Mostly clear skies this evening. Scattered showers and thunderstorms developing overnight. Low 63F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Mostly clear skies this evening. Scattered showers and thunderstorms developing overnight. Low 63F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

In a recent social media knitting group, a discussion came up regarding the superstition of the “sweater curse.” I recall my late mother-in-law talk about crafting superstitions, specifically mentioning the folklore of the sweater curse.

This is the belief that if you knit a sweater while dating someone, the recipient and knitter eventually will break up. It’s also called the “curse of the love sweater.” Many times, the breakup occurs even before the sweater is completed by the knitter.

According to my research, some knitters say they have experienced the curse personally, while many knitters believe that the curse should be taken seriously. It’s believed the sweater curse only applies to relationships before marriage. After marriage, it’s my understanding the curse is then lifted.

No one can really say with positivity how this idea of a sweater curse came about, but there are a few theories that have been offered to explain this curse.

One reason may be that some knitters take a long enough time to knit the sweater that the relationship begins to falter. It may be that the knitter is spending so much time knitting (instead of with the date), that the relationship eventually falls apart. Sometimes, in an effort to keep the relationship going, knitters will make a sweater as a gesture of their love for the other person. Unfortunately, oftentimes the result is still the same in that the relationship would end with no difference experienced by the knitting of a sweater.

Does the significant other really like to wear hand-knit items? I mean, how could anyone NOT want a hand-knit sweater? Knitters (and many other crafters) often show their love for the significant other, friend or family member by sharing through the gift of their knitting/crafting talents. The knitter puts a lot of money and time into making a personalized item for the other person. However, recipients may not feel the same way and, once received, the item is relegated to the back of the storage closet.

Some suggest purposely knitting a mistake into the sweater breaks the sweater curse. I’ve sometimes called mistakes personal design elements in my knitting. Little did I know that making all the different mistakes throughout my 50 years of knitting was actually a way to ward off the sweater curse.

Another suggestion to ward off the sweater curse is to purposely knit one of the hairs from your head into the craft project for that particular recipient. In essence, the hair intertwined into the knit stitches signifies binding the couple together through their love.

Try knitting smaller-projects for your date such as a hat or scarf, completely avoiding the sweater curse dilemma.

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