Never Knit a Sweater...mostly

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What?!! Am I crazy? I am advising you never to knit a sweater!


Here's why you shouldn't bother to knit a sweater.

1. If you knit a sweater for your boyfriend, he will break up with you. AKA "The Sweater Curse"

This is a common topic among knitters, the curse of the sweater to your romantic relationship. Somehow, it is surmised, a man will read into the fact that you invested dozens of hours into creating a garment just for him as a symbol of your commitment to the relationship. It scares him and he runs for the hills. Don't believe me? What about the wikipedia article, the daily knitter article, the you knit what article, oh dear I could just go on and on.

2. A sweater off the rack is loads cheaper than a sweater you make yourself.

Seriously folks, a sweater you knit yourself is made from wool from your local knitting shop or other appropriate place. A skein of yarn worth knitting a sweater from will cost you anywhere from $5 on up. A sweater will take about 10 skeins. Math tells us that the raw materials cost for your sweater endeavor is going to be at least $40. Okay, not too bad, you think, a sweater that cool would cost more than that. True. But what about the cost of your TIME to knit the sweater. How long *does* it take to knit a sweater? Take this pattern from Knitty Cast on 258 stitches and knit 8 rows in a rib stitch and then enough of the cable stitch for 14.5 inches. For me to knit 258 stitches, it would take about 20 minutes if I'm paying attention. Okay - so how many rows in this garment? Well the gauge tells us that 23 stitches or 32 rows equals 4 inches... The math is getting harder now...but I'll give it a go...

258 stitches times 8 rows = 2064 stiches or 160 minutes - 2 hours 40 minutes of time...
258 stitches times 14.5 inches = 116 rows = 29928 stiches or 38 hours 36 minutes of time...

How much is your time worth? $10 an hour? $20 an hour? -- let's just pay you $5 an hour - that's not even minimum wage. We're currently at 41 + hours - $205 for your labor - your wage slave labor...and you haven't even knit the sleeves yet!!!

So how many sweaters have you purchased that cost $245?

I can tell you the number I have - Zero!

Caveat Time:
I have knitted sweaters for my ex-husband, my daughter and myself. You can put a lot of love and care into the knitting of a sweater and that is by no means something to take lightly. A hand knit sweater means much more than a sweater. This somewhat humorous post is to discourage those who may start a sweater not realizing the labor involved in the project.

If you wish to knit the sweater in the picture - then Knitty is the place to get the pattern...but it will take you longer than 40 hours of your life to do it.

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