Walk away from knitting for a bit? No, no, no, of course not. You cast on something else.
I was thinking about a small project, but what jumped onto my needle was a shawl. Not a small project, sigh.
It wasn’t actually as straightforward as that. I had some navy, hand-dyed sock wool and cast on for socks. A small project, at least small in size, to carry around.
The yarn had cashmere in it, and after I knit the cuff, I thought maybe cashmere is sort of wasted on socks, so I ripped it out and here I am.
This is the Magic Symmetry Shawl, knit starting at the side with 3 stitches with increases worked on the leading edge.
This usually makes an asymmetric shape, but this is going to be symmetrical when it’s done, wider than it is tall. To my mind this makes it so much easier to wear.
I figured out a new stitch to add to the pattern. Doesn’t this show off the contrast colour?
I thought I would knit eyelets in the contrast colour rows. I worked [Yo, K2tog] and found I liked the wrong side better. So now I knit the right side row and on the wrong side row work [Yo, P2tog]. So happy with how this looks.
As I have been knitting away on my vest version of the Build A Bigger V cardigan I have been thinking about the armhole. They are rather a big deal when knitting a sleeveless garment, right?
My other concern was getting some extra bust width on the front. Short rows to the rescue. The mods pages for the cardigan has instructions for short rows to make an A-line cardigan. I used the same idea except for where I began my short rows.
I want the extra width to begin high up so I get an outward slant to the line from the shoulder. High on the front (the top pine) and lower on the back (lower pin).
I worked the short rows with 2 ridges in between. I think it worked.
I am using several markers for this project. Only one is required by the Build a Bigger V pattern. That’s the white marker in the centre. The rest help me keep track of the shaping and remind me when and where to do things.
There are 7 more markers here which are all for me. Yes, there are quite a few. Yes, they are different colours and types of markers on purpose.
Marker for Right Side of fabric: That orange marker on the right is pinned through the fabric to tell me this is the beginning of the right side row. It is especially helpful at the start of the project when there aren’t as many other things to tell me I’m on the right side. It’s a removable marker so I can move it up as I knit.
Markers for length: The orange, green, orange sequence up the middle are for counting ridges so I don’t have to keep counting from the cast on. I am placing the first orange marker after the first 2 ridges, then every 8 ridges as I continue down this front panel because something happens every 8 ridges in this particular pattern.
Markers delineate: The two metal markers on either side of the centre marker (white) show me where the middle section is. You can place markers on either side of a stitch pattern or some section you need to keep track of.
Markers – do something here: The metal markers on either side of the centre marker also help me find where I need to work increases. The instructions say to work an increase x number of stitches before the centre marker (white). I don’t have to keep looking ahead for those x number of stitches if I put a marker in. I work one increase before the metal marker, knit across the middle section to the other metal marker and work an increase after it.
Markers – pay attention: I have a lot of trouble remembering to do things at the ends of the rows. So the blue marker on the left edge is telling me to pay attention and work a decrease, duh. I know it’s supposed to be there but I have merrily knit right past it so many times, I needed a marker to remind me. It’s a rescue marker.
I have collected several different types of markers for this very purpose. They help me reduce the stress of paying attention, cut down on the amount of ripping back I have to do, and therefore, make my knitting so much more enjoyable.
This vest, and the cardigan I’m modifying it from (Build a Bigger V), will be Gauge-Free. No swatch needed. No talk about gauge at all, none, throughout the entire pattern. How freeing is that?
How can it possibly work?
Start with a couple of stitches and build a triangle with increases worked on either side of the centre marker. Work until the solid edge of the triangle is the width of the Back of Neck. Mine is 8″ wide.
Width of Back of Neck is 8″.
That sets the number of stitches for the Back Panel. You need to count the number of stitches you set up with at this point but we don’t care how many stitches per inch you are getting here. Any number of stitches will work.
Now, I will keep the same stitch count as I knit the back panel.
The shaded part here is the Back Panel. The triangle begins at the Back of Neck and the Back Panel is knit down to the desired length.
The decision will be how long I want this vest to be. Lots of knitting for the next week.
This is a photo of the Build A Bigger V cardigan before I knit the sleeves. This could be a vest as it is in this photo. It has 9″ of ease so if it was a little more fitted … it could work.
But I sort of like the idea of cutting in the armhole, for a sleeveless look (white line).
Better?
At any rate, I’ve started. This is the beginning of the Back Panel. I’m knitting in fingering weight yarn (80/20 fingering by Shelridge Yarns – colour Iris). Yes, this will be a lot of knitting but here I go.
