... or do I? Let's decide!
I bought this gorgeous felted wool sweater new, and massively discounted owing to some fabric flaws. Holes, to be specific.
They're right down the front, starting from the neck.
I knew this going in and thought the holes would be much worse, but I didn't care. I have the same sweater with no flaws in a brown-green-gold colour and absolutely love this fabric, flaws or not.
Check out that texture! yet, when you wear it, this wool is soft like silk. And quite thin, while maintaining structural integrity. Warm enough but very breathable. I wasn't going to turn down fabric like that over a few holes. Anyway, I'm so interested now in visible mending and looking for opportunities to try it.
(Bet you're wondering, as I say that, whether I have taken advantage yet of my blue denim opportunities and the answer is No, because apparently I am always more excited about potential than actual work, and also, I still haven't decided whether to patch or weave that fabric, sigh. Decision-making: never my strong point.)
So I bought the sweater and the holes are quite small but there are a lot of them and they are weirdly positioned. Another view of the size:
And again, with light behind the biggest one, which is at the neck:
As soon as it arrived I started rubbing my hands together with glee because I couldn't help noticing that the scarf I'm STILL WEAVING (sorry, lil frustrated with myself there) is a very good match for this fabric...
... and I also have this thread that's pretty close.
Or I could make the holes bigger, then patch some fabric in behind them. The pink floral fabrics at the top of this post turn out not to be quite on the nose, so maybe high contrast patches, using raccoon faces, would be fun.
Too much?
Here's the thing though - give that this is felted wool, the holes aren't going to get bigger unless they snag on something. Which, given that the worst one is at my neck, would lead to bigger problems than torn fabric.
And the fabric is so very textured, casting shadows all over. I'm not sure the holes even show. Like, check out this other one I found on the back. Can you even see it?
Here's where it is. I could barely make it out, myself, until I knew to look for it.
Plus, the really big hole at the front of the neck falls into this area that folds in naturally while in use (as I mentioned, I have another of these sweaters already and am cosily wearing it as I type this), such that it will be out of sight when I wear it.
The only hole I really need to worry about is the one that's sort of smack in the middle of the front.
It does show. But it's pretty small.
Maybe I should just wear this sweater and ignore the holes. If I mend them, I might just make them stand out more, right?
Ugh, now I don't know what to do, apart from wearing the sweater and enjoying the bright colour and knowing I can always mend it if the holes get worse. Or maybe, wearing the sweater to a sewing supply store so I can buy embroidery floss or similar that is a perfect match!
Either way, I have had a very productive time hunting up my sewing scraps and thread collection so I could write today's Hug. I found some vintage tea towel fabric I'd been looking for, to fill out a curtain panel I've decided is just too skimpy. I am really piling up the sewing projects! Which makes it more urgent to finish my weaving, because I need the loom space for my sewing machine, aiiieee.
Hope you've got a lively or lazy but in all ways good weekend lined up, and thank you for dropping in again today after I took last week to nurse my sore arm. It is still sore, by the way, but less persistently so, and my doctor is certain it's not carpal tunnel, so I am just muddling along with loads of massage.
See you next Saturday!
