Sirdar patterns

[jane]

Has anyone else tried knitting with Sirdar Calico or Just Bamboo? I recently bought 2 patterns and the appropriate yarn and started on the Calico summer cardi. Having completed the back and as far as the armhole on the left front I realised that I wasn't going to have enough yarn. A tension square worked out right and I have never had problems with tensions before but the back was 7cms longer than it should have been. Mum took that one to try and see if she could work out what was wrong so I started on the Just Bamboo pattern. This time I checked my tension and reduced the needle size but it still seems to be using too much yarn. Having never had experienced tension problems before I'm wondering if it's me or the pattern. Does anyone have any ideas?

[knitting bod]

On another forum I belong to another member had a problem with the quantity of Sirdar Calico that was stated in the pattern in that the quantities were short. It's well worth contacting Sirdar to make sure that you have the correct amount before you carry on with your garment I think!

[jane]

Thanks - Mum has now knitted as much as I did - back and part of the left front, and used exactly the same amount of yarn as I did so she has written to Sirdar (She's 72 and still does things the traditional way, no computers for her )

[ann]

hi Jane
good for your mom!!!!!!!!!! I really see red when you buy the wool and it turns out theres not enough, especially if its wool bought in a sale and you can't match the dye lot.
ann

[exiled]

At last i can say what i have longed to for over a year.I knitted with sirdar bamboo last year.I ALWAYS do a tension square.I am a very loose knitter and need to drop needles sizes down to 1 or 2 smaller.I wrote to Sirdar ,I am like your Mum . The fabric seemed really sloppy and also I had a problem with the pattern.
I will never buy their products again,THe letter from the CSD was patronising and off hand.THe fault in the pattern was not theirs,it was my interpretation,but their attitude was disgusting.
Also,someone wrote in another blog that someone was partially blind and could they copy and increase the size of a pattern.It was some time ago but the spokesperson from Sirdar was off pedantic and completely negative.
I hope your mother gets more success with them than I did.
Now I feel better!

[ann]

hi
if they can't or won't be bothered to answer questions, I will not buy form them either anymore.
ann

[Janet]

I recently bought a Sirdar Soya pattern that had a revised materials chart stuck over the original values in the pattern.
May be Sirdar have been having a problem with this area lately.

Janet

[janine]

These experiences remind me of a time I wrote to sirdar to complain that red snuggly had run on a multi coloured sweater for my son, even though I hand washed it in cool water. They were really offhand and I never received a satisfactory reply from them. You would hope for better customer service from such a well known brand.

[admin]

I am not going to defend bad service but we do all have bad days (I have plenty at the moment ) and you may just have caught Sirdar staff on a bad day. You know what they say - good service tell a friend - bad service tell 10.

Sirdar are going through quite a transition at the moment so do give them a chance. If anyone wants us to intervene on their behalf please let us know.

[jane]

Well, against all expectations having read everyone else's responses Sirdar replied to my Mum's letter with a full apology, an explanation that unfortunately some Sirdar Calico yarn has turned out slightly thicker than other batches and this means that yardage has been affected, and a ball of yarn. All was received within a week of my Mum's letter having been sent and there was no charge for the additional ball of yarn.

As Carole says, I am letting you know how Sirdar have resolved the issue in my case as I feel it is important that we acknowledge when they do things rifgt as well as do things wrong.

[janine]

Glad to hear things turned out right for you. Maybe they are turning a corner at Sirdar, which is great, because their yarns are good quality and their choice of patterns is second to none, I find, especially for children and larger sizes.

[ann]

good for Sirdar and glad your mom got it sorted.
ann

[admin]

......... unfortunately some Sirdar Calico yarn has turned out slightly thicker than other batches and this means that yardage has been affected,........

This would explain why we have been having a major hassle getting any Calico - they probably withdrew the batch when they found out and have had to wait for more to come in.

[Janet]

I think Sirdar are going through a bad patch.
In my latest copy of Knitting magazine (which I really like) there is a letter from a lady who had tried to knit a patten from the magazine in the recomended yarn, Sirdar Eco. She had problems getting the tension as the yarn was thick for a DK and then the pieces didn't fit well together. Jean Moss, who answers the questions, said she contacted Sirdar and they said they had already had to reduce the thickness of the Eco yarn slightly and another lady had a problem with the garment not fitting together well. They had provided that lady with instructions to modify it to sort the probelm out but that it had stemmed from tension problems as the pattern was "mathematically correct".

That got me thinking maybe even a big firm like Sirdar are finding the sudden boom in interest in knitting is pushing them to send out patterns and yarn that have not been fully test knitted.

Come on Sirdar don't ruin your great reputation, get your act together.

Janet

[admin]

Sirdar are undergoing a change at the moment - it is fairly common knowledge now that the knitting yarn side has split from the rest of their products (I think it was carpets or something) and has undergone a management buyout. It has only been a couple of months so bear with them.

I think the problems actually lie with the yarns and not the patterns. Almost all yarn is now manufacturered outside the uk and it is not easy to check every batch for quality. All yarns do vary a little in thickness depending upon the atmosphere etc.

I am sure that very soon they will get their act together - they have just launched their new ranges which will be online as soon as I can when I get back from Holiday (the weather is great by the way).