KNIT LOUNGE

Half

Being absolutely disgusted with one knitting project means that one can redirect ones attention to another project.

Thus, I knit the first sleeve for Pole this weekend. The upper arm was a breeze with round after round of lovely stockinette stitch.

 

When I arrived at the cuff I found that the Tuck stitch did not go as fast as I like because it is terribly fiddly and slows me down.  

Basically what you do is pick up a pearl bump eight rows below the stitch, on the inside of the sleeve, then pick it up and knit it with the current stitch.  

Will I do ever knit this stitch pattern again? Probably not. Though I do like the effect.

With the sleeve installed I am exactly half way through Pole and things are looking pretty good.

 

I can only hope it looks as good on me as it does on Zoe!

 

Tricky Bits

Taking things from concept to reality can be a real trick. I had to knit the first neckline three times before I got the stitch placement and details right. Reproducing the second one was a breeze.

Then it took a long time to sew the shoulder seams properly. That was a total hassle to say the least. But I only had two little seams to sew and they are done!

 

After that I carefully picked up stitches on either side directly above the slipped stitches that will create a tidy demarcation line for the side panels.

 From here on out the rest of the cape will be knit in the round and I can live with that. 

 

And of course, these newly made side panels will increase as I knit towards the bottom edge. 

Whew! The tricky bits are done and things should be easy peasy to the end. 

Oh dear Lord, did I just jinx myself?! 

Knit in Sleeves

Barbara Walker was the first knitter to document this stunningly simple method of knitting in a sleeve from the top down and I always use it.

It's definitely worth the time to learn. No lumps, bumps, or seaming and no complicated math.  The best part is that it fits every single time without fail. 

If you boiled down the technique you would see that it is very similar to turning a heel on  a sock or working creasant shaped shawl like Annis.  

I'm not going to write a tutorial but I will give you a brief pictorial.

Pick up the stitches around the armsyce.

  

Work back and forth from the center down to the underarm.

 
 Just keep knitting in the round decreasing as you go. 

 
Before you know it you have a perfect sleeve.

Take a closer look at the faux seam.

  

Is'nt that brilliant?