file and forget pile... yours influences thousands. Celebrity has its uses!

Ya gotta rip it or that voice will never shut up. Never. Not while it's in the closet. Not when you're wearing it. Not when you're hanging it off a bush in your front yard to take a photo. You know you gotta rip it, so just take the wool by the balls and do it. By tomorrow you'll have a whole new back knit.

Personally, I think I'd leave it as is since it will be covered up, then I'd knit a little voodoo doll of the magazine's editor. Everytime it bothered me that the pattern was flawed, I'd impale it with my smallest DPNs. A just punishment for publishing flawed patterns in my book--as I have just ripped back 4 inches of a sweater because NO ONE on the editorial staff of a publisher bothered to do the math that would have tipped them off to a rather LARGE number of typos.....

Knitters are not to be messed with. :)

I third what tinsleymumsey said - that was my first thought also. :)

It boils down to the analytical and creative parts of your brain - depends which camp you fall into. I agree with you, if you're going to do something do it right, even if it means frogging.

Well, I know I would never notice. But I've seen you go all Rainman on stuff and I know for a fact, that as I type this, it has already been ripped.

The question is, how long after posting did you rip? And did you mutter while you did it?

I honeslty would do what makes you happiest.

I know with me, I'd probably frog it and start over and I have done it.

Now, normally, I'm as anal a perfectionistic as the next guy... okay, MORE SO, but in this case I'd seriously think about just going with it. The collar is *so* going to hide it. If it's really going to get to you, I'd rework the front, but only after scrutinizing the corrections to the back to make sure there's not another gotcha waiting to ensnare you when you get ready to put everything together.

...and the voodoo doll's a good idea, too.

Rippit! After all you purposely line up self patterning sock yarn to make socks match. Why not the sweater.

I would avoid ripping at all costs, so if flipping it and fixing the cast on edge works, i'd go with that. but in the end, you gotta do what works for you.

and knitting faster to avoid running out of yarn, isn't that like a rule or something?

Reknitting something that is wrong in an obvious position is not a bad idea, but this is not the case here. Since you are so far along, and the collar will hide all the mis-matches, I would suggest you leave it as is. To quell the perfectionist side of you I propose an experiment. Unless you buy your clothes from Nieman Marcus or another haute couture store most of the stripes/paisleys/plaids/ribs/etc. don't line up always perfet at the seams, but we still buy them yes? So maybe tomorrow afternoon for one hour you should see how many off kilter seams on bought clothes that you notice and are bugged by. If the answer is none- then no one is going to notice your sweater armpit seam. If the answer is a ton- well sorry to say but your sweater will look store bought ;-)

Rip It! If you are going to take all of the time to knit something. Take the time to do it right.

I would keep knitting, knowing that the error will be hidden under the big collar, but I'm not a world-famous perfectionist. You'll do what you want, whatever we say.

I totally understand about knitting fast, in order to finish before you run out of yarn. That's the same thing as driving fast, so you can arrive at your destination before you run out of gas. Totally understand.

Why not do another edge to the shoulders, front and back, so that the mismatched ribbing will not be obvious, something you can sew together for a nice seam, and then simply hide with the big, big collar?

That is so frustrating that the pattern is SO off.

AAARGH!!!! I started it last night and now have to rip it out!! I'm not as far along as you are. I'll rip (and curse) at this point, but I'm not sure if I'd rip at the point you are at. I'd have a dilemma, probably anyone that sees me wear this will never notice, but I'd know, soooooo.. advise wise, I got nothin for ya. Let us know what you decide.

Rip it. Then you'll have something else to knit. You'll never be happy with it knowing the mistakes are there.

I agree with Laurie, we know you've already ripped it and are probably half way through the collar by now, hee hee. I'd be so breathlessly pleased with my accomplishment that I'd figure out how to hide the mismatch, call it wabi-sabi, zen-like imperfection, a Navajo Spider Woman thing if anyone asked me and just move on. But the Harlot is skilled, and I am not. Can't wait to see it and thanks for letting us know the pattern is errorful. I hate that. It scares me.

don't rip. seriously. the shoulders will be hidden, and the exciting thing about this sweater is the collar, anyway. what if you rip it back and then lose interest before you finish the sweater, and it never gets done? what if you spend longer knitting it than you spend wearing the finished piece? keep knitting, and have a perfectly hand-knit sweater.

Consider this - if you rip it and make the front and back perfect you won't have anything to talk about when you wear the sweater. I'm guessing you're like me...someone walks up to you and says "What a beautiful sweater. Did you make it?" Your reply, "Thank you. Yes, I did make it but I made a mistake when I knit the back" (pull up the collar so they can see better). "See where the ribs are sewn together...." Always makes for a better conversation then the one that happens if the sweater is perfect - "Thank you". Then you stare at each other with nothing else to say.

My first (admittedly snarky) thought is mail it to Rowan and have them reknit it for you. Then again, they thought the pattern was OK in the first place.

Getting more realistic, knowing you as I do from three of your books, I think that if you finished it without fixing what you know to be wrong, you will hate the sweater. It's not the sweater's fault... reknit the poor thing.

Flip the back and then when the rest of the sweater is done add an i-cord border around the bottom. Maybe make it a twisted i-cord so it will be all designer-ish and call it an "improvement" on the original.

And, yeah, like Tracy said, hunt down the designer/editor/proof reader and slap 'em.

I'm currently knitting a shawl non-stop because I'm trying to outrun my dwindling yarn supply. Handspun. No more fiber left to spin if I run out. Must hurry.

I'd just let the shoulder seam not match. I'd rather finish sooner and spend those hours on something else fun/pretty/relaxing, etc., than duplicate all of that effort. If anyone ever sees it, just say your time is valuable, and you chose to spend it on something you'd rather be doing. So, those mismatched ribs are really a gift of time. ;o)

I can't wait to see the finished Juno . . . and the Big Pink Thing.

I'd say leave it as it is. Take LOTS of pictures of the finished thing, focusing on details that don't match.

Then spend the energy you would have used for ripping on a letter to the editor of Rowan, explaining that "if something is worth doing, it's worth doing right". Including her/his job of ensuring quality in Rowan's print output. With their capacity for exorbitant overpricing, we as consumers expect just that. Quality. Which we aren't getting, not by a long shot - your pattern being a case in point.

To quote, well, someone: "Knitting is done by human hands. It's all right if it looks like a human did it." Or something like that--I don't have the book at hand. If I can take that advice to heart (and I have), you probably can, too.

I once spent weeks knitting up a beautiful Rowan pattern for my daughter - the back, the left front - then found the mistakes half way through the right front.

I tried and tried to get it straight and...well, you know the story - it's sitting in the 'time out' bag in my closet.

I don't buy Rowan patterns anymore...my LYS tells me this is an ongoing problem with Rowan.

Stephanie, if it were me, I'd throw it across the room, stomp away, and start knitting something bright red. For you -- yes, you have to rip it out and do it "right." Sorry, kid, that's just the way it is.