The idea of Building a Vest using the Build a Bigger V cardigan intrigued several knitters. Thanks for voting. Cheers, Deb
… I had a vague picture in my head, of another sweater. I knew it was an Elizabeth Zimmermann design and every once in a while I would wonder where I had seen it. I didn’t look for it, I just kept it there in my head. Yesterday I rooted around in my book library and I found it here.
Now that I’m looking at this sweater, I’m chuckling to myself as I see that it doesn’t really resemble my finished pattern. But the starting point was there. It was the sideways garter stitch saddle that caught my attention years ago and recently popped into my head again. The saddle idea would not go away. It needed to be knit.
The gansey above is knit bottom up with the saddles worked last. My Saddle Up is turned on its head. It’s worked mostly top down, for any gauge of yarn, and for any size. The saddle is worked first, from one shoulder to the other. The width of the saddle is used to determine the final size of the pullover. Then stitches are picked up off of the edges of the saddle and the rest of the pullover is knit down.
It’s curious how the mind works. I started with a very vague idea about that garter stitch saddle and then wondered how I could make it Gauge-Free and for any size. There we have it, two sweaters with similar saddles but each worked with a different style of construction.
I hope you are also enjoying your knitting through this cold winter. Cheers, Deb
Do you know how I-cords work? They are a little bit of knitting magic. When paired with Garter Stitch they do all sorts of good things.
First, 2 or 3 stitches of I-Cord on the outside edges of garter stitch give it a tidy finish. This is sometimes called a Built-in I-cord because you work the I-cord edge as you knit the garter stitch fabric.
Secondly, because these outside stitches are slipped every other row, they give the edge stability. They are a tiny bit shorter because they are not worked every row. These I-cord stitches hold the edges firmly so the edge won’t stretch.
A small sample showing 2-stitch built-in I-cord. It looks the same on both the right side and the wrong side.
Garter Stitch with 2-stitch I-Cord edge: Knit to last 2 sts, bring yarn forward, slip the last 2 sts. This row is worked over and over, on both the right side and wrong side of the fabric.
Left photo: Yarn forward, Slip last 2 sts. Right photo: Turn and bring yarn across back of work, from third stitch to first stitch, and knit first stitch.
When you slip the last 2 sts, your yarn is attached to the 3rd stitch in from the tip of the needle because that was the last stitch you knit. So what happens in the next row? You need to pull the wool across the back of your work, from the third stitch to the first stitch so you can knit the row. This pulls the first stitch around towards the back of your work, as you knit it.
On one edge the second I-cord stitch rolls to the back. On the other edge the second I-cord stitch rolls to the front.
Because these two stitches are slipped every other row they look like stockinette stitch. A 2-stitch I-cord is the tiniest tube you can knit around the edge of your garter stitch fabric.
The Saddle Up pullover begins with a Garter Stitch Saddle with I-cord edges, of course.
The Saddle begins at the left shoulder and is worked across to the the right shoulder, with a hole for your head in the middle. Pretty straight forward, right?
But that’s not all there is to it, of course. That would be way too easy. There is another way of working the 2-stitch I-cord.
There are occasions when you would like both the I-cord stitches to be rolling to the wrong side of your work. This can be done, too. The Saddle uses this technique for the Back of Neck stitches.
On both edges the second I-cord stitch rolls to the wrong side of the fabric.
2-Stitch I-Cord rolling to the wrong side: Right Side Row: Knit to last 2 sts, leave yarn in the back, slip last 2 sts. Wrong Side Row: Purl 2 sts, knit to last 2 sts, yarn forward, slip last 2 sts.
What is that line down the middle of the Saddle? The shoulders of the Saddle for this pullover need a lot of extra stability since the sleeve will be trying to pull it down. So I added some non-stretchy stitches right down the centre. It looks like an I-Cord but it isn’t. The middle 2 stitches are slipped every other row and work the same way, in that these 2 stitches are a tiny bit shorter and won’t stretch. Thanks L for pointing this out.
There is one more reason for all this I-Cord business. A 2-stitch I-Cord gives you a sideways stockinette stitch for every garter ridge. In the Saddle Up pullover, stitches are picked up & knit along the bottom edge of the Saddle to form the Front which is worked flat, down to the bottom of the armhole. If you pick up & knit into the I-Cord stitch that has rolled to the back the Saddle, you get a very lovely line of stitches running between the Saddle and the Front. It will never stretch and it’s so very neat and tidy. Don’t you think?
I’ve done the pick up & knit into the I-cord across the bottom edge of the Saddle and have started my cables down the Front.I picked up & knit along the I-cord stitches on bottom edge of the Back of the Saddle and worked stockinette stitch down the Back.
You can add I-cord stitches to any garter stitch project. You may get to love them as much as I do.
Are you are interested in knitting this Saddle Up, drop shoulder pullover with me? I’m publishing each section as I get it done and tested. I’ll update the pattern with each new section as we go along. The Saddle section is up for sale.
