The Dreaded Stockinette Curl

sanpoku2, originally uploaded by iron knitter.

Okay, so I knit Berroco's "Sanpoku," substituting Comfort for the Touche (or Ultra Alpaca) specified in the pattern. See their pattern photos here: http://www.berroco.com/255.262/262/262_sanpoku_touche_pv.html

Look how their edges curl on the front: completely counter to how stockinette naturally curls. To see how stockinette naturally curls, look at my sweater photo.

So I email Berroco:

" I have recently knit Sanpoku, substituting Comfort. Now that it is done, I cannot see how you got the panels to curl inward at the top -
this is counter to how stockinette curls, and mine curls outward. Even with blocking, I don't see how you got the piece to hang the way it does. Any tricks?"

And here is the answer I (quickly) got:

"Hi Catherine,
Sorry no tricks. Comfort is nylon/acrylic. It's not going to
block, you shouldn't iron it, it just makes it limp. The Touche is
cotton/rayon so it act totally different."

Evidently cotton/rayon Touche curls toward the purl side at the bound-off edge. I think not. I can believe blocking it so hard that you get it to lay flat. But I don't see how to get it to drape that way. I'm double-hosed because you can't iron Comfort (unless you want to "kill" it).

I wonder if they sewed it down.

I've put my head together with Judy, the owner of my LYS, Baskets of Yarn, in Onalaska, WI (www.basketsofyarn.net). She thought of using a more elastic cast-on and bind-off, or putting a crochet edge on the bound-off edge...or tacking it down to the inside. Once I stop being so mad at the sweater, I'll think about which of these to attack first (NOT the one that involves taking the sweater apart, thank you).