PetiteKnit Moby Slipover

The Moby Slipover by PetiteKnit has been sitting in my finished pile for a while now. I just didn’t want to look at it or deal with it, mostly because the final color and fit weren’t at all what I was expecting. Ultimately, I’m not convinced this piece is a keeper for me.

Style and Fit

The slipover is a top-down knit featuring a combination of textured stitches and cables. You start with the back yoke, then pick up stitches along it to knit the shoulders. Those shoulders are then connected to create the front yoke. Once both yokes are joined, the body continues down in one piece, worked in the round without shaping. To finish, you add ribbing around the neckline and armholes.

Size

My chest measures 39 inches, so I knit a size Large (designed for a 37.5 to 39.5-inch chest).

The final garment chest measurement for this size is 44.5 inches, giving me about 5.5 inches of positive ease. If you can get the right gauge!

I don’t have much else to say about PetiteKnit’s sizing here, other than the fact that her size distribution and ease grading tend to differ from pattern to pattern. It can be a bit frustrating, as it means you really have to scrutinize the numbers for every single project.

Details

I didn’t choose my yarn very wisely for this project. I went with Merino by Knitting for Olive held together with their Soft Silk Mohair. The pattern actually recommended Tvinni by Isager Yarn or Tynn Peer Gynt by Sandnes Garn. Looking at the standard gauges for these yarns (on a 3mm needle), it’s easy to see where things went wrong:

• Merino (Knitting for Olive): 28 – 32 sts
• Tvinni (Isager Yarn): 26 sts
• Tynn Peer Gynt (Sandnes Garn): 26 – 27 sts

My final garment measures just 39 inches around, even after trying to block it out to 44.5 inches. Because it’s a bit tight, I’ve been on the fence about whether or not I even want to keep it.

I’ve honestly almost emailed a few smaller friends to see if they want the slipover, since there is absolutely no way I am going to attempt frogging a sweater made with mohair!

It wouldn’t take much convincing for me to willingly give this piece away to anyone dying to have it.

Swatches

The pattern states: “Knit a swatch to determine which needle size you need to achieve the correct gauge — note that this can vary from yarn to yarn. Take care to wash the swatch before measuring, as the texture pattern can grow with wash.”

But what part of the pattern are you actually supposed to knit for the swatch? The texture varies dramatically across the design, from the moss stitch along the sides, through a series of cables, to a looser, less drastic texture in the center. For a design like this, a specific swatch pattern really should be provided. Even as I was knitting the slipover itself, I had no idea where I was supposed to measure my gauge, since the stitch count changes so dramatically depending on which part of the design you are looking at.

Not only did I choose my yarn poorly, but in the end, I had no idea how to replicate the gauge.

Final Fit

Yeh, it’s too tight. Anyone want a cream colored vest/slipover?

Personal Aside

Here’s an update with the ongoing saga about my parents banking and investments. Their savings, and brokerage accounts are all owned by their trust. Because my parents are the trustees, they have always had access. However, Wells Fargo (and I’m assuming most banks) will not allow a private individual to be listed on a trust account unless they are officially a trustee.

Getting this sorted out was quite the process:

1. Amending the Trust: First, I had to have my parents’ lawyer amend their trust to officially name me as a co-trustee. That took several weeks and multiple appointments. Thankfully I didn’t need to go to any of the appointments.
2. The Bank Visit: Next, all three of us still had to go into a Wells Fargo branch and sign a mountain of paperwork to add me to their accounts. This was a lot for my dad to handle.
3. The Investment Side: We were only able to complete the banking side during our visit. I still had to call a Wells Fargo Financial Advisor to handle the investment accounts. Luckily, they were able to FedEx the paperwork overnight so we could sign it at home, but it still required me to go to my parent’s place and sign paperwork.

It was a long process, but having everything finally squared away is a huge relief. It just stinks that I’m about 1.5 hours away from my parents, so all these meetings are a real drag! I had to drive out once for the bank visit and again to sign the investment paperwork. The more time I spend driving to and from my parents, the less time I have for sewing and knitting.

HEalthcare and insurance

Both Intermountain Medical and University of Utah medical groups use MyChart, which is incredibly handy because it makes sharing and managing medical data so much easier.

Under the “Advance Care Planning” tab, I was able to upload my parents’ durable Power of Attorney (POA) and advanced healthcare directives. My dad’s POLST (Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is also safely stored there.

MyChart also allows you to share your medical information with friends and family. Because my parents have both shared their medical data with me through the app, I haven’t had any issues managing their care. You can also easily share access with a spouse or partner—for example, I’ve given Ryan (listed as Michael) full access to my own records.

Now, the pain in the ass part is getting the durable POA to their health insurance! So don’t forget about having your name added to their health insurance policy, because if you have to call them for any reason, they will only talk to you if you are on the account. I had the least helpful person this week.

I recently called my parents’ health insurance company to confirm the SMS number they use to send two-factor authentication (2FA) codes. Neither of my parents has been able to access their account in over a year because the codes never reach their phones. I wanted to make sure I hadn’t accidentally blocked the number on their device.

Me: “I just want to confirm the SMS number you use for 2FA so I can make sure it isn’t blocked.” Support: “Well, I can’t give you that number! (said in a rather aggressive and angry tone)” Me: “Most of the SMS numbers are posted online. I just wanted to confirm the number already posted online.” Support: (silence).

I then tried to explain the situation and ask how to proceed since one of my parents cannot give verbal approval.

Support: “Well, I need a verbal approval.” Me: “I just told you one of my parents is unable to give verbal approval.” Support: (silence) Me: “Can I send you my durable POA paperwork instead?” Support: “Sure, but that will take a while.” Me: “OK, where do I send the documents?” Support: “You can email it or fax it.” Me: (Pause while I wait for them to tell me the email and or fax number) “Okkkkaaay, what’s the email address or fax number?” Support: “I don’t know the fax number, but the email is…” Me: “Great. What other information should I include in the email?” Support: “Everything.” Me: “What do you mean, ‘everything’?” Support: “Well, everything like name.” Me: “Do you mean First Name? Last name? Health insurance number?” Support: “Yeah, everything.” Me: “Anything else?” Support: “Yeah, like social and phone, too.” Me: “K. Thanks. Bye.”

Needless to say, I’m still working on getting the health insurance issue squared away. I haven’t gotten a response back from the email address I was given. I didn’t have high hopes that I got the right information anyways.