Friday, April 27, 2012

Miette 11: The next part!

How are all the Miette KAL knitters out there doing?  I think some of you are making quite a bit of progress, so I figured I'd better get going and work out some of the next steps to show you!

If you recall, after I tried on my sweater, I decided I wanted to deepen the raglan a little bit.  I put my stitches back on the needle, and worked four extra rows with no raglan increases, to give me about an extra half inch on either side of the armhole, for a total of one extra inch under my arm.

However, doing so threw off the vertical lace pattern that goes down the front.  So for my extra four rows,  I had to follow the lace pattern from my charts for the first and last six stitches of every right side row.  Here's how these four rows worked out for me, doing the medium size:

Row 47:  instead of removing the sleeves, I purled across
Row 48:  I worked this row as written, noting that it corresponds to row 2 of my charts
Row 49:  purl across
Row 50:  I worked the first and last 6 stitches according to row 3 of the charts, and knit all other stitches
Row 51:  I removed the sleeves as written in the pattern for row 48

To remove the stitches on to yarn, just thread some
contrasting yarn onto a needle, and slip the sleeve
stitches onto it, tying the ends together once all the
stitches have been removed.

From there, I moved on to the Body section of the pattern.  This section starts with Row 50 for all sizes, but remember - I added 4 rows.  So from here on out, I had to work the first and last 6 stitches of every right side row according to the charts.  I had already worked rows 2 and 3 as above, so on my first row of the body, I started with row 4.  I found it easiest to place markers to keep these six stitches separate from the rest of the work:


And also to have all my notes written on the sides of my charts.  

I've mentioned before that I like to use a sticky note
to keep track of what row I'm on.  I also clipped my
two charts together, because it was easier for me to
have everything on one piece of paper right in
front of me.

All sizes work 5 rows even before beginning the decreases for the bust darts.  I had decided I didn't want the bust darts though - I want my sweater to be flat on the front (like me!).  So I chose to move my decreases to the side "seams."  (Really, there are no seams, but you know what I mean!)  I counted the total number of stitches decreased for my size - 28 stitches, decreasing four stitches per row six times, and two stitches on the final decrease row.   So that is 7 rows of decreases.  I decided I wanted them spaced out with decreases every four rows, with the first decrease occurring on row 56.  So I made myself a list of the rows on which the decreases occurred in pencil on the side of my charts (rows 56, 60, 64, 68, 72, 76 and 80) and kept track with my "Katcha Katcha" counter.

Here's how my decreases looked after they were done:


I worked my decreases like this:

(RS) pattern 6 stitches from chart, (knit to 3 stitches before underarm marker, ssk, k1, sm, k1, k2tog) twice, knit to last 6 stitches, pattern 6 stitches from chart.

The decreases on row 80 were only worked on the back, because I only needed to decrease 2 stitches in that row.  

It's important to keep the stitch counts in line with the pattern, because there's another bit of lace at the bottom, before the rib.  That bit of lace starts with row 82 in the pattern.  But remember, my lace pattern is off now!  So I had to keep working straight until my work matches with row 82 (which corresponds to row 6 on the chart).  I worked to the end of the chart (row 12 + 1 purl row) because I was on row 8.  This also gave me the extra bit of length in the body that I wanted.

Why is it important to get to the place where your next row will be row 6 on the chart?  Because Andi has made the vertical and horizontal lace patterns meet in a very nice way, but it relies on being at the correct row vertically:

See how the lace rounds the corner?

I've actually finished my body now, and I did a couple of changes to the bottom as well.  The pattern has you do a knit row on row 89, which gives a garter ridge before the ribbing.  I wasn't so crazy about that look, so I purled back.  I also did plain k2, p2 rib rather than the K2tbl rib that Andi used, because I prefer the look of it.

I hope this wasn't too much to throw at you guys!  As always, I'm happy to clarify anything that didn't make sense!

19 comments:

  1. Your decreases look lovely set out from the centre like that. I really like it :)
    You're lucky being able to use a clicker stitch thing like that - I think my kids would think it was fabulous and click madly....
    By the way - love the cream. It's going to be so rich and gorgeous when it's all done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL! I know - I can't use the clicker when my little nieces are around!