I think it is too late, the world knows...you have to rip. Maybe the fronts. I can't get the logic (of course not knitting very long here) why mistakes get printed.

I'm sure The Big Pink Thing arrived on time - you'll be getting a call any minute.

I'd say rip the whole thing out - and then use the yarn for a different project, NOT one done by a sloppy designer who doesn't bother to check for mistakes.

Which knitblogger wrote the great post on why do we put up with all these mistakes in published knitting patterns, and points out that men buying say, woodworking magazines, would never tolerate this level of error?

i would leave it. like you said, it will be hidden under that large collar; no one will notice.

Could you not cast on the right way for the back rib for a few rows and then undo the same number of rows on the existing back and graft on the new bit with the new cast on facingt he right way.

Well, I always say, if it was worth doing in the first place, it's good enough to do again! Have fun!

I agree with polarbear what has happend to all the testing of patterns ?? My Mom used to say --Do it right or don't do it at all. She also told me to hang onto all the OLD patterns as they were written with more clarity and they were written correctly. Lordy I've ripped a lot of knitting out because of that saying,but strange thing is I'm always happier when finished with what ever it is. Holy I'm wondering if the collar would fit properly if you leave things the way they are oh oh oh good luck with whatever you decide .

rip it out or my image of you will be forever shattered.

If it were me I would probably rip it, but be resentful the whole time. Doesn't sound like a winning combo. If you can flip the back around and give it a new bottom edge, that sounds like a much better solution. If you do that, I'd love details...

The knitting faster thing? I totally do that. It's hard to remember logic when your knitting is constantly coming up with fun little things like making you knit forever, hiding the progress, then revealing it all at once. Look! You thought you weren't getting anywhere for your four hours of work, but here's five new inches! Yeah, that would be great except inevitably you only wanted four and you now have to rip back an inch. If vigilant measuring isn't enough to keep something like this from happening, I'm not completely convinced you can't race your yarn to the finish line.

A very wise Knitter once said " If you make a mistake & repeat it it's no longer a mistake but a new pattern". You can consider it a new pattern, meant to be asymetrical.

I like the Amish mistake theory too.

Obviously, I'm in the let the collar hide it camp, lol. It could be a little secret just between you & the sweater ;o )

I say don't rip. There is a big collar on it, and I don't think anyone will notice. But, I am so the type of knitter that will make 1 or k2tog if my stitch count gets off.

I agree, it is a tough call.

I just printed the Juno errata; looked at it and meditated on the extreme speed w/which you comprehend pages of letters/numbers and then...knit. And then I thought it must be like music, in which case you would be a monster sight reader and you would 'write music' too. That gives me hope; it takes time to learn to play an instrument (I played violin for many years). So, this will be time and application and not practicing mistakes (of course add in the joy that drives the whole dealie.) This will work out :)

Knitting faster to avoid running out of yarn is kind of like driving faster to get to the station when you're running out of gas. Won't help, but at least you'll know sooner whether or not you're going to make it.

As for ripping, I'm in the middle of a tragic ripping episode with Jane (the origami sweater for stick insects). The question is, will it bother you every time you look at it? If so, you have to rip it. If not, I'd let bygones be bygones.

Don't you just hate pattern errors? You knit along, and start questioning your sanity because you follow the pattern and your results just don't look right. By the way, I can't wait to see the pink thing. Also, have you heard of the Summer of socks knit/crochet along? When you sign up, they have several contests. One is for the most socks (I think you'd be a shoo-in for that one). There's also one called Vacation Sock. Basically you take pictures of your sock(s) while you are on vacation and the rest of the ppl who have joined vote for the most interesting pic. I think your travelling sock would love the attention. Anyhoo, you can find out about it at http://zarzuelaknitsandcrochets.com/summerofsocks2007/

The collar is huge. The shoulder seams won't show. Leave it. Or if you must fix it, I'm going to vote with the person who suggested undoing the bottom and then re-knitting down, and casting off evenly. Or adding a fancy border (or not so fancy, not to detract from the collar) that will cover up the odd cast on after flipping it to make the ribbing match. Definitely do NOT rip out and re-knit the whole back. That's just crazy.

I'm in the "flip the back and disguise the bottom edge somehow" crowd. The reason is that it's a clever solution. The ribs don't line up as-is; very well, take advantage of the fact that it's ribbing and use that reversibility. Wear your finished product in the pride that you got out of a scrape not of your making with ingenuity and resourcefulness. A mismatched cast-on is nothing compared to that, especially if it's disguised.

Of course, if it were me I'd cast on the back, knit a few rows, and graft it onto the flipped back. But I'm compulsive like that (and it still seems like less work than redoing the whole of the piece). It's also a solution I'd delay until finishing the rest of the sweater, given the possibility of a yarn crunch. By then the edges might not look so bad anyway.

For me it's not so much that I think working faster uses less yarn (okay, maybe that too) but that working faster will put me out my misery--less time wondering whether or not I'm going to run out of yarn.

If you turn the back over and seam it and the fronts together, can you hide the mismatched cast-ons with a row of single crochet? It seems to me that's the best (i.e. least wrong) solution if it'll work and it won't prey on your mind too much.

People rarely examine other people's clothing very closely. They're not going to reach out and flip the collar up to study the shoulder seams or lift your arm to get a good look at the place where the side seam meets the armscye.

However, only you know what you can live with. In the end, that's what it boils down to.

I just finished a sweater with the same problem. I realized it halfway through and said the heck with it (or something stronger) and kept going. It looks just fine unless I am compelled to point it out to somebody. I try to refrain from doing that often, but sometimes when I get a compliment on it, it's hard to not point out the mistakes. I'm trying to remember to just say "Thanks" and move on.

Are you knitting the sweater because you are cold and need a sweater?

Or are you knitting the sweater because you enjoy the knitting and the process. I'd have to rip.

You'll have it knit back up in no time. And it will be correct.

I would rip, but that's just me. Can you take out the cast on and bind off all round so matches, or crochet an edging or something?

BTW, knitting faster when you are running out of yarn often DOES work, because many of us knit *tighter* when we knit faster, and that extra little smidge not used per stitch adds up, just like any alteration in gauge does. It's also possible to stretch the yarn more, which ends up altering your gauge as well, but not usually in a good way.
Whatever, your instincts are right. Knitting faster often does use less yarn.

I agree with most, flip it and crochet a new edge - it'll cover it up and you won't have to worry about the shoulder seams. Unless you won't noticed the shoulder seams, lurking beneath the collar. Ever read the Telltale Heart? Just sayin'. :)K

In my experience, making a decision about whether to frog or not is more agonizing than the actual deed itself. When all is said and done, I never regret the projects I frogged and corrected, just the ones I didn't.

