Fashion: Yarn Style

Shaded Flower

 

I have finally assembled the backs and fronts of my fair isle cardigan by Kafe Fasset! I am very happy with the fit in the back! And the fabric itself looks beautiful and even:

 Unfortunately, there is some real gapping in the front:

 

Although, when this was laid flat, it measured correctly, giving me one inch of positive ease, the fabric has no stretch at all and somehow with the stranded fabric it does not stretch as far as it should. I don’t know what it is about getting older and getting wider, but there seems to be a correlation that is making my tops increasingly difficult to fit in the bust area these days. I am discovering that fair isle is not nearly as forgiving as stockinette in stretching over the bust area, so I am going to have to repair this somehow.

 

My first thought is just to wet block the fronts and try to get an extra inch in width on each side. If that does not work, I suppose I will have to knit some front panels.

 

In the meantime, I have been distracted by all of the excitement of Stitches West. I have only spent a few hours in the market so far, but the yarn is better than ever!  This is from Habu:

 

I bought two samples, one in black and one in white, of this fabulous bouclee yarn with the thought of using it as a textural element in my next Chanel-style jacket.

 

And the color combinations in the new Rowan Frost yarn are breathtaking—black with elements of pink, green and grey. I may break down and purchase this if I see it again, but so far I've abstained by reminding myself of how much yarn I already have:

 

 

I also found some ravishing vintage beads:

 

It is a good thing Stitches only comes once a year!

 

 

 

 I have always wanted to own a sweater with beaded trim, so I am designing one right now. The sleeves are knitted from the top down.

 

It is always a challenge to knit set-in sleeves in the round, and I spent a few years trying to discover the best technique. Between all the different sources out there and the different methods for knitting sleeves in the round, ranging from double point needles to magic loop, it is a daunting task to sift through all the hype.

 

One memorable knitting workshop was devoted to top-down set in sleeves, with a lively presenter, who introduced the workshop with slogans filled with exciting promises. “Once you learn this technique, your life will be changed forever!!!!” “This class will revolutionize your ability to knit perfect sleeves!!!” Now she had really gotten our attention, and we listened to the instructor with bated breath.

 

But first the teacher gave a  demonstration on wraps and turns, and with all the eager student questions on other topics, and the instructor’s excitement in telling long tales about students who had large bosoms or hunched shoulders that needed wraps and turns, the presentation on set-in sleeves never came. Suddenly my friends and I discovered to our bewilderment that the class was over, the instructor had thrust all her unexplained samples into her bag and fled, and we were left alone in our chairs, deprived forever of the life-changing technique she had promised us.  

 

 Despite this disappointing experience, we persevered in seeking information from other sources, and I soon found a much better class. At Stitches West in 2010, Sarah Peasley provided me with a wealth of information on set-in sleeves. I highly recommend her workshop to anyone who wants to master set-in-sleeves in the round. The biggest piece of information that I got out of Peasley’s first workshop was that you should not use the same stitch to row ratio to pick up sleeves as you would use elsewhere in a sweater, because your stitch gage is a perpendicular measurement, but set-in sleeves are not meant to stick out perpendicularly from the body. If you do use your stitch gage to determine the number of stitches per inch for your sleevecap, you pick up too many, and the result is a Frankenstein sleeve which stiffly sticks out from your shoulder—not a flattering look at all! Ever since taking Sarah Peasley’s class, I have been using a ratio of picking up 1 stitch for every 2 rows in densely knitted sweaters, and 2 stitches for every 3 rows in looser weaves, and that has been standing me in good stead.

 

Once you pick up your stitches, you will create a sleeve cap using wraps and turns. For anyone who is seeking information on how to do this, I highly recommend Sarah Peasley’s materials. You can read more about her classes etc on her website:

http://www.sarahpeasley.com

The knitting pattern, Audrey in Unst, designed by Gudrun Johnston, also provides an excellently written description on how to knit a set-in-sleeve cap using the wrap and turn method.

 

The technique I want to share with you simplifies the process of knitting your sleeve down in the round once you have shaped your cap. Knitting a whole sleeve in the round is 22 inches of pain as far as I am concerned. It can become very confusing, too, because everyone is raving about magic loops or double-pointed needles, all of which fill me with a sense of horror and doom. To me, knitting with double-pointed needles is synonymous with chasing little stiches across sharp points that poke me in the soft part of my hand, and dropping stitches on each side. I was saved from this terrible fate by a lady at my local yarn store, who suggested that instead I just use 2 circular needles to knit down my sleeve. Now that I have learned this technique, I am safe from double pointed needles and magic loop forever!

It is actually a very simple technique—once you have completed your sleeve cap and you are ready to knit down, you divide your stitches between two 16-inch circular needles. You knit half your stitches on the first needle, and grab the other circular needle, and moving the yarn over, work the other half of your stitches. What you are really doing is reducing the aggravation of double pointed needles, because you are using 2 circular needles to knit in the round instead of five double points. By using only 2 circular needles, therefore, you reduce the chance of stitches falling off the needle, because the 16 inch length is long enough to hold stitches in place, and the use of the circulars means the stitches never have to go right to the edge. Just make sure you hold your yarn tight so when you switch needles, the edge stitches do not become loose, because then you can get a little hole.

 

 

Above you can clearly see how the 2 circular needles each take half of the stitches you are knitting for your sleeve. A 16 inch band is a manageable length which I find very comfortable to manipulate.

 

 

Above I have just finished knitting the stitches on the first needle, so I grasp the second needle, and bring my yarn over to knit the other half of my stitches on the second circular. I just thought I would share this technique with you, since I have found it so helpful but I would never have known about it if I had not stopped by my local LYS!!!!