Thursday, October 28, 2010

Slinky Rib Sleeves, Alpaca Visit

Finished with the first sleeve. Made it 3/4 length instead of short like the pattern. I did decreases about every seven rows. Did stockinette for a few inches, then one purl row, a few more stockinette and then cast off. At the end I had 66 stitches on the needle. I may do this purl row finish to the bottom of the sweater to match, which would mean redoing the last bit of the sweater hem over. I don't like how much it rolls. It's supposed to roll and may block out a bit, but it's rolling alot. So the extra purl row should help the rolling a bit. The photo in the book pictures this "purl" addition on the modified version as well.


A parent at our school has an alpaca farm and these are some samples he brought in to show us today of the different fibers off three of the alpacas. (Bad cell phone picture) Undyed, these are the natural colors. Nice... Showing the sleeve progress on Slinky Rib, knitting downward on dpns:



I am getting a bit tired of ribbing, but I want the sleeves longer than in the pattern. So onward I go. Or downward I go.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Slinky Ribs Sweater Progress

It's coming along here, as you can see. It is meant to curl at the bottom and I will block this one definitely after I am through, as I have heard it will "grow." So I made it 22 " from top of shoulder down to hem. Next, the sleeves, which I have now begun. You pick up the sleeve stitches and shape the sleeve cap using "short rows". A bit awkward, but I am using dpns to do the sleeves. Once the shaping with the short rows is done, then you knit downward in the round.Edited to add more pictures today of my progress knitting downward in the round. After doing the plain rib, you join your left front, back, and right front and begin to knit in the round. You then do the rib detail as instructed. I am using a 29" circular size 6 needle. You then knit in stockinette downward to the desired length. More will be done later to the front with adding bands and buttons, as well as finishing off the neck (which is still on a stitch holder). And of course sleeves will come after that. I put 1/2 my stitches on another pair of circular needles so that I could try this on for size. It fits really well. The front will be closed together with buttonband:

Continuing knititing downward, from the shoulders, using two balls of yarn. One for each "front". You do this after the point where you pluck out the provisional cast on... after much gnashing of teeth. Don't ever ever make your provisional cast on out of the same yarn as your project, my dears....just saying. I didn't have any other yarn with me or I would have. See the neck held by the stitch holder? See the stitch markers marking the shoulders? I knit downward, one side at a time, and raised up the neckline curve 1 inch higher than the pattern. If you do this, you must pay attention then as to where to begin your armhole increases and then after you are chugging along well with both fronts, pay attention to when to put your stitches on the needle in order of : left front, back (from "waste yarn"), and right front. Then you knit downward still, but side-to-side across these pieces leaving the fronts separated for now. Is that clear as mud? Great! It really makes more sense than that when you read the pattern.
Since I am doing the size 36 1/2, I am knitting now until my fronts measure 11 inches from the shoulder. Then it will be time for connecting the fronts and knitting entirely in the round I believe. Hey, looking at this, it could make a cute tank top, couldn't it? But I want the whole yummy sweater with sleeves. I am sort of sick of ribbing actually about now. I must press on!