Last night, Simple Knitted Bodice mk 1 was laid to rest.

From its early stitches, The Knitter had a feeling it was not going to make it, but in trusting gauge swatches and the bust size on the pattern, kept knitting. The Knitter didn’t want to admit that it looked as if it had a case of “Too Big”. The SKB started exhibiting symptoms of Too Big when the sleeves were removed from the active stitches – the little fledgling sleeves never had a chance to live but were already showing early warning signs of Too Big, something that The Knitter thought she could cleverly cure later with some knitting witchcraft or other. The body itself seemed as if it would make it, however. Early signs looked as if it would blossom into a healthy garment. But as the V-neck was growing, The Knitter realised that something had gone very very wrong.

Heartsick, The Knitter carefully slipped all the stitches onto waste yarn to try it on again. Her worst fears were confirmed – this developing garment was afflicted with a terminal case of Too Big. Much was done to try to save the SKB: pinching, cinching, adjusting how it was draped on her body, ripping back a few rows…but there was nothing that could be done. Utterly defeated, and with a heavy heart, The Knitter threaded the active yarn onto the ball winder and very quickly, and in much less time than it had taken to breathe life into this beautiful creation, the SKB was ripped out of existence and reverted back into its unborn state.

Sad though it was to lose the SKB mk 1, the SKB mk 2 was born late last night to our hopeful Knitter. This smaller version will be closely monitored, and may need a few alterations to come into a healthy existence.

But The Knitter is taking solace in this Renaissance – all is not lost, only learned.