Easing Into It

Yesterday evening I actually started knitting the pattern I'm creating. During the day, in addition to a trip to the library and grocery store -- and some just plain goofing off -- Carl and I talked about the button band he wants, the number of cables he likes, and the kind of ribbing that looks best with this yarn. Going back to my first source, Knitwear Design Workshop, I refigured the sleeve calculations; I'm not entirely sure which is correct, but the calculations from KDW look better to me (I saved the other ones just in case). I figured out that because this is a cardigan and because it will have a band all around the neck, I don't need to (dare I say, shouldn't?) bind off stitches for the back of the neck, as long as I do a 3-needle bind-off.

Toward the end of the afternoon, I started working on the v-neck that Carl wants. But when I started calculating, I couldn't visualize what the numbers were telling me. It was looking to me like I was going to choke the man. And while there are times when I feel like throttling him, I don't want to do it with a sweater, especially not one I will have put so much work into.

So, instead of sitting at my desk staring at my calculator and notes, I decided to pick up the needles and yarn. Most of the books and patterns suggest starting with the back because it will be easier to work out gauge issues and get into the rhythm of the pattern. Never one to take the easy way out, I decided to start with the front, where my trouble is.

The first few inches, with a 1.5" band to come.

Definitely the right decision. I have had to rip out the first few inches four times now, but I think I have finally made the right adjustments to my calculations. There were two things I wasn't taking into account. First, cables tighten up the gauge more than I thought, despite what my cable gauge swatch says. Second, my husband has a bit more ... um ... padding in front than I realized when I measured him. I think I measured all around that part, but I didn't actually include it. So, I've now added a few inches around and it finally looks like the front will work. More ease, please!

Back to Learning

So...it's been a while.

I really thought I was going to keep this blog going on a regular basis, but life and work got in the way. This past semester has been hard time-wise. During the last month, I was working 10-12 hours/day almost every day, just to keep up. But I'll save that rant for another time. Suffice it to say that I have taken the week between Christmas and New Year's off. Completely. I have not turned on my work computer, nor will I check my work email. The academic books are out of sight. And in my sight....

Yarn! I'm back to designing Carl's sweater.

I began day before yesterday by reading the first part of Sweater Design in Plain English, and I finished reading up to the working patterns yesterday morning. The book explains most things very well, but there are parts that simply require me to try them before I will figure them out.

So out came the paper and colored pencils and tape measure and calculator and reading glasses. Carl was measured again and again. And at random times mid-calculation, measured again, just for good measure.

I knitted another couple of swatches, one because I needed to find out what kind ribbing was going to work best with this yarn, and the other because I foolishly didn't write down how I made the cable that Carl liked. I also used the second swatch to figure out how to make the cable twist to the right and left so that I can create them leaning in different directions depending on the side of his body.

Yesterday, I worked out most of the back and the sleeve patterns, at least I think so. The back was easy. I measured the gauge for the stockinette stitch that I'll be using on the back and multiplied it by the number of inches. Ribbing was the ribbing gauge times 10% less than the number of stitches across the wide part of the back. I wasn't sure how to deal with the bind off for the arms until I dealt with the sleeves--and I'm still not sure how I figured that one out. I really need to remember and make a note for the next time. I haven't dealt with the neckline yet, but I will later today or tomorrow.

The sleeve was OMG. The bottom was relatively easy -- the same gauge multiplied by the number of inches for the base and ribbing at 10% fewer stitches. Got it. And the measurement at the widest point was easy: make Carl stand up and get measured again. And the math for figuring out the increases from one to the other wasn't bad. Figuring out the sleeve cap made me crazy. The chapter where Sweater Design explains sleeve design also explains designing for "Big and Beautiful people," and it conflates the two. I really could have used some instruction on designing for my normal-sized guy (ok, he's short, but he's not heavy) before adding the what-if parts. I intend to spend some time online and looking at a couple of other resources I have to check this work. I'm not yet convinced that I have it right.

And, of course, I expect as I work on the front, including the neckline, I'll have to make adjustments to both the back and sleeve. Back to fun-work!