I would rip it, for if you don't you will forever regret it and every time someone comments on the loveliness of the sweater, you will always be thinking "but......"! All you will be out is your time and it didn't take nearly as long as "the big pink thing"!!! Sometimes the answers to our questions aren't anywhere near what we want to hear, LOL!!! It is turning out very pretty, by the way!

No problem! Just add some epaulets, and you're good to go!

If the shoulder seams matter, flip it and crochet the bottom edge.
If the shoulder seams, etc, Matter, rip it.
Snippy moment - Rowan books cost $40 here. You would think they could afford to pay someone to proof the patterns before releasing them on unsuspecting knitters.

Leave it to knitters to know the Amish mistake theory. I was going to post that and you beat me to it!

How I miss central PA.
Lo

I agree with Nessa - don't rip it, just finish the sweater and then give it away.

By an amazing coincidence, I believe we are the same size.

Piper

I may be deluding myself, but I think I start to knit faster to make sure the yarn shop still has the same dyelot when I DO run out.

Let's think this through here. How many sweaters do you own? On average how many time do you wear a particular sweater in a season? Yes, a lot the first, maybe several the second but by the 3rd or 4th season they (and their quirks) have faded. I would rip if and only if the error was going to show. As the collar is about as big as the fronts (i.e., there's a lot of knitting to go here), I'd leave it alone. Actually, I'd put the pieces down and knit the collar (I assume it is sewn on after being completed). You may feel quite different about the whole project by then.

I'll give you my mother's words, so I don't hear them again...."if its worth doing, its worth doing well"...now maybe I won't have this mantra in my head when I have to rip...what's a few offset ribs in the grand scheme of things......cedar

Turn the back around and pay someone to crochet a nice edging all the way round the whole damn thing. Then the cast on edge won't show.

Thanks for the warning. After you showed us that sweater I need to make one.

No one will notice if the shoulders don't line up. But I'd rip it because I'd want it to be right if I were going to use gorgeous yarn like yours.

No matter what you do, it will be clever.

If you are in this much of a quandry, then you'll probably have to rip! That's the only way I can tell when to rip, and when not to. If I'm having that much trouble deciding, then I must rip!

Good luck, and, as you said, the collar will hide it!

Maybe I'm seeing the problem wrong/differently, but if flipping would make the ribs line up, then what you need is one more rib. Could you knit one column of rib onto the side of the back as you might do for a horizontal button band? I don't know what that would do for the shaping, but it might be fudged/hidden more easily than mismatched ribs and seams.

I haven't read any other comments. Wait! That is a lie. Does Presbytera have something there? Can it work? Is it a 2x2 rib? I know nothing of the pattern so you will have to let me know.

Having said that, if you know me a little bit you know what I would do. We are not tall women. Even with the collar, people look down on our shoulders. It needs to be right.

Thanks for the heads' up on Juno. I've copied the errata for the future... In the meantime, I've found another pattern to work up around one spectacular button.

Rip it - you know you are going to ;P

If you don't

It.

Will.

Drive.

You.

Mad.

I would probably rip it, and be incredibly pissed the whole time. Patterns should be tested BEFORE publication. This is a big pet peeve of mine. You probably deserve some kind of compensation or freebie for what you are going through. (Too bad things don't work that way.) Whenever I learn of errors like this, it makes me less likely to knit a pattern from that source again. Anyway, focus on what will make you happy in the end. After all, it's all knitting.

Anyone who has read my blog knows how much I HATE having errors in patterns. Seems to me, if you are going to publish it, it better be perfect.

What about turning the back over, then doing a crochet edge along the bottom?

If flipping the back around so the shoulders will match the front shoulders - I think you should do that. You can always unknit from the bottom (can't you?) and try to refinagle it to match the front.

Of course I've never actually done this, so don't listen to me. Just go on being irritated that the pattern was wrong - maybe send it to the designer/editor/whomever and tell *them* to fix it. Yeah... that might work. LOL

Well, thank goodness I read your blog. I would have to rip it but haven't started mine yet. So thanks.

I always thought I am the only who would try to outrun the yarn. Oh well, guess not.
You might as well rip the whole thing now and start over. You know you are going to do it, just a matter of time. Why wait until the eye twitch is uncontrollable?

My guess is that if you're thinking this much about it, you're ripping it. If you haven't already, that is. :)

Can't wait to see Big Pink after it arrives at it's new home...

I would stuff it in the bottom of my closet, cussing like a menopausal banshee and then pull it out a couple of years later and go "what the hell was that supposed to be?" And then make a sock. But that's just me.

Uhm...I would be loathe to leave it as is and _really_ reluctant to rip it, so I would toss it in a basket for 6 - 10 months (at least!) and wait for it to fix itself....

Just sayin'.

Aren't you the person who told Ken that ripping back just means you get to knit more, and you LIKE knitting?

Sigh. I got all excited there when you said you sat down with Juno. I instantly thought it was the person, not the pattern. Wishful thinking...

I would flip over the back and work a nice crocheted finish over the cast-on edges.

Here's what you should do. Take it to a friend's house who has a toddler (or send it to mine). Leave it in an opened bag in the living room floor for 1 day. If by some miracle no one has ripped it for you, then it was meant to be. Carry on.

Dude? Are you asking me? Ms. U. Tight at Analknitting Inc? The one who winds out all her Noro on paper towel rolls to get the stripes lined up EX-actly? On the sleeves aaaaaand the fronts? Seriously?

You better listen to somebody else.

The shoulder seams are covered by a big honking collar! Leave it be! And remember the motto of Persian carpet weavers "Only Allah is perfect."

Rip away. But make sure you have a stiff drink on hand before you do.

Oh for crap's sake... the whole thing took you, what, 10 minutes to whip up anyway, so who cares? ;)

I think you're nuts for caring about what it looks like under the collar, but it's unclear to me how significant the shoulder issue may be. This also says to me that ripping the fronts may not help, because I care not a whit if it's not matchy-matchy under the big-ass collar, but the shoulders are visible, or might be. My theory on the whole thing in general is, if it looks bad rip it, so this is consistent with my base approach. If you can't see it it doesn't exist and doesn't bear worrying about.

Actually, you're probably going to hate the sweater and never wear it anyway, so really you should think about what whoever you're going to give it too might think.

I'd wouldn't rip out, but then I'd probably end up regretting it always, so don't take my advice.

And actually, I'm the opposite. If I think I won't have enough yarn I end up going slower and slower - trying to make it last I guess. Or just putting off that moment of agony when I do figure out I don't have enough yarn.

Hmm...I'll have to try the knitting faster to use less yarn. I'm the opposite. I knit slower hoping the yarn will somehow grow in length in the process or something!

Flip. And then: go along that errant bottom edge, picking up each stitch and immediately casting back off, so as to make that nice smooth edge. The same thing you do to correct wings on a vest, only for that you go down a needle size as you do it.

Seeing as how last night I botched a short row heel and even something as small as half a short row heel wasn't worth ripping out to me, I would say: Flip it, don't rip it! :)

Go with the crocheted edging around the bottom--and a voodoo doll.

