01-04-2022

Thoughts on the Pattern:

• For starters, I modified the entire pattern in a fairly dramatic way - details are below. The reason for this is that the drafting of the neck/shoulders leads to a back neckline that is, IMO, unattractively deep and floppy above the shoulders and this bleeds into the front neck where there is way too much fabric. By redrafting, I removed the excess neck fabric without losing the the overall, whimsical shape (which is the strength of this pattern). In doing this, and with other alterations I applied to other parts of the cardigan, I effectively made the first size for the back body and the shoulders, the second size for the sleeves (above the elbow) and then smaller than the first size (below the elbow). I briefly increased to the fourth size (in the front body) over the full bust. Below the full bust, I reverted back to the second size, to gain a bit of shaping. And in terms of length, I’ve gone way off road. I made the body much longer than recommended and slightly shortened the sleeves, while also changing the proportion of length above and below the elbow. And I made the sleeve bell less voluminous than instructed.

• In addition to the excess of fabric at the neck, the impact of the drafting is skewed shoulder positioning that pulls the garment backwards. This is a pretty serious design flaw, IMO, but this pattern, as written, will fit someone with wide shoulders better than narrow.

• Ways I tried to fix the neck/shoulder situation: On try 1, having got to below the split for sleeves, I tried to fix things after the fact by removing 3” of depth via some strange embroidery /sewing hack I came up with that unsurprisingly didn’t work. So, on try 2, I ripped back and redrafted the neckline (which had mathy implications and took some time). This didn’t work completely but I got closer… Details on this fail are retained at the bottom of the page, for future reference. Fortunately, on the 3rd try, things worked out - See Shoulder Modification 2 section below.

• This pattern is very clearly instructed (if questionably drafted at the neckline) but there’s a lot going on in the Set up and work increase Row section. There are only 4 rows in this section but you have to get used to doing a number of things at the same time. That’s why the size chart (there are 4 of them, one for each size) plus the back body pattern chart (called the Sumile chart) work very well together. I really love the very simple, but intricate-looking, back-body, charted design. It has an old Celtic-meets-modern vibe.

• The only significant design diff between my version and the version instructed is that I started the raglan higher up - closer to the cast on - by altering the back collar. I did however modify many design elements.

• For example, I added a 3-st neat edge at each side of the band (3 st more than in pattern) I have 8 st on the band but I feel the edge is tidier. Also, this increased the circumference by about 1” on the fronts - 0.5” on each side. This also increased the depth at the side neck so, if you don’t intend to modify the pattern otherwise, you probably don’t want to do this given how over-deep that section already is, as drafted… “Neat edging”: RS: Work to last 2 st, sl next st as if to purl, k1 / WS: sl 1 wyif, P, sl wyif, then continue in pattern

• In terms of grading between sizes, I continued with M size chart (after R58 / as of R59 of the S small chart), which gave dimensions of size 1 for back body and size 2 for the sleeves. To get to ~39” at bust, I continued to add st to the FRONT body till I got to my desired circumference.

• It’s rare for me to give a low(ish) overall rating while also clicking on the very happy smiley face, but in this instance, I love the outcome (given all of my alterations). I would not have been happy with this garment if I’d knit it according to the pattern. Having said this, it was a very clear pattern, which is why I gave a high clarity rating. And the lace design and sleeves are beautiful.

• Challenges notwithstanding, I do wish that the pattern were size inclusive. The largest bust measurement is not quite 42”. Having said that, the pattern has been around for a while and predates more inclusive size ranges.

• In the end it took 207g to create a sweater that is in no way cropped or tight. It’s beautifully light-weight and drapes gorgeously. I wish that I hadn’t tormented this yarn because I sense it would have made an exceedingly even stockinette fabric - like, so even it would look machine knitted - if I hadn’t ripped it back, blocked and reused so many times. In the end, what makes the yarn excellent is what makes it suboptimal for continual frogging - it’s very light, very round and springy (lots of recovery). The combo leads to serious noodling that’s difficult to reknit smoothly because of the bounce back. It also became increasingly splitty with each reuse (and the splittiness was a problem to begin with). I would definitely consider using this yarn again though I won’t go out of my way unless the right pattern presents itself.

Cast-on:
The Initial Alteration - Neck/Shoulder Modification 2 (The one that worked):

• Note that this is a follow-on from modification 1, which didn’t go far enough. The one issue I have with this version is that, at the centre back neck, the join of the collar band in garter, on the 4 centre back stitches, where the band merges into the upper back, could look neater. But I have no band width (pun intended) to rip this back again simply to improve the look of 4 stitches at the centre back neck. Perfection is the enemy of good.

