Slowly But Surely

I've finally got the body done and cut a couple of the steeks so I could try it on. I did a three needle bind off at the shoulders. That was my first time, I really like the method. Although I did one half with a ridge, and then tore it out and did the opposite. I've got a few things to deal with, like on button hole that is a stitch off from the others.



I'm fairly happy. It's the right short length, but I'm not sure about the shoulders. It's just so bulky to be a drop-shoulder (it's turned under in this photo). I'm trying figure out if I can cut a bit out of the sleeve holes and make the sleeves correspondingly larger at the top to fit. Right now the upper sleeve circumference is about 19", so another inch would be good.

I did my measurements on a thin cotton Norwegian sweater of mine. I didn't take into account the very different drape this one would have, so I'm having to change some things.

Meanwhile, I started on the first sleeve, which I will hold on until I decide about the upper sleeve.


Taking stock, I have so much left to do. Make the sleeves; bind all the opening edges with fabric on the inside and trim on the outside; reinforce the buttonholes after the fabric goes on the back; cut open and put trim on cuffs; put on buttons; sew on the sleeves.

Plugging Away

Hi, All. Not much more progress, but enough to post and let you know I'm still at it.



This is the back. I'm about 7 inches into the armhole. 5 more inches to go.



I'm pretty happy with it. The pattern is starting to really come out now. I've got 15 more rows to finish this particular motif and the I THINK I will do another row of trees. Not positive, yet. I really like this "off the cuff" knitting. You just never know where it will end up.

Hope the rest of you are still progressing. Take care. Tracy J

Sweater finished...sort of

Tuesday Morning
The sweater looks finished, but the sleeves are too long!!!! I'm wearing it to work today, but tomorrow will see it back on the needles. It's worth it to get it right.

Wednesday
It took all day, but the sleeve surgery is successful. The whole story is on my blog.

Thursday
Finished and wearable. Of course, the dog had to get into the picture.

Neck and front bands

I have finished the "Cut and Sew" neckline and front bands. I have a step by step narrative on my blog. Pictures of the finished sweater will follow after its bath.

My sweater's almost finished

I am working the buttonhole band on my sweater. The neckband is done. Pictures on my blog when I get time. maybe Sunday. I'll let you know. I took pictures of the whole cut and sew process. I also finished the button band.

I understand being tired of lice Tracy. I had less trouble on the second sleeve. Perhaps it's like coming home from a trip. The distance is the same, but it seems shorter.

Getting There....

Hi, All.

I've just finished the underarm gussets and I'm starting on the chest.

I am pretty sick of lice. Can't wait for the sleeves :p

Here's the patterns that I have put together for the chest and shoulder area.

This will fill the 70 rows and then I will have 2 inches to play with at the top. Not sure what I will do there. I'm just making this thing up as I go along. It's fun.

So, how are the rest of you doing?

Take care....Tracy J

armhole steeks

I thought L'Tanya's question was important enough for everyone to hear about, so I'm making a main post instead of answering in the comments.

L'Tanya, you are right. In the scenario you describe, you will lose body stitches. That shaping is for a modified drop shoulder, or what I like to call a square armhole. You don't lose any fit, though, because you add that back into the top of the sleeves, making the sleeves a couple of inches longer. In this scenario, the shoulders fall higher and closer to your actual shoulder line than in a true drop shoulder, and you have a slightly snugger fit in the shoulders, but by no-means constricting. This is actually the shaping that I used on the Andean sweater in Ethnic Knitting Discovery. It's perfectly acceptable to use this in a Norwegian sweater, but it's not traditional. You just want to align your pattern stitches so they center nicely around the armhole steeks and look balanced after you cut.

Here's the schematic of an Andean sweater, showing the armhole shaping.



If you want a true drop shoulder, where you keep the same number of stitches all the way to the shoulder seams, you don't need to do anything for a steek, or you can BO1 stitch and CO5-7 if you want to have the extra fabric to cut and fold back as a facing. In the Norwegian sweaters in Ethnic Knitting Discovery, I went with the old-fashioned technique of doing nothing in advance. You just knit a straight tube all the way up to the shoulders, then you make slits where you want the armholes. In this scenario, the shoulders drop down and sit on the upper arm, and you make the sleeves shorter to compensate.

Here's the schematic of a Norwedigan sweater, showing the lack of armhole shaping.



The total sleeve length, from center back neck to wrist, has to remain the same for both situations, so you add the part you remove from the armhole to the top of the sleeve to compensate. See how the top of the sleeve fills in the cut out body area on that first drawing? In both of these styles, I make the armhole depth the same. For a 40 or 44 inch sweater that I make for myself, I like a 10 inch deep armhole, so it's nice and loose. Probably going down to 9 would still be OK without causing the sweater to pinch at the underarm. But for me, that makes the sweater feel a little too snug, especially if I'm wearing it over a heavy winter turtleneck.

Does all that make sense?

How's everyone else doing on their knitting? Pictures, pictures, I want to see more pictures! :-)