      Delete
  2. Did I miss the part where you told me what nail polish you're wearing? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You caught me! LOL! These were taken on two different days. The top one (thumb) is Essie Camera, and the next-to-last one (where you can barely see my nails) is China Glaze Make Some Noise. Those new Essie Poppy Razzi polishes are super sheer. Not sure how I feel about that! That thumb has 3 coats!

      Delete
    2. I just got Camera--maybe I'll try it over an opaque base (white? nude?)

      Delete
    3. Right now I'm wearing Action (orange) over Zoya Minka as underwear, but I'm not in love with how that turned out - the nude made the orange look less neon, I think. White might be better. I'll look fo that combo on your blog! Because you don't have enough to do, right?

      Delete
  3. This is great. I've been reading and re-reading it since the bit about moving the darts was a bit baffling at first! I compared what you're saying to the pattern, and I think I finally get it!

    I'll do the same as you and move the bust darts, and spread them out to be twice as long too :)

    The only bit I don't get (and I don't even need to worry about it because my size doesn't have that last row of decreasing, but I like to understand), is what do you mean you only worked the decreases on row 80 on the back?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knitted all the way to the first marker and slipped it, then K1, k2tog, knit to 3 stitches before the second marker, ssk, k1, sm, and worked to the end. So the 2 decreases were both on the back side of hte work, one to the left of the first marker and the second to the right of the second marker.

      Delete
  4. This is great! I was wondering how I was going to handle those darts. My 10 year old won't need the bust darts ;). I'm sure I'll be knocking on your door when I get there. I like your mods (elim the garter stitch row, the rib) ! I won't be adding length so I'll have to do things a little differently I presume.
    I can't wait to get there. Right now I'm waiting for a friend to rescue me from a mistake that I made on row 42 that I can't seem to fix. I tried fixing it and it got worse. I'm meeting her tomorrow late afternoon so I'm in a holding pattern for now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I'm very glad you have a real-life person to help you out with that! I seem to recall that you were thinking about working your sweater straight down from the armholes with no shaping, right! All you'll have to do is make sure you have the right multiple of stitches for the lace pattern. When you get closer to that, I'll help you figure it out. Still drinking my coffee right now, so not 100% lucid!

      Delete
    2. Oh yeah. I won't do any of the shaping, even at the sides. I guess if I knit down and it's too boxy on her I can frog back a few rows and rework with side shaping. I think I'll get a better sense of how it will fit when I remove the sleeves and begin the body. She can try it on and we'll see how roomy it is.
      You have been so much help. You're an excellent teacher!
      I'll let you know how it goes with fixing my mistake and then removing the sleeves.

      Delete
    3. I'm so excited for you! I keep checking Flickr to see if there are any new pictures :-)

      So glad I've been able to help you!

      Delete
  5. I've joined the knit-along, and want to thank you for your extremely helpful notes along the way!
    I had one quick question - I am at the point where I need to cut the yarn for the sleeves, and feel a bit anxious about doing it. I came across this youtube video, and was wondering if it work if I did it that way (not cutting the yarn)? Thanks! ~ Neha
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nU-u__w6uQ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Neha:
      Yes, that's a great video you found. That is basically the way you do it - you won't be cutting the working yarn for the sleeves. There are a couple differences with our pattern: you won't be working the first stitch after the marker like she did in the video, and you won't be casting on extra stitches under the arm. And of course, you'll be working the lace bits at the beginning and end of the row :-)

      Welcome to our knit along!

      Delete
  6. Hi, I hope you see this message!

    I was just wondering if you switched to smaller needles on rows 88/89 the knit/purl rows, or if you switched for the rib rows - or if you switched at all, and if so, what size did you switch to?

    Your help has been invaluable to me - thanks so much!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there! I stuck to my size 6 needles throughout, because this gave me the fit I wanted. I also did a plain K2, P2 rib rather than a twisted rib, to make the ribbing not pull in as much.

      Delete
    2. Hi Gail,

      How do you know if keeping or switching needles will give you the fit you want? I'm almost at the ribbing row at the end and don't actually have smaller needles so am trying to decide whether to go and buy some or stick with the ones I have. Any advise? Why does the pattern say to go down a needle size?

      Delete
  7. Hi Gail - is it too late to ask you questions about knitting this cardigan? I'm kntiting it at the moment and I was wondering if you can point me in the direction of a good bind off to use? Whenever I've bound off before it's not been very stretchy, and I don't want my cardigan digging in at the waist... thanks in advance if you can help!

    ReplyDelete