I’m interested in any comments, corrections or problems you have with this pattern. I’ve included lots of photos and my blog posts will be featuring this pullover for the next month. Happy to have you join me.
If you can’t think of anything else to do, start a new project. That’s a good motto, don’t you think? I’m trying to convince myself to sew in the ends of the two V-Neck Cardigans I have finished. And that’s the trouble, right there. I think they’re finished. They are not. They require some after-knitting care and I struggle to do this with every single project I do. Every. Single. Project.
So of course, I started something new. A new sweater. It’s an idea I’ve been thinking about: a saddle shoulder, drop sleeve pullover with cables. Worked from the top down, of course.
So here we go. I started with a provisional cast on for an 8″ saddle which will be 4″deep on the front and 4″ deep on the back. I worked the shoulder in garter stitch to the width I wanted to the neck opening edge. Then I put the Front Stitches on hold and knit across the Back of Neck first.
Next I worked a small number of stitches for the bottom of the Front neck opening. This is going to give me a 3″ deep neck opening. I will pick up for the neckband later. Then I cast on for the other side of the neck opening and knit the other shoulder.
When it’s folded at the top of the shoulder it will work like this.
I hope this works because I’m quite captivated by this idea. Cables are coming up next. What do you think?
All that knitting and there it sits, a sweater I never wear. After looking at it and putting it on it seemed obvious that with some changes it just might become a sweater I would enjoy wearing. Why not try it? I’m not wearing it anyway so …
This is the one of my Gauge-Free Raglan Pullover samples. I wanted to show it in a heavy wool with a big cable down the centre front and back. It also has a smaller cable down the centre sleeves. So all in all it’s a good design which I never wore.
I made a plan: shorten this pullover and add some more height to the neckband.
Getting started required a bit of cursing. This is mandatory before going into the kitchen to get the scissors. I sewed the tail end in at the bottom of this sweater too well!! Ha, that will teach me. One little snip and a big rip back, around 4 1/2″, with my fingers crossed. It worked. It feels much lighter. I hope it looks cute and jaunty now instead of a big heavy pullover.
Next the neckband. Because it was picked up around the neck opening and worked up, I think this will be a fairly easy fix. I undid the cast off, put the stitches on a smaller needle and worked 3 sets of short rows to raise the back of neck. Because I was only doing a few short rows with big chunky wool, I worked the short row Turns on the Front itself starting just past the Front raglan line. Usually I might start the short row turns at the centre sleeve and work them towards the Front and down into it a little way. But, hey, I’m taking risks anyway so why not up the ante. (That big cable you can see on the right is the centre front.) Thick wool really makes the short rows do their work quickly.
Ta, da, here it is. I’m so happy with it now. I had it on yesterday and it feels light and fun.
Now I’m rummaging around my pile of knits to see what other magic I can work. How about you?
Spring has sprung and it’s time to wash and then put away the heavy woollies. As I take out sweater after sweater, I wonder why certain ones never got worn. I liked it when I knit it. I like everything while I’m knitting. I thought at the time I would wear it. Why didn’t I? Maybe it’s time to find out and do something about it.
Here is one of my Gauge-Free Raglan Pullovers. This was one of the last ones I knit as a sample for the pattern and I took a couple of short cuts or at lease didn’t give it the time and consideration I could have. I pick it up and put it down a lot. I even get as far as putting it on and then take it off. Hmm, I wonder why? It’s time to find out.
I like the woolly feel of it. I like the big cable down the front and back and the little cable down the sleeves. It was fun to knit. The fit is fine. It’s totally worth the time and effort to get right. Time to investigate. I put it on one more time. What’s bothering me?
I think it would be more attractive if it was shorter. It feels heavy when it’s on so making it shorter would make it feel lighter.
I think the neck opening looks too wide for me. I would like to fill it in more.
I wish the neckband was raised at the back of neck. I can feel the edge of it lower down on the back of my neck than I would like. Making the neckband wider will help but I think I’ll do some short rows to raise the back of the neck this time.
I’m feeling better already. I have a plan. It starts with ripping. I know ripping can be painful but this is in a good cause and seems right.
Rip back to a shorter length. This is knit top down so all I have to do is snip one stitch of the cast off and start ripping until the length seems best and then re-knit the bottom ribbed edge.
Rip out the neckband. Since it was picked up around the neck opening and cast off at the top edge of the neckband, I have another easy rip back.
Use the yarn I took off the bottom of the sweater to reknit the neckband to deeper length with short rows to raise the back of the neck.
Now I’m getting excited. This is sooo going to work.
Do you have some sweaters you need to rework? Have you done this before?
Deb Gemmell: Top Down, Gauge Free and more 