And don't ever buy their patterns again.

I like the idea of flipping the back over and doing a row of single crochet along the bottom. Send it to Lily, she'll have it done for you in about 5 seconds.

Looking forward to the BPT reveal. --J

If this were an ordinary sweater and you were an ordinary person, I'd say leave it. But it's not and you're not. Reread your April 25th blog where you said this sweater was "absolutely perfect".

Well, it ain't gonna be if you can't fix it right, and that will drive you to distraction (even faster if you're low on gas).

And though all those people who say the collar will cover up the problem may be right, dude (may I call you dude?), you've told the whole knitting world that under that collar is a great big honking mistake. And they're all going to want to see it. And if, by some wild chance, you run across someone who doesn't know about it and says, "What a beautiful sweater!", you know what you're going to do, don't you? SHOW THEM!

It's the Tell-Tale Heart. Thump, thump.

If you are wearing the sweater, then you will never see the back, right?

Though, if it was me, I would start over. Then again, if I started over, I might become bored with the project and it ends up... gasp!!... unfinished. Decisions! Decisions!

Thanks for reminding me why I stick to socks and stopped knitting sweaters!

Rip it. Unfortunately you are not going to be happy with it without it all being done correctly, as any good knitter should be. Whether you rip the back, or rip the front, they should match. YOU WOULD KNOW every time you looked at it or wore it that IT DOESN'T MATCH CORRECTLY.

I'm sure you won't even get to my comment, with the 100+ others you have to read, but here's my two cents...

I, personally, would just keep knitting. It doesn't bother me when things aren't perfect if nobody else will know. However...

... juding by your "Knitting Rules" book that I just finished reading (I just recently found out about your books), I think you would feel guilty the whole time you were finishing the sweater. You are so enamored by the design that I think you would be disappointed in the finished project if you knew it wasn't the best it could be.

Hopefully this isn't too repetitious of what others are saying!

I checked again when I got home, and the side seams on my Juno match, too, and the cast-ons all face the same direction. So, either the pattern is right for some sizes, or I somehow compensated for it without realizing it. On to the collar...

I say flip it and one of the following:
1. Do the crochet edging (or hire it out)
2. Cast on a new bottom and graft
3. Pick out the cast on edge and bind off to match the fronts
4. Rip as a last resort.
FWIW, of course. ;)

Rip it. It's a quick knit, right? Why not quell the inner perfectionists nagging.

Rowan needs a not-so-nice letter.

Always listen to the little voice that's bugging you to do the right thing. It's either your mother or the knitting gods.

Good heavens, you knit fast, so I would say "Rip her for all you are worth!" In the long run, you will be happier.

Altho, I would rip as well, and I am slow as the proverbial molasses in January. (But it would bug me something fierce if my knits and purls didn't line up.)(Anal, I know, but what librarian isn't?)

Quality control ain't what it used to be, and it wasn't then either!

Janet

Well, if it were me, and it were a normal collar, I'd definitely rip. But it's a huge collar. The collar will completely cover up the shoulder seams. So would I rip? Good question. On any given day there's a 50% chance I would, and a 50% chance I'd say good enough. That's the problem with being evenly left-/right-brained. Trying to figure out what I would do in any given situation is hell.

I definitely knit faster if I'm running out of yarn. But all you people who drive faster when you're running out of gas...uh, do you understand how gas mileage works? Um, you realize your mileage isn't going to be as good if you go really fast and you're going to run out of gas in a shorter distance, right? Better yet, you realize you could just take the bus and knit the whole way...and sometimes there are really cute bus drivers to look at...? Just sayin'.

Flip the back and then do a pick up and cast off around the bottom edge - then it won't matter whether it matches or not.

Personally, I've gotten to a point in my knitting life (17 years) where I'd rather have something be finished than perfect if the error isn't something that is likely to be caught by anyone not seriously invading my personal space.

Hrm. Personally - I'd rip it. I don't know if you're tallying a poll on this. That said, if you know that said mistake is going to affect the number of times you wear this sweater out of (a) fear that someone will notice the non-matchiness and have the serious gall to mention it to you; or (b) someone will make the 'uhn huh' face at you because they read the blog and know whether you decided to rip or not, and then surreptitiously try to pick out the errors/error spots whilst still making polite conversation and not trying to look like they're trying to pick out where the error/error spots are and thus making you feel like the subject of a most-intense (and unwelcome) scrutiny and therefore uncomfortable, and then forsaking the sweater, all the while wishing that you had just KNIT THE OFFENDING PIECE OVER....

Of course, if you're not that worried and you know that if people are looking THAT close, they're not looking at the knitting anymore anyway, and they're also probably invading your personal space and it's time to bust out the pepper spray...

I'd rip and reknit. Course, I also have never completed a whole sweater (yet), so I don't know that I actually qualify to opine on this subject. It's rather like having kids. You can't comment (credibly) on the merits of one method of child-rearing over another if you've never had kids, because how would you know?

Good luck with your decision. Whichever way you decide to go, I'll still read your blog.

What if you turned the thing around, undid the cast-on only, and redid it somehow to match? I don't know if anyone said this already or if it would even work, but it's probably worth a try.
also-I love this blog!!
-Sarah

It's been said, but I agree with taking out only the bottom of the hem of the back and then cast-off such that it'll be even all around. I had to do that with a striped stocking cap hat once...finished it and decided the bottom two inches needed to be changed.

All "Rainman"?

I not only can't stop laughing, but I can totally picture you doing it. :-)

Did Claudia weigh in with the wool-slap yet?

Hmm... you mean knitting faster uses the same amount of yarn... darn. I was hoping...

I say rip the fronts and make them match the back. I think mismatched seams would bug me even more than mismatched CO edges... but that's me. I don't fear rips... I expect them. lol!

I think a lot of knitters have been in your exact position at one point or another. I hate to say it, but ripping is usually the winner.

Personally, it's hard to spend sooooo much time on something that you know is off.

~Kris

doesn't that hanging big collar cover the shoulder seams that wouldn't match? if they are covered, really NO one would ever notice that they don't match . . . would they?
(i swear steph, i would never look)

Let 'er rip! You know that after you are done, you will continue to look at the mismatch and it will drive you nuts and in the long run. When you quit wearing the sweater because you know of its hideous deformity (even if no one else knows) that you just can't stand to wear it in public and you'll wish you had done it right in the first place.

Haha... I do have to say that knitting has taught me how to be less of a perfectionist, because I am so impatient that I can't stand to re-knit something unless it is truly awful. Plus I am a fairly slow knitter, and I have limited knitting time available. I will rip, but only in specific circumstances.

That being said - did you seriously do almost the whole sweater in one day? Or did I miss you starting it awhile back when I thought you were only talking about it? If it's really that fast a knit for you, you'll feel almost no pain from having to re-do.

