When your sleeves decides to grow a little ...

Sometimes I feel like yarn loves to test our patience. You knit the swatch. You measure twice. You follow every checkpoint in the knitting pattern. And then, right after wet-blocking, yarn says:
“I think I’ll stretch these sleeves... just because.”

I know, it’s tempting to leave the sleeves long and pretend it’s fine.
After all, who wants to touch a finished project again? Even thinking about redoing something can take the joy out of it.

But here’s the truth — your best work happens after you think you’re done.

I want you to make a simple, powerful mental shift: Stop calling it a "redo" or a "fix."

It’s not a mistake; it’s the final fitting.

Think about it this way: You wouldn’t wear a beautiful pair of trousers that drag on the floor. You’d take them to a tailor.
And in your case - you are the tailor. The artist. The one who gives every piece its perfect finish.

I encourage you to treat the sleeve adjustment as the next essential step of finishing.

• Weave in the yarn tails. (Essential)
• Wash it up. (Essential)
• Shape it to fit you.(Also essential)

When you see it as part of the natural process - the stress disappears. It’s just what you do to make your knit feel custom and perfect.

I promise, it takes very little time, and the reward is huge: a knitted garment you’ll love wearing because it fits just right.

This is the kind of a discipline that turns a good knitter into a great one.

I show the process step-by-step in the latest Mellow Mood cardigan tutorial (01:16:52). The pattern is available on Ravelry and on my website juliapiro.com.

 

❤️ I hope this Esenote was useful and inspiring.

I’m currently working on a new saddle-shoulder cardigan and a Fair Isle beanie. I’d love to take you behind the scenes of the hat design — from a blank mood board to the finished piece. I don’t have a set idea yet, so I’ll be sharing the whole process in real time on my Instagram and Facebook stories.

The only thing I know for sure is that I want this to be our very first colorwork project. :)

Warm regards,

Julia Piro

Knitwear Designer & Esenotes Curator