I have a cardigan that my mother knit for me about 35 years ago, a classic Mary Maxim pattern in bulky acrylic yarn with a giant gray poodle on the back. I love this sweater, and wear it all winter. Well, now I have a hole in one of the elbows. Any advice on the best way to fix this? It’s a big hole and I’ve never darned before. Thanks.
Visible Mending is big right now. Tom of Holland comes to mind, he has many techniques on his blog. I would like to see a picture of this hole, though. I’m very good at Invisible Mending and might have a few pointers, too.
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Thanks for the visible mending suggestion. I’ll definitely look into it and will also post a photo of the sweater and hole this evening.
Of course, you could darn it, or reknit that section of sleeve, but your problem will be finding exactly the right shade and weight of yarn. But with a novelty sweater like this you might be better knitting a couple of square patches in a darker grey and stitching them on the outside of each elbow, as though they had always been there.
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I think finding matching yarn is out of the question, but I hadn’t thought about patching both elbows so that they match. Thank you for the suggestion!
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You must attach a picture!
Elbow patches make any cardigan better!
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If you’re feeling really cute, you could knit a patch with an intarsia paw print.
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Yes, I will tonight. Meant to do it last night but was out buying presents…
A pawprint is a great idea. I’ve never done intarsia before, but might be a good way to start. Small patches, thick yarn, simple design.
Here’s the sweater in all its poodle glory (don’t judge, I was in jr. high when I chose the color and pattern), and two pictures of the hole.
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I have done something similar, knitting little stranded squares (in my case Nordic stars). The result was definitely eccentric, but so was the sweater, and at least I still get to wear it.
Another odd possibility is something we used to do with old jeans in the 70s and that’s embroidery. Not fine or fancy, but something simple like maybe little daisies stitched with the hole as the center. I’m no expert but there must be some guidance online.
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I love it! I thought the poodle image was going to be a profile – like on a “poodle skirt”. This is so much better. I think the paw-print or dog bone elbow patch would be perfect. You are a lucky woman to own such a classic.
All the best, Annie
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Thank you, I think I’m pretty lucky, too. Like I said, I love this sweater and wear it at home all winter. I’ve decided that I will knit two elbow patches, either with dog paws or bones (or maybe one of each). Thanks to everyone for the ideas!
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Judgement?!? That is an awesome sweater!!!
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If I could steal 8 inches of this yarn from someplace else in the sweater- like where it sews up a side seam, then I would invisibly mend the tiny area. You will be able to invisibly re-sew where you stole from with a not-quite-matching color, and it will be invisible, too. You have a treasure there.
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So, in trying to figure out what yarn my sweater is made from (Mary Maxim Titan, if you are interested), i found this: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/dog-head-cardigan. The internet can be truly a place of wonder.
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I guess you have tried this, but I was amazed to find that the Titan yarn is still out there on Ravelry. If you could identify the colourway, you might be able to persuade someone to sell you a skein.
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