Diamonds are not clear cut

Designing on the needle is actually quite easy, writing a pattern out in many sizes is the hard work that designers do for you. Every pattern seems to have its little challenges, ha, ha, sometimes not so little, and this one is no exception. In this Top Down Diamond pullover the stitches in the Yoke form a V. That’s wonderful and makes the design special. But if the stitches are forming a V then how can we figure out how many stitches are needed to get a certain size across the chest?

The size across the chest is in a straight line, or rather a circle, from underarm to underarm.

The black line is longer than the orange line which means the bottom of the Yoke needs to have more stitches than usual. How many more stitches do we need along the black line of the V to get the correct chest size across the orange line? I had calculated it needs 15% more stitches than a usual Top Down. Some of those stitches are extra bust stitches on the Front only. With those calculations this sweater seems to have come out just about perfectly. Yay.

Teaching News:  I taught two classes last weekend at the Kawartha Yarn and Fibre Festival .  The first was an I-Cord class where we used I-Cord to cast on, build it in, add it later, make buttonholes and cast off. I-Cord is that amazing. The second class was a Top Down class where we added a stitch pattern as a panel on the Fronts and Back of a little cardigan. Adding a stitch pattern complicates the beginning of the yoke and everyone did a fantastic job getting the pattern established. Thanks everyone for two terrific classes.

While there I caught Carol knitting the Kid’s Diamond Pullover in the hallway. She loves that colour of Cotton Tweed. 

My friend J was also knitting it and I’m hoping to get a photo of her sweater when she finishes her modification of working an I-Cord edge on the sleeve. We discussed it at the I-Cord class and I can’t wait to see it. I think it will look fantastic.

Now my calculator and I will be working on the Diamond pullover stitch counts for 7 or more sizes. Shh, quiet now, I have to concentrate.

Thanks for reading,

Deb

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Author: debgemmellmods

I'm a Knitter. The capital K means every day, everywhere. I'm co-owner of Cabin Fever with my sister Lyn. We have published over 100 patterns and 11 books. I'm also working on a new set of patterns for Any Gauge knitting. Dive into your stash and cast on for a Top Down sweater that fits, or an accessory to use up those odd balls of yarn. View all posts by debgemmellmods