The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater

Being a knitter isn't always easy peasy. As if it's not enough with the anxiety around deciding on yarn weight and colours and figuring out how to knit twelve projects at the same time with only two hands, you also have to avoid destroying the relationship with your love just by casting on the wrong sweater. The tale tells that if you decide to knit a sweater for your sweetheart, you can expect him to say bye-bye before bind off. Interesting, huh? Just imagine the powers of knitting... 

Wiki says that a recent poll indicated that 15% of active knitters have experienced it first hand and as many as 41% consider it being a possibility that needs to be considered. Wiki also lists several plausible explanations to the phenomenon, some of them quite simple like
- Unlucky timing - it takes quite some time to knit a sweater and the relationship ends by other reasons before the sweater is finished.
Or
- Rescue mission - the knitter senses that the relationship is about to end and knits the sweater as a dramatic gesture trying to save it.
But my favorite explanation is this one:

- Misdirected intention - the knitter loves the sweater a little too much and pesters the significant other about the sweater instead of working on their relationship - hahaha - OR Alternatively, the knitter loves to knit too much, and spends too much time with their knitting instead of with the significant other.  Hey, don't we all??? Or wait, I changed my mind, because nobody can "love to knit too much".

Wiki also claims that many knitters wait until after they are married to knit the sweater, because of the curse - really? - and that some have their partner sign a "pre-knitual agreement"!!! Hmm, I could use one of those agreements, but would probably not limit it to include sweaters only.

I don't think that I believe in this curse but I definitely think it's handy to use as an excuse: "Honey, I'd LOVE to knit you a sweater but you don't want us to split up, do you? OR, if you're involved with someone that you can't get rid off, just cast on, sister.