I did it! I really did it! I picked up the Kaffe Fassett Floral Jacket after a 3-year hiatus.
This should have been my first clue that something wasn't quite right. I'm not a ripper. I cut my yarn when I'm done with it. This was shredded. Odd, right?
But I knit anyway. I didn't notice anything amiss until I finished half a round of fair isle knitting and I came upon this purple stitch that was also shredded. Uh oh! This isn't shredded. It's eaten. UGH!
I was trying to explain to a friend how hard it is to knit on dark yarn (black, navy blue) and I pulled a partial skein out of the Floral Jacket knitting bag and knit up a little swatch. ARGH! It was entirely eaten to pieces at about 18 inch intervals.
I'm in a bit of a tizzy now. I think my only solution is to rip out the row of sts with the eaten spot(s)?! Then I'll toss all the yarn. I took a moment for a quick inspection and haven't noticed any major damage to the sweater. I had to put it down and take a deep breath. Deep calming breath. Breathe. Breathe.
What do I do now???
Freeze the whole sweater, moth balls, and check the whole stash.... Pull the entire lot out and check it. Bin anything that's nibbled.
*hugs*
Posted by: Jane in London | Saturday, August 11, 2012 at 12:20
Freeze it. Then use duplicate stitch to replace the missing stitches - leave long tails and weave them in. That's how'd I'd deal with it. After having a really satisfying tantrum.
Posted by: Cate | Thursday, August 09, 2012 at 17:29
Moths?????? Oh, I hope not.
I've heard if you freeze the yarn it kills the moths, larvae and eggs that might be there.
Posted by: Dee | Wednesday, August 08, 2012 at 08:29
I've used the felted join to reconnect eaten sections and keep trucking along. It's irritating, but it works.
Posted by: Cambria Washington | Tuesday, August 07, 2012 at 12:01
I hope you are right and the sweater can be saved. It would be a shame to lose all that work.
Posted by: Wool Winder | Tuesday, August 07, 2012 at 10:27
Could it have been rubbed against something that broke those stitches? Abrasion sometimes looks like eating.
Posted by: Lydia | Tuesday, August 07, 2012 at 07:30
moths would be my guess, too
go check your yarn nook very carefully and put stuff in your freezer if you're not sure
good luck finding the culprit
Posted by: Carolyn in NC | Monday, August 06, 2012 at 20:06
My third attempt at a comment....im tired I guess
Moths !!! Argh! My cats must eat any moth that dare cross our doorstep!! Does WIlma need a cat ...maybe one named FRed?
Posted by: kathy b | Monday, August 06, 2012 at 18:37
Eaten by moths? Hope not! Or was it a hungry Wilma?
Posted by: Estella | Monday, August 06, 2012 at 14:18