Do any of you remember this Vogue Knitting cover?
It is notable for its glaring mistake. I bring this up not to diss the designer, because it is a lovely and beautifully knit design. However, it does illustrate that we are all fallible. At the time, none of us could believe that no one caught the mistake before it got to the cover. Not the knitter, the editor, the photographer, the proofer, the layout artist…no one.
Still can’t find the mistake? Click here.
The magazine is 7 years old — why not let a sleeping booboo lie?? Last night at my knitting group, someone asked me to hold up the project I’m working on. Mary gasped, “There’s a mistake, right in the middle.” She then proceeded to apologize for ten minutes for finding the mistake. Mary, it is MY mistake, not yours!! And I was very grateful that she found it! Do I want to end up like the cover of Vogue (like you’ll ever have something on the cover of Vogue, Bubba!) and have my mistake hanging out there for all to see, or would I rather find out now and fix it?
I rushed home and fixed it…case closed. And thanks, Mary!!
I was always told in olden days that a mistake was made to have everyone know it was hand made – what irks me more when the sweaters are inside out; back in the ’70’s McCall’s always ended up with an inside out sweater & you could tell from the cables.
Comment by Aggie — August 7, 2009 @ 12:42 pm
Oh my goodness! That’s one of my favorite issues of all time, and I never noticed that!
Comment by Maria — August 7, 2009 @ 12:57 pm
Oh, I totally remember that! I’m more stunned to think that it was from SEVEN years ago. Gah.
(Actually, I blogged about that a few years back when I found a similar mistake in the AS Aran Knitting book. http://www.twosheep.com/blog/?p=366 )
Comment by June — August 7, 2009 @ 1:27 pm
Oh, my… I never noticed! And now I wonder how I missed it. It seems so obvious.
Comment by Sirianne — August 7, 2009 @ 3:13 pm
Now that’s what I call a fun post!
Comment by Chloe — August 7, 2009 @ 5:34 pm
Some mistakes add “character” . . . but some . . . don’t! It’s nice to be able to fix something before it gets too far along in the process!
Comment by Kym — August 7, 2009 @ 5:54 pm
This reminds me of the Cabin Fever Evening in Eden shawl pattern. Every time I looked at the picture while I was knitting my shawl, I had the feeling that something was wrong. Finally it jumped out at me. The shame is that the shawl could have been photographed in a way that hid the error. Obviously another case where no one saw the boo-boo, all the way down the road.
You can see the picture here: http://www.cabinfever.ca/P078.html
It’s a shame because the pattern works up beautifully. Don’t let the mistakes scare you away! Makes a nice scarf, too.
Comment by Sue T. — August 7, 2009 @ 7:11 pm
Isn’t it funny how we can not notice something like that, and then, once it’s pointed out, we’ll never be able to look at that picture and NOT see that mistake! I did that on my Loppem, and blogged about the sweater surgery…
I once showed a friend a hoodie I was working on, and she asked me if I meant for the color to change along that line like that…?! I hadn’t noticed the different dye lots! How could I not notice that?!?! Had to frog back and blend the 2 skeins… but, yes, I’d rather know than not know until it made print, even if only on my blog, lol!
Happy knitting!
Comment by ali — August 7, 2009 @ 7:34 pm
I feel stupid b/c I can’t find the error in the Cabin Fever pattern. Some please ‘splain cuz it’s driving me crazy.
Comment by surly — August 7, 2009 @ 8:08 pm
4th pattern from bottom edge; top part smaller….
Comment by Aggie — August 7, 2009 @ 9:13 pm
I kind of like the mistake on the cover of Vogue. Lets you know for sure it’s a hand knit!!
As for the Cabin Fever pattern, the forth row from the bottom has extra eyelets in top part that should be solid.
Comment by LaurieM — August 7, 2009 @ 9:14 pm
Hi – I shot that cover weeks after 9/11 and losing my apartment and being somewhat homeless for 6 weeks. I had no idea!!!! Normally I can spot a missed stitch from a mile away – but at the time was too shocked/sleep deprived to even notice…. When it was published, I was told about it (by my boss – not the best person to point it out) and was completely shocked to see it. When I talked to Debbie about it she was equally mortified as she had not noticed it either!!! Every now and then we share a glass of wine and talk about it because it is so amazing that it slipped through so many eyes. But, on the other hand, it’s a wonderful testament to our craft too. We all work so hard or are at times so distracted that sometimes the obvious is hidden. Love your mistakes!!!!!!
Trish Malcolm
Comment by Trisha Malcolm — August 7, 2009 @ 10:08 pm
I used to do a lot of proofreading, and the hardest thing to proofread in my opinion? Headlines. They’re so big and obvious that your eye tends to glide over and correct the mistake. Of course, the first person to pick up the article once it’s published sees it immediately. Sigh.
I didn’t notice that uncrossed cable on Vogue when I first looked at the magazine. I think I only noticed it eventually because I was working at a yarn store and kept referring back to the issue with customers.
{{{Trish}}} I’m so sorry! (And we apologize for bringing up such bad memories.)
For those who love reading about mistakes, the other day I was watching a movie while knitting and crossed a couple of cables the wrong way on the sweater I am making for my daughter. Of course, I didn’t notice until I was a few rows up and I had to ladder back down and cross them the other way. Now I keep checking them obsessively.
