TZ2: the Rest of the Story

So, I tried on Tappan Zee when it was done blocking, and it was still wonky. Specifically, the neckline was much, much, muchmuch wider than it had any business being. I fretted for a while. I tried taking it in a little. Have you ever tried taking in a neckline? It really doesn't work...at least, it didn't when I did it, but y'all know my sewing skills. Or lack thereof. And then I had a flash of brilliance...it needed to be gathered.

Here's the "before" shot. And this doesn't even do it justice...it's hanging way further down my back than it ought to be. It's only on my shoulders because I hoisted it up there seconds before taking the picture. (Those loose strings are important. Stay tuned.)


And here's the "after" shot. I pulled on those loose strings, which are actually both ends of one piece of string, which is now part of the cardigan - it makes a running-stitch through the entire neckline.


The neckline gathered up nicely, in a gentle you-can-hardly-tell-it's-not-part-of-the-pattern sort of way, and when it was right where I wanted it, I sewed the ends into place in what I hope is a secure manner. I do have to rearrange the gathering every time I put the sweater on - all the gathered-up material tends to fall toward the ends of the string - but that's not a problem at all. Certainly better than having it fall off every three seconds.


And then I sewed on the buttons, and El Fuego took a proper model shot. Now that it's really, totally, completely done? I love it even more than I thought I would.


I also love that the buttons are buffalo nickels. Tiny, not-legal-tender buffalo nickels.