All this talk of ripping or not ripping is reminding me of exactly the way I talk to myself when I know I need to tear back and I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally don't want to. It's already making you crazy. Get it over with. You know you're going to anyway.

I knit faster when I think I'm going to run out, too. My justification is that if I knit faster, I can get to my LYS sooner in order to get the last ball before the dyelot is gone. Yes, I know, I could just put the knitting down and go get more yarn. But that would mean putting the knitting down...

Love your blog! I was just wondering if you had heard about Hokie Healing. The LYS in Blacksburg, Va, Mosaic is collecting knit and crocheted squares for the victims families of the Virginia Tech shooting. I know you have a lot of readers and we're trying to get as much word out as we can. We need literally thousands of squares, so the more people we can reach the better. Check out my blog or Mosaic's blog www.mosaicyarnshop.blogspot.com for more info...thanks so much

Phew - that was a close one. I've just begun knitting Juno, only completed the first 15 rows, so thank you YH, you've saved me a rip!

If I were time strapped like you, I'd go with the shoulders being hidden under the collar - so no-one will notice. But, if you're a perfectionist and just cannot live with knowing what is hidden under that collar - rip rip rip.

Good luck with your decision!

I vote for either letting it go since the shoulder seams are hidden by the big collar, or since we all know you probably can't let go of that (*grin*), re knit the front to make them match the back... it'll be a lot less to rip out and reknit.

It is one huge ass collar...I would leave it. But then again...I don't knit as fast as you do so I would be hating having to reknit it. You'll probably end up ripping...since it'll nag at ya. I betcha.

Please don't rip it. I'm one of those knitters who always rips to avoid niggling regrets. But here I'd find a workaround. I'd either: a) reverse the back, as you said, and unify the cast-on row with a row of crochet or knit stitches all-around, or b) rip out the top 5" of the fronts, and shift the ribs right or left. (I.e., cleverly increase by two stitches at the armholes and bind off two at the neck opening, or vice versa) so the ribs line up with the same # of stitches. Or some better idea; who'd be more creative than you?

This is under a huge collar. Invisible shoulder seam. Think smaller carbon print. Rather than overinvest more energy and lamp hours on this invisible thing, use those hours on your next project. You know: our next entertainment installment. (I still have the feeling that you're going to rip, anyway.)

Are YOU really asking the question? We all know you're going to rip it. You are, after all, you. The woman who can't bear mismatched stripes on socks. Not that that is a bad thing: I myself am sewing the seams on a sweater that is currently on its third (3rd) reknit. I originally knit this hideous boxy THING that looked nothing like the picture in the pattern book, so after wearing it once (it made me look like the back of a bus), I frogged it and rethought the whole style thing. I found a much more flattering pattern, knit it, started assembling, discovered I had totally arsed up the raglans, ripped back to the armpits (to the sound of VERY rude words, reknit again, reblocked, and now I'm back to the point of re-assembly, and yesterday, as I was sewing up the raglan seams, I actually heard someone say "You know, these seams are kinda stiff, and a top-down raglan would sit much nicer". I had to smack myself.
That being said, the yarn (Jo Sharp Classic DK Wool, colour Hull - now discontinued) has really stood up well to all the abuse, and when I finish seaming, it's going to be a gorgeous sweater.

What Ken say. Sounds like a plurality are onto you. In the full knowledge that you've already ripped it, yea, even as I type, I'd advocate leaving it -- not merely because I'm a slob (though that is true enough.) I'd leave it because almost no one would notice, and of the few who do almost no one would mention it, and the few do mention it will thereby identify themselves as women with whom you do not wish to associate (rather like people who point out errors in posted photos.)

I think option three - redoing the front to match the back. My default is to think that there is a mistake in the pattern, half the time it is just me being a dunderhead and not reading the ruddy thing correctly. Yes it might be worth doing it correctly, but then there is also Knitter's Choice and this is as good a time as any to exercise it as well as your ingenuity.

i didn't read all of the comments so i may be repeating things here, but is the knitting faster thing kinda like discovering, in the middle of nowhere, that your low fuel light has not come on even though you have NO gas and stepping on it even though you know driving faster actually wastes gas?
AND
the OCD in me is trying hard not to vomit at the thought of wearing a sweater KNOWING it was knit up, um, eccentrically. i've not knit a sweater yet because i KNOW that if i mess it up i'll never wear it and it'll be wasted. i swear i don't procrastinate, i OCDastinate, pronounced just like it's spelled.

Can you wait to even make the decision until you've knit the front (the correct way with the pattern boo-boos fixed) THEN see if it matches up with the back?

I think Tinsleymumsey said it first. Just flip the back and do a single crochet edge all the way around the bottom. Everything will line up and match, and you don't have to reknit anything to do it.

Well, I would say, don't rip, finish and I will be glad to relieve you of the problem but I am 7 or 8 inches taller than you and I think tghe fit might be a little off.
Cheers. Naomi

With respect to Ken's last remark there, please note when knitting the sleeves that my arms are a titch longer than yours. Thank you.

Actually, if you *do* reknit the back, can you do me a favour? Stitch in the word "fuck" in fluorescent puce (I know it's not an awful colour, but it's an awful word) at the point where the stitches would have not matched, and then keep a running tally of how may people notice in the course of a day... I don't expect this will be an arduous task.

Unless, of course, they take it as an imperative...

I'm so entirely amused that you would ask about this! Always seemed to me that this was a personal thing and that you should really go with what your heart says. I'm a 'leave it alone' kinda gal, but with a 2.5 year old in the house, my knitting time is prescious and few, and if I'm ever to complete anything, there's no way I could reknit a whole back of a sweater (particularly one that wouldn't really show a whole heck of a lot anyway, and really not to you unless you are a lot more flexible than me). I know plenty of people that would totally rip it, and seeing how fast you knit, maybe it's not such a bad idea. But honestly, I really think you need to go with what you're guts telling you on this and leave popular opinion out of it!

Rip it, rip it good (sorry, couldn't resist!)
Seriously, it would bug me forever.

Since the unmatchiness of the shoulder seams will be camouflaged under the color I say leave it. It will in no way effect the functionality or beauty of the end result. And that's what matters! That's what I love about knitting, that it is beautiful and functional.

Aren't you the one who showed us how to "fix" a miscrossed cable by duplicate stitching over it?
If you can stand that, you can stand a cast-on edge that nobody will ever look at. Or you can use the often-suggested method: "flip the back, knit a new cast-on edge to match the flipped back, and graft the new cast-on edge onto the bottom".

I think it will be hidden by the collar and you could leave it and no one would be the wiser (except the 3000 or so of us who read this blog). However, I suspect that even if all 3000 of us said LEAVE IT OR GIVE UP KNITTING FOREVER, you'd rip.

It most certainly must be ripped. Not ripping it would drive the Type A perfectionist in me nuts. I've got issues though. I once bought 12 Filofax yearly calendar inserts in less than a year for the SAME year because I refused to write in pencil and could not stand correction fluid or scribbles in my calendar. I'm okay now though. Really.