Comment by surly — August 8, 2009 @ 12:25 am
Well, it can’t really be a glaring mistake if no one can see it until it’s pointed out, right?
Comment by debra — August 8, 2009 @ 1:00 am
From Susan — Yes, the point is we all make mistakes. Some slip through and some, if you are lucky or have eagle-eyed friends, get caught before it is too late. And the mistake on Cabin Fever? I would call it a “design feature!”
Comment by lv2knit — August 8, 2009 @ 1:18 am
When you posted the picture, the first thing I did was run my cursor down the cables and there was the cable in question saying “yes I am fallible”. But that’s what makes knitting fun. We all make mistakes in our knitting, but knitting life will going on after the oops! We rip back and keep right on knitting. Sometimes, I feel like putting a mistake or two in my knitting to see if anyone can find the plants.
Comment by Snowbird — August 8, 2009 @ 8:49 am
Mistakes keep us humble.
Comment by Ann — August 8, 2009 @ 8:58 am
Thanks for reminding me how long it has been since this issue? My first reaction to the picture was, “OMG it’s been seven years since our customers were commenting on this cover mistake!” Brings to mind the instance of a Rowan pic where the model is wearing the striped sweater backward while rowing her boat. Looks really creepy as if she can rotate her head all the way around Exorcist style!
Comment by ChrisRKnits — August 8, 2009 @ 10:17 am
I’ve read that the Amish intentionally include a mistake in their quilts so as to not challenge the perfection of God. I’ve always applied that thought to my proofreading slips, and perhaps it’s good for knitting mishaps, as well!
Comment by Lori on Little Traverse Bay — August 8, 2009 @ 2:12 pm
In the Cabin Fever pattern – it is the fourth pattern section but it’s much more than just eyelets in a part that should be solid. Look at what is happening to the diagonal lines that move up. It appears that an entire pattern row was duplicated or something. It’s like a wavyness you might get from looking at it under water or something.
I’m the type of person who would rip back to fix that. However, let’s not talk about the 9-year-old Faroese shawl that needs part of one pattern row fixed; probably wouldn’t take more than an hour with a yarn needle and length of yarn to make it right. But there it has sat for nine years… I need an ‘accountability program’ for fixing errors and for blocking finished projects. I have five shawls waiting to be blocked.
Comment by Sue T. — August 8, 2009 @ 8:23 pm
The photos for the Vogue cover are no longer there or accessible – can anyone tell me which issue it is so I can Google it?
Comment by Rebecca — August 8, 2009 @ 8:50 pm
I used to sit behind a girl in college who proudly wore a fairisle sweater she had knitted herself – the patterns were all over the place but she was very proud of it, I couldn’t keep my eyes off it.
I suspect my need to frog to the beginning to eliminate mistakes might be reassessed when I block my Queen Cristina shawl from Knitted Lace of Estonia. The question is, do I block before I put the edge on so I see the mistakes first or should I just steam on as it is so fine no one but me will know?
Comment by LOWL — August 10, 2009 @ 8:02 am
Oh, wow, I missed that. Totally couldn’t find the mistake.
Comment by C. — August 10, 2009 @ 10:25 am
You should enter in the info on the details page on Ravelry. It looks like some other knitters have made the mistake, or funnily enough, different ones!
Comment by theLady — August 10, 2009 @ 6:28 pm
I leave mistakes in unless they cause structural problems. Life’s short, knitting is supposed to be fun.
Comment by Valerie — August 10, 2009 @ 7:54 pm
Don’t you hate when that happens!!! While I don’t intend to trash Vogue knitting, I have found mistakes in the actual patterns, rather than on the cover or page more often than I would like over the years. Several years ago, I knitted a beautiful Calvin Klein sweater from one of their Classic books. My guage was right on the money, yet I had to knit 5 sleeves before I was done. There was absolutely no possible way that sleeve would work if knitted according to the instructions. Shortly after I completed the sweater, I read an article written by a well know knitting designer who explained the relationship between the designer and the test knitter. In this particular instance, I believe that there must have been a total lack of commucation between the two ,because other wise, this pattern mistake would have most definately been caught and corrected before it went to press. To err is only human, blah, blah, blah… Let’s face it ladies, we can all make mistakes on our own, without adding frustration and bewilderment into the mix. I would rather have a mistake on the cover any day, instead of one hidden inside.
Comment by Sue — August 12, 2009 @ 1:40 pm
I was lucky enough to take a class from Priscilla Gibson-Roberts on Turkish socks and the number of mistakes and mismatching socks shown in that class made me feel much more comfortable about relaxing into imperfection. Despite mistakes, you’d hear people say what magnificent socks they are. Heck, it makes me feel better about myself, too!
Comment by twinsetellen — August 13, 2009 @ 7:12 pm
Hi Susan,since the pattern was very nice I didn’t notice the mistake! I agree with you when you say “if you are lucky or have eagle-eyed friends, get caught before it is too late.” A great post,and I just love reading your blog. Keep up the good teaching and thanks for sharing!!!!
Just stumbled and submitted your site to http://Viralogy.com/blog. Hope you get some great traffic from it. Your blog is here http://www.viralogy.com/blogs/my/6197
Janice
Comment by Janice Yang — August 13, 2009 @ 8:13 pm
I miss the Thursday Night group! Mary, Mary, Nary – I laughed outloud!
Comment by Kathy Filkins — August 13, 2009 @ 11:10 pm