Last night I was in despair, beginning to suspect the yarn was superwash in secret. After spending all day finishing the sleeves and weaving in ends, I handwashed the sweater to felt it gently by hand.
As expected, the water made it grow even bigger at first. Not expected and far worse: no matter how increasingly violently I kneaded and rubbed the sweater it wouldn't shrink. Not even a session in the tumble dryer had any effect! (But I've almost got biceps muscles now. Almost.)
I imagined the only possible way to use this sweater would be to pitch it on the main square and sell beer inside.
This morning I wrestled with it again: washed it in the machine, tried a longer session in the dryer, rinsed it alternating between hot and cold water... Nothing happened. Finally I put it in the machine again and washed it in warmer water, so fed up with it I didn't mind risking it would shrink too much.
Would you believe it, it shrank to the right size and it's like thick fabric, just what I hoped, and surprisingly soft. Who's a lucky guy?
Here's a picture of what the back of the neck looked like before felting. The definition of the garter stitch is far less prominent now, which is something I prefer.
Instead of sleeve seams (not a fan of sewing) I picked up stitches, knitted a row, and then did a three-needle bind-off. Here's what the right and wrong sides of it look like.
Edited to add: I received an award from Annika. Thank you! 
I'm supposed to forward it to 12 other bloggers, but it seems most of the blogs I read already have received it. So, instead I'd like to dedicate it to everyone who reads my blog.
