In Which the Pirate Makes a Difficult Decision.

I’d mentioned that the first two Fleeps had come out slightly different in size, but the more I looked at them the more I realized just how different they were. I tried to quell the thoughts of reknitting, but when Michael tried them on a few weeks ago, I knew instantly that I’d have to make one glove over.

He said I’m crazy, that if he wanted two identical gloves he would have bought them in a store. (Isn’t he nice?) I say it’s not crazy; the whole point of custom knitting is so that things fit exactly as they should. What good is it if one glove fits perfectly and one is so big that it might have been made for someone else?

How far off could it have been, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you, although it’s kind of embarrassing… one glove was 3/4″ longer than the other, and about 1/2″ wider. That is some serious difference. And it’s totally unacceptable. So really, the decision to reknit wasn’t a difficult one at all.

The sizing difference has to be a matter of gauge/tension, because each of the gloves has the same number of stitches (I counted to be sure) and the same number of rows. Maybe I was hurrying more when I knit the second one, and it came out tighter, and thus fits perfectly? Obviously I should hurry when I reknit the first one to get the same gauge. Or maybe I accidentally knit the first one on US 4/3.5mm needles instead of US 3/3.25mm? We’ll never know.

I began to knit the next (would that be the third, or the first?) glove, making sure to pull my stitches tight. After the cuff I could see that my gauge was much more in line with the second glove that had fit properly. Hooray! I kept measuring as I worked my way up the hand, just to be sure. And it came out just fine!

I had enough yarn left in the ball to knit a third glove and one mitten-top, and unraveling the first glove gave me enough recovered yarn to knit the second mitten-top. Unraveling was an adventure as I’d woven the half-million (okay, ten) yarn ends in very carefully. I also had yarn left over from my own pair of Fleeps that could have filled in, if I didn’t have enough, but it worked out just fine. And the cut-off fingers will make wonderful felted toys for the kittens.

The second mitten-top was finished in a frantic burst of knitting on Thanksgiving morning, and I held my breath when Michael tried on the gloves Friday night. But woo! They fit perfectly! Then he gave them right back to me to put on some sort of fleep-top holding device. I ordered little sew-on magnets that are shaped like snaps but don’t actually snap; if those turn out to be somehow wrong then I’ll sew on a button and a loop.

He still says I’m crazy – and a perfectionist, too – but I feel lots better about having made gloves that fit right. Would you have done differently?

Due Date …… Project
10/3 ………… Angie’s gifts
11/1 ………… Second Fleep, hand section
12/1 ………… Mom’s sock #2
12/1 ………… Dad’s hat
1/1 ….………. Gift for Janis’s baby boy
2/1 ………….. Fleep Restraints for Mitten Tops, awaiting magnets
2/1 ………….. Jacob Hat
3/1 ………….. Twins’ sweaters
4/15 …….….. Gift for Gwen’s baby