I sucked in my gut, and still she said, that she just didn't want to

Last Friday I angrily stuffed my freshly finished Coachella into the back of the cupboard and tried to forget about it.

My sulk didn't last too long though, and yesterday I tried it on again, taking some (unflattering) photos to assist with my analysis. I'm not posting those photos, but gee if I could somehow quantify the difference between what you see in the mirror and what is revealed in a photo, wouldn't THAT be a heck of a post. I'm tempted to start snapping a quick picture in the morning to check if I'm really dressed the way I think I am!

I looked carefully at those photos, looked at my own shape and other tops that fit well, and made a plan of attack. Now I'm in hopeful, getting it done mode.

It's knit in Cleckheaton bamboo. Yes this is a much finer yarn than the one for which the pattern was written. Yes there was maths, and some guesstimation too. Yes I still think it will work. Maybe with a bit less negative ease. It's a nice drapey yarn, and really doesn't look its best holding a deathgrip on my midsection.

So far I have to report that I still love Elizabeth Zimmerman's stretchy sewn bind off, but it is a total (slow) bugger to undo. Well, it's kind of meditative.

I thought I had taken a pretty cautious approach to this. I thought I had insurance.

I swatched.
I washed the swatches.
I did maths.
I took the garment off the needle multiple times to try it on.
Not one, but two of those times, I washed it and waited for it to dry and then tried it on. (Because of what the washed swatch told me).

But still:
The swatch mislead me on how much it would stretch sideways and shrink up. I guess a tight tube behaves differently to a small square, who'd've though?

Also:
I deluded myself that it was fine, when it wasn't.
And I put in waist shaping (per the pattern) where it was already plenty tight enough for my waist.

What I need to do now:
- Finish undoing the cast off (nearly done, thankyou Wednesday night ABC TV line-up)
- Rip it back to before the first decrease. This will almost certainly involve some shenanigans (also known as cutting the knitting) because I already wove in all the ends except for the one on the hem. The 'knitting surgery' tag on Flickr might see more use yet. Luckily, I have lots more yarn as I bought a 10-pack.
- Knit it again with more increases.
- Finally, stop about 20 rows shorter. (see, a silver lining!)

If the finished item never does make an appearance here, it might be better NOT to ask what happened.