• Specifically, I casted on 8st provisionally - those to make up a modified garter band only. I then increased over 27 rows on each side (54 garter bumps in total) every other RS row until I had 22 st on the needles for each side (8 for the garter band, 5 for the front, 9 for the sleeve). How I increased: On both right and left fronts, when working the collar, I worked to one stitch before the non-band end, M1R, K1. I probably should have done M1L on left collar but I forgot..

• The only stitch count, changed from the mod 1 version, is the number of st cast on for the fronts because, from the previous versions, it was clear that the shoulders and back body fit well in the first size dimensions (small) and I didn’t want to mess with that.

• I knew I wanted a band that was 54 garter ridges in total, over both left and right side at my gauge and 22 stitches deep at either side to enable the set up numbers indicated above. On the set up row I knitted the pre-established band (8st), then 5 additional st on front (for 14 Fr st total at start), then 9 st for sleeve (22 st). Then I picked up 57 st on the garter band that was 54 garter ridges long/wide - approx 1 st every 2 rows. After that, I knitted the live stitches on the other side to establish the 9 sleeve st, 5 fr st and 8 band st.

• At this point I had the width required on the back neck and the depth required (which was only the band depth at the centre back neck). This effectively removed ~5-6” of fabric at the back neck that, as drafted, falls strangely over the front neck and is floppy at the back neck. This alteration produces a biased fabric over the upper-back-below the neckband stitches. The bias segment flows into the sleeves and the front body after the set up.

• The impact of this is that the band lies close at the neck and shoulders. The sweater is still created contiguously, so I don’t have to knit the band on after the fact, as I think I would have, had I modified this to be a standard raglan construction. Moreover, the proportions are correct for my frame. I did find that the neckline I created is proportionately wide above the bust, almost like a gentle scoop neck. I like it. For a true v-neck, I should have started double front increases higher-up.

• As of the set up section, I had fewer than half of the st on the fronts than recommended (14 vs 29 - and this includes an extra 3 st over garter band width as instructed, to enable the clean edge and to provide a bit more circumference at the start / set up depth).

• Because the bulk of alterations occur at a much shallower depth than the set up, I have adequate depth / enough RS rows to get to the full bust (9.5 inches below shoulder). Note that I’ll have to begin to do 2 front body increases on each RS side, one at the side body and one at the front band, as of R 63. Double front increases will start before the underarm split, and will continue after the split (which I’ve opted to do after R68, as instructed for the second size). Depth of yoke is between size s and m aka first and second size based on my row gauge, which is good because I have a short/high armscye.

Stitch Counts as of R 68, just before split for sleeves:

8st Band / 43st Fr (51st) / 76st Sl / 119st Back (44 side, 31 panel, 44 side)/ 76st Sl/ 43st Fr / 8st Band (51st) or a total of 373st

As of R70, just after split for sleeves: 51st / 119st / 51st = 221st on front and back body combined

Body

How to work the increases at the front band (worked at same time as side body increases, after split for sleeves - could have started this sooner for more of a v-neck):

To increase 2x per front on a RS row (4st inc per inc row):

Work border stitches, sl m1, M1R, work according to pattern till last m, M1L, sl m4, work border stitches.

To clarify - the left front has an M1R against the border and the right front has an M1L against the border.

As of R81: 65 st / 119st / 65st = 249 (38.9”)

Update: I’ve decided I need to increase 2x more (total inc 8st / 2 on each front on each RS row)

As of R85: 69 st / 119 st / 69 st = 257st (40”)

From here on in work till 5.5” below the split for sleeves and then do waist decreases.

How to work the decreases on the Centre Fronts:

RS Dec Row 1: Knit to 2 stitches before marker (at centre front), ssk, slip marker, knit to the marker (at centre front), slip marker, k2tog, knit to end. (2 st decreased)

Next 3 rows - WS, RS, WS: Work plain

Repeat these 4 rows 3 more times (8st in total decreased). Work in pattern till you begin the hem. 249 st (39”)

About the length of the Body: I’m going to knit this to approx 22” from the back neck where it meets the upper back / below the collar) or 14.75” from split for sleeves. This is 3.75” longer in the body than recommended for the first size. At my gauge, and given that I want this to be longer than designed, I’ll need to work 5 lace chart motifs plus 4R of the 6th vs 4x plus 22 R for first and second size (as instructed). Thereafter I’ll follow the instructions as written, put the stitches on a holder and decide if I want to add a few more garter rows after blocking. Update: I ended up doing 5 garter ridges before the bind off and didn’t have to add length after blocking.

Sleeve Modifications: The sleeves are too large in any size for me, IMO, as they move towards the elbow / Gather Stitch