11 May 2014

Brand New, but Sanctified, Sweater



One reason why ready-to-wear is so hard to buy ...

I've never worn this sweater out and about.  It is SmartWool's "Lightweight Front Range Pullover Sweater" in Deep Sea Heather. 

The pros: it is a beautiful color.  So much better than the typical offering of black, black, or ... charcoal!

The cons: It is brand new, washed once ... on hand cycle in the washer, in a lingerie bag ... laid flat to dry.  Even more gentle than SmartWool's washing instructions.

Result - two holes.   The shoulder hole appears to be a result of poor sewing and associated unraveling ... fixable if you have the time and patience.  The back hole is the result of a fiber giving way and releasing the knitting on either side.

I'm disappointed.  The fibers are of low quality and the sewing is not much better.  And this is supposed to be a sweater I can run in???  No chance of that happening now.

SmartWool, the manufacturer, is to blame for this travesty.  Backcountry, the company I purchased it from, is in charge of the refund.  Here's to a responsible company (... here, here!)

3 comments:

KathleenS said...

So did BackCountry come up trumps or is this story To Be Continued...?

Kira said...

Hm, the story is still in progress ...

Kira said...

Okay, so after a couple day back and forth wrangling, Backcountry came back with a complete refund for this sweater.

And I'm not touching anything SmartWool and "seed stitched" (shudder) ever again.