Hmmm, I'm not too sure about this. I'm now working on the second sleeve (having left the first one dangling halfway down the arm) and I'm not too sure about how it's going. I'm using 100% cotton mercerised yarn and maybe it wasn't the best choice. Or maybe it's ok. I don't know. But it seems very looonnng and baggy so far. So my question for those of you who are ahead of me is, does it pull in a bit when you pick up the stitches for the back or am I just making it too big? Or is it the yarn? I usually love the way mercerised cotton knits up but in this case I'm a bit uneasy about the way the pattern has a larger gauge than usual for the yarn.
What I'm trying to do is knit the sleeves in XL as I don't want them too tight but I like the very fitted body so that will be a size (or two) smaller. So maybe I should choose a yarn with a bit more give. Any thoughts?
I did notice some very helpful updates on the Domiknitrix site, where she recommends Louisa Harding Grace Wool Silk as a good yarn choice. And it is available in my lovely local LYS. I saw it a while back and thought about using it for Ivy, but used stash yarn instead.
So could be time to cut my losses and start again. I do like the cotton yarn so I'd be happy to use it for something else.
And, also regarding the site updates, I notice that Ms. Domiknitrix has explained why she changed the pattern from a jacket to a sweater. Very good explanation and, although I did think it would be nicer as a jacket, I may have been convinced to go with the sweater. If I ever get to the point where I have to make that decision ;-)
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4 comments:
DomiKNITrix here. I can help.
If you are trying to create a wider sleeve for this design, I recommend that you modify only by knitting more stitches as for the XL, but NOT more rows as the XL states, or your yoke won't fit properly when you get to the pickup.
If you're going to continue with the same yarn, you would only need to rip back to before the increasing for the shoulders. The gauge is recommended as slightly loose for the yarn because this just works best with the bias shaping. In a tighter gauge, it just doesn't flow as nicely around the body. That slight looseness in the gauge allows the knitting to flex in a way that tighter gauge won't permit.
I hope this helps,
Jen
~DomiKNITrix~!
Thanks a lot for your comment. I really appreciate it and of course it makes total sense.
I think now I'll stick with the same yarn as I have and try again. At least I didn't complete the first sleeve so I have less to rip :-)
Yeah, I am a big advocate of saving the sleeves for last since ripping them is akin to tragedy!
Also, the sleeves are the relatively mindless portion of the sweater, so I usually put the sleeves on hold after the gussets because I can't wait to knit the challenging body!
Well, I know why it's coming out too big. For size L, the pattern says work 7 inches in lace pattern. Then the increase before starting the gusset adds 14 stitches, ending on RS. I make that 27 rows. Gauge is 24 rows to 4" in lace pattern, so 27 rows is a little bit more than 4", so I'm over 11" when my increase is done. But the pattern expects a total length of only 10". Eeek!
For those of you who have already done this pattern, am I missing something? Or should I just start increasing sooner, so that I end up with the correct number of stitches at a length of 10 inches?
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