I spend much too much time around women who would want to know all about the knitting of the sweater to leave the mismatch. I might leave it if the sweater was intended as a knock-around-the house item. Juno doesn't look like a knock-around girl.

I like the clever idea of flipping the back. The crocheted edging probably wouldn't be stretchy enough for the ribbing, even if you'd do it. Maybe pick up and bind off in pattern around the bottom after assembling. Others have sort of suggested the same thing.

I've of the camp that I'd just turn it over. It's the back and most likely you won't even see it after it's done. You'll know it's there but after a few wears with lots of compliments you might even forget about it.

Hmmmm. I suggest you read "Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off" to determine if you are a process knitter! :)

I am too much of a perfectionist...I would make them match some how - by either knitting the fronts "wrong" to match the back or ripping the back and re-knitting. All of the mentioned 'solutions' with their attendant mis-matches would drive me nuts and I wouldn't wear it. Actually, I'd probably throw it in the corner to punish it and leave it for a year or two....

(good luck on your decision, and I promise I won't look too closely if I see you wearing it)

I would redo the back. It would drive me nuts everytime I wore it, therefore I would never wear it.

I'd rip it, because it would bug me forever and I'd have a hard time wearing the sweater...then ALL the knitting would be wasted. FWIW. :)

Rip it.

God, grand me the serenity to accept the mistakes I cannot change, to change the mistakes I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. This doesn't mean I would rip this one. If the collar covers it, will anyone else really know? I don't knit as fast as you do so every stitch is perhaps more valuable.

If the collar covers it and NO ONE WILL EVER SEE UNDER THERE, I vote leave it. Let it go.

OK - commenting first, then I'll go back and read my predecessors: my DEAR! It has become singularly evident to me that you are a Lightning Knitter. A veritable Secretariat of knitting. A Milennium Falcon with the needles. First, I watched the Denver interview; in the beginning I was listening with interest. Then I became transfixed, mesmerized, enthralled, with those Flying Fingers of Skill (not to mention the not-looking-at-it). Now you've done nearly all of a SWEATER?? And it seems to me the BPT was first mentioned just a few days ago. After all this I watched my own hands. In fact, I always watch my hands unless I'm in the body of a toque - and I plod. I am a plodding knitter. As I virtually bow down before you, I can virtually feel the wind whistling past my ears from your flying needles. I am in awe. Now I can go read the rest of the posts. (Type fast? yeah, after 40 years of secretarial work. Knit fast? not so much.)

Oh my gosh. I thought I was the only one who knits faster when I think I might run out of yarn. Guess I'm in good company. As for ripping the back. . . well, how long, exactly, did it take you to knit it in the first place? It seems like it went pretty fast and knitting it for a second time will probably be even faster. My compulsive nature would lead me to re-knit. But that's just me. . .

Where can I find the Juno pattern? I've looked online to no avail....can anyone out there tell me where to find it????

Normally, I would agree with the crowd and say rip, cuz it'll make you crazy if you don't. However, after looking at the picture, I'm not sure that's true. So, I've changed sides to Keep.

But, if you do Keep, definitely redo the bottoms so the bind-off matches, since you said that would definitely make you crazy. As a much newer and less talented knitter than you, that wouldn't bother me so much. (Although, I admit, the unmatched ribbing would IF the shawl piece didn't cover it up.)

Btw, I am quite certain you have already begun ripping. :)

I do so love your blog!

If the shoulder seams will be hidden under the collar, don't bother ripping & redoing. You'll walk around with a Mona Lisa smile when you wear this sweater, because only you (and the 2.73 million readers of this blog) will know the ribs on the shoulder seams don't match.

Since the sweater's got a fat gauge, re-knitting it should be relatively painless. Especially with your speedy fingers! This sweater is so gorgeous, it's not worth it to hate it when you're done.

I'm with the flip the back and single crochet around the bottom team mainly because if I was wearing something where the shoulders didn't match I'd feel compelled to tell people about it - but that's just me. If your love of the jumper will be marred by knowing it isn't absolutly perfect then you have to rip and we all have sympathy and send cookies and alcohol to ease the process.

Ahhhh. You know that if you leave it as it is, thinking that the ribbing won't show because it's covered by the large collar, you will, being the open and honest person that you are, lift up the collar and show it to everybody who compliments you on your lovely sweater.
If you opt for leaving it as it is, what will you do? You will start another project and knit some more. So it doesn't matter if you rip it out and knit it, or finish it and knit something else; you will still be knitting. I vote for doing it so it feels great, whichever that might be.
I knit faster when I think I'm running out of yarn. Just like I drive faster when I'm on the 401 and I think I'm running out of gas.

So, after reading all the comments, noting your mention that Juno's in a pretty big gauge and going fast, and also having at least some idea of how your mind works after the blogging and practically memorizing 4 books...

...how far along did you get on the re-do before going to bed last night, after ripping it all out? [vbg]

R.I.P I.T!!! Right now! B4 you knit another stitch! You loved the pattern. You will save a few days of knitting (remember it zips along). You'll be relieved you saved yourself time whilst it's still being finished, convince youself for a day or 2 after it's completion that it was a clever little compromise you cheated with and then for the next decade or so it will lurk at the back of your wardrobe in the "what might have been if near enough wasn't good enough" pile. You'll only get it out on washing days that you're spending at home in PJ bottoms and eventually you'll give the "compromise cop-out" jumper to charity to salve your uneasy guilt. In years to come some unfortunate, already down on their luck, will be wearing a botched jumper because you considered saving time. If not for yourself, then for the poor soul who'll otherwise end up walking the streets in it, RIP IT NOW!!

I would call it a "design feature" and tell everyone its supposed to be that way!

I am still crying tears of laughter from what Ken said. Maybe you'd be more comfortable wearing "arse"?

I think it would be perfect. And perhaps you should do that, and then send a picture of the sweater to Rowan, with collar up and down, and suggest that they hire a proof-reader in the future.

Now that thousands of knitters have learned that Rowan means error-prone patterns, it certainly behooves them to make changes to fix it in the future. Taking the Represent theme to the companies who profit from our knitterly obsessions and hold them to a standard of excellence.

You know you're going to have to re-do the back. It will probably bug you if you leave it. It would probably bug me too in the same situation.

Why did you even ask? You know already what you're going to do. The "rip/no rip" thing is a matter of genetic code. I, and those of my ilk, wouldn't dream of ripping out hours of work to fix something that wouldn't show in a bid for perfection. We'd just happily finish the sweater, consider the imperfection a tribute to the gods, and open a cold one to celebrate. We believe in "easing" our way through life, with minimal consideration of "ought to"s. However, those of you with the perfectionist gene will never rest easy without fixing something like that. You'll never enjoy the sweater... the error will stand out like it's painted neon orange every time you look at that sweater. So go ahead and do it... you're a fast knitter... you'll have it reknit correctly long before you'll get over the agonizing if you don't

Didn't read your blog for a couple of days and now followed the exciting story of the Big Pink Think... Can hardly wait 'till Monday... :D

How about turn the back over so it matches at the top and then put a small decorative edging on the bottom to hide the differences in the cast on??
Lots less knitting that way!

Hidden were no one will ever see + already redoing everything so much + dude, seriously= let it be! Use it as therapy for facing your fears or something, because if you are the only one who will ever know, what will it matter? I would leave it and laugh about it every time I put the thing on, and just make it a big joke. But that's me, and I'm lazy.

If you are the sort of person who will think about the mistake every time you wear the sweater, rip it. Or flip the back over and add an edging to the bottom.

As much as it hurts to think of all that time spent, you'll always know there's something "wrong" with the sweater if you don't fix it. Every time someone compliments you on the it, you'll say/think, "Yeah, but..." If you can't honestly say "Thanks, it was a lot of work" and be happy about it, do it over. (grrrr for patterns with mistakes!)

I'd rip the back and redo it. I would know it doesn't match and it would matter a great deal to me. It won't take that long (in the scheme of things) and you will have warm, lovely, glowy feelings when it's done. The lovely sweater will last you a lifetime, fix it now!

As far as knitting something from a book/magazine, I never, ever knit anything anymore without checking their website. Over the years I've learned the hard way and there are more and more errors now than what used to be. I'm glad you have a "knitter beware" warning. Maybe that will help others check too.

I would flip the back over and tear out the bottom few rows on the back and reverse the pattern so that it matches the front. Then your rib would match at the top and the border would match at the bottom and you would only have to re-knit 4 or 5 rows. Easy.

The knitting-faster-so-you-won't-run-out-of-yarn is hilarious! I never realized I do exactly that myself, til you said it. now-to rip or not to rip? If it were me, I'd totally rip, except for that honking big collar. Only you can really know what your tolerance for imperfection is.

To rip or not to rip, that is your question.
Wether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer, the slings and arrows of this messed up knitting,
or to rise up against a sea of mistakes,
and by oposing, fix them? To knit, to sleep, to sleep, perchance to dream, ay there's the rub. For in that sleep of finnished knitting other dreams may come, when we have given up this knitting, must give us pause. There's the respect
that makes calamity of so long life,
for thy knitter themselve may stab and poke
with a double point.
To grunt and sweat under such a decision,
only to fear of other mistakes, puzzles the will
and makes us bear those mistakes we made before
thus mistakes do make cowards of us all
and thus our native hue of resolution
is sick'lied o'er with our past thoughts of knitting.
With this regard our currents turn awry, and choose our course of action.

(I had to memorize 20 lines of one of Hamlet's soliloquy's for my lit class and when you said that line I just had to make a knitting version! Good luck with your decision!)

Mothercruncher, that sucks. My stomach dropped when I read the part about the back, ugh. If it were me (which it wouldn't be since there's no way I could have knit this so dang fast at the same time as knitting a football field sized Pink Thing), I would manipulate the front patterns to make them 'wrong' but match the back. But that's cause I'm a heck of slow and fastidious knitter and redoing the back would just put me over the edge (meaning that the sweater would get balled up and put away for 'later' and we all know what that means). So in the immortal words of Tim Gunn I'd 'make it work'.

Please don't rip it! Aiming for perfection in things that don't show and don't matter is not a virtue--it's a form of mental illness! j/k. But please, for the sake of all us imperfect knitters in the world, please don't rip! Heck, I just knit my first ever sock, using your instructions, and I got my decreases all in the wrong place. Did I rip out the entire foot when I discovered that? I did not. I started on the second sock and I hope I will do this one right. Live and learn. Move forward. Don't look back in regret. That's my philosophy.

I generally work under the philosophy that if you can make mistakes look intentional, they make patterns more interesting. Then they aren't mistakes, they are artistic choices.

Arghh - that stinks! I can't stand pattern books/magazines that are full of errors. It's like they rush it to be published and figure they can just correct everything later - too late for the poor knitter that may have already started her/his project. Recently I started a hat in Hip Knit Hats, and after ripping a section back a few times because I wasn't getting the right number of stitches... Well, I looked it up online and found an errata for the book that was 3 pages long! Aren't these patterns supposed to have been tested several times before being published?!!! Sorry for the rant, but I was a bit miffed that I paid full price for that book having bought it at my local bookstore. Grrrr... And yes, it would bother me enough to rip the back. But, I'm one of those knitters that enjoys the process enough to do such a thing.

So the Amish also have that deliberate imperfection thing? I'd heard it was the Navajo weavers. Or the ancient Greeks-- Arachne bragged about her skill at weaving and some snippy goddess turned her into a spider for her presumption. Anyway, for all those whose mothers said "anything worth doing is worth doing well", MY mother has these words of wisdom: "close enough for government work", and (my favorite) "good enough for whom it's for".

With apologies to Devo:

Attack that rip
give the stitch a slip
Don't be a hack --
Rip out the whole back.

When a problem comes along,
you must rip it
When the knitting sits too long,
you must rip it.
When something's going wrong
you must rip it.

Rip it
into shape
shape it up
get straight
Go forward
move ahead
Try to detect it
it's not too late
to rip it
rip it good.

When a good yarn turns around
you must rip it
You will never live it down
until you rip it
No one ever gets away
unless they rip it

I say,
Rip it good.

Okay, maybe you shouldn't take advice from guys wearing yellow flowerpot hats.

And while I'm not exactly going all Rainman on ya, I do have an original sweater that has been ripped out and reknit completely 1.5 times due to symmetry issues, so you might be well advised to consider that I strongly suspect that Adrian Monk is my long-lost brother.

Anyway, me? I'd rip.

Or at least do the flip thing and crab stitch around the bottom.

Dez - that is brilliant!!

I smiled to read that you knit faster when your yarn is getting low too. What is that about? Relieved to learn I am not the only one.

Rip it out. You'll know it's wrong and it will bug you forever. And besides, it's about the process, not neccessarily the finished product. And you did say it's quick to knit.

I'm afraid you're going to have to rip. There's no sense in finishing a piece of knitting that will torment you from the closet (and thus remain there, instead of on the knitter) with its mismatched ribbing. I'd say if you're going to rip, do the back and fix it right.

If the shoulder seams are going to be under the collar don't waste your time ripping. The universe is not in our control. Galaxies spiral into one another, stars pull each other into their orbits. Think of your shoulders as a microcosm of this chaotic majesty, hide them under the collar, and secretly ponder life's mysteries as everyone else admires your handiwork without noticing the imperfection.

Oh, if you're still undecided, you can toss a coin, heads you rip, tails you don't, and then when the coin lands, don't necessarily do what it tells you to do, but pay attention to your reaction. Are you glad it landed the way it did, or do you wish it had landed the other way? That will tell you what you really want to do.

As noted above, you have probably started ripping already, but if you haven't.....I'm for flipping it and adding an edging around the bottom (and possibly sleeves for symmetry) but not a single crochet edge. Not only have I read about your distate for crochet, it would look completely wrong with the pattern. Just do a few rows of stocking stitch for a rolled hem that will reflect the edge of the collar.

ohmy what a dilemma. You do knit fast so frogging might work. Although then you might run out of yarn cause it took so long to do. VBG
What about putting the shoulders together with a stitch that is thick so it won't show (will mislead the viewer) that the ribbings do not match. Depends on who is going to wear it. Depends on if the person expects perfection from you. Depends on if frogging will place this into UFO status. Depends on how you will feel.
How about going out for a walk in this extra special spring sunshine and letting it rest for awhile. Namaste,

If my car is low on gas I drive faster so I won't run out!!!!!! I love the logic of it all

Rip. If you don't, you will tell anyone who compliments your sweater about the flaws. I am speaking from experience. Non-knitters do not want to hear this story and knitters (especially those of us that are not as talented as you and not able to fix the problem) break out in hives at the thought of this happening especially when we have given up precious family income to buy the publication that did not bother to verify the accuracy of the pattern.

hey there glad that you got the Big Pink thing done also have a question.. any chance that you will be in North Carolina any time soon?

Yarnharlot:

Are you a perfectionist? If you think organically and are perfectly pragmatic, then any and everything you do is perfect.

I'd like to be a perfectionist, but I know I'll never be good enough at it.

I'd say make it right, not necessarily because that's what I would do, but because it will eliminate that bit where compliments get headed off by pointing out the mistakes. Why is it that so many women can't just take a compliment and own it, instead of minimizing or denying the value of what they've done? Give yourselves some credit! I know I'm ranting here about a subject that is unrelated, but it just bugs me. Harumph.

The "knitting faster when you're low on yarn" thing is funny. At least it isn't actually counterproductive like the "driving faster when you're low on gas" thing is.

PhilB

P.S. Kristine and I plan to make it to see you in Petaluma in June. We are looking forward to it.

I'm not going to read through all 214 comments, so I may be on my own here...but I'd rip the back out and do it again.

But then, everything on my desk needs to be at a right angle or I can't get any work done. Maybe it's just my brand of crazy.

There is no way I'd rip out something if I could figure another way out. I take the Quaker approach: only God makes things perfect, and they would actually put a mistake IN their quilts to reflect this. After all, it's your sweater and no one will come up to you (unless you've blogged it all over the web) and even notice!

However, I know there are people who couldn't live without it being "perfect". And if it's going to make you not wear the thing, then I like the idea of flip with a row of single crochet better. Why do it Rowan's way completely when they mucked it up in the first place? Add your own Steph touch.

Me again....was reading comments while waiting to see the Kentucky Derby run. My Mom's word's came to mind (after I was fretting a tiny sewing mistake) "Well Honey,If someone's looking THAT close, the problem's theirs, not yours"

Just a thought...

I would SOOO not rip this. Especially give the big collar.

But I am not you and you are not me and I can't imagine, having been reading your blog for a while now, that this won't bug the living carp out of you and diminish your pleasure in Juno forever.

You need to rip.

(I can understand the dissatisfaction part. And I think I may be approaching the level of proficiency where my laziness might be outweighed by my need to do it right. Not there yet, but there may come a day...)

Take the back for a swim in the frog pond. Horrible, I know, but if you leave the errors in, the sweater will feel much heavier on your shoulders than it really is.

OMG Steph, it's UNDER THE COLLAR. Don't RIP IT. Just chill out, relax, no one will notice, and pretty soon you'll forget about it. At least I would. Everyone will be distracted by that fabulous collar and won't notice the mistake. But shame on Rowan for such poor quality control.

it seems that the majority thinks you should rip,
i just think it wouldent bother me. i have made mistakes that i live with every day

Thank somebody that I'm not the only who feels that knitting faster conserves yarn. Of course I have since figured out that it doesn't actually conserve yarn but makes you run out that much faster.
I'm waiting patiently to see just what the big pink thing is.

Ouch. I don't think that I would have been sly enough to consider flipping the back. It's said the devil's in the details. Sadly, I'd rip. I would not rip alone, however. After a couple of glasses of red wine, I would muster my courage, stop the mourning and rip. @x@ rib is nothing for a knitter with as many miles of knitting as yourself. What separates you from the "younger" knitter is your attention to the details. Bad Juno, bad Juno.

Rip away! It's fun and cathartic! *grin* Yeah... I'm weird that way. But I'd take out my frustrations for the mistake in the pattern on the piece by ripping.

RIP RIP RIP!
*grin*

Sue
PS Just bought two of your books and started reading them in the car. The other passenger and the driver (what? you thought I was crazy enough to read and drive?) enjoyed the exerpts I read out - particularly as they are non-knitters... or is that despite being non-knitters. I'm very excited to read them all the way through! Yay!

Did someone once say....... "there are no knitting police" ?

You're far smarter than I am. If I notice that there's something wrong with the pattern, my first instinct is to attempt to rework the stitches before checking if there's a correction online. Seriously, we need to triple check knitting patterns that are printed out. Like, one number off could screw the entire row over and if you're doing a giant shawl of doom, that one number screws the entire pattern over.

I'm sorry to do this to you, but do you recall grnyrn? The cutting and splicing of the yarn so that the color repeats would match?

And you're a super fast knitter. In fact, as I'm typing this, you've probably already ripped, reknit, assembled, and started the collar.

Me, I'm a slow knitter with very limited time--I have been working on Eris for over a year now, (almost two, actually) and just started the sleeves. I also have no problem at all with fraternal-twin socks. So, if it were me, I'd leave it.

But it's you. So, if the "flip the back and rework the bottom edge" thing doesn't appeal, then RIP IT!

Okay - here's my thinking - if you rip out everything that is 'wrong' according to Rowan, and reknit, then you'll finish up with a lovely garment, a perfect garment - a garment that is exactly the same as the perfect lovely garment that every other perfectionist has made. BORING!

If you leave it how it's knitted so far, flip the back, add that little pzazz of crochet around the bottom, and who the heck are Rowan to tell YOU what's right anyway? you'll have a unique item, all your very own and no-one will ever be able to copy it.

Personally, I like unique, it's much more fun than perfect. AND, if you don't have to re-do all that knitting, you'll have time for another pair of socks!

Happy Ripping!

Rip the fronts & redo (although the crochet edging idea is tempting). For future reference, my new favorite cast-on for ribbing is the long tail cast on done in rib.

http://www.dawnbrocco.com/techniques_lt.html#purl

for the purl version of the cast-on. Looks the same on both sides!

You know this already, perfection is in the eye of the beholder! If it bugs you, you better
rip it - it would never cross my mind again, especially with said collar hiding most of the sin.

If you've written about it, it will stick to your brain. Knit the fronts to match the back or it will bug you.

To be, is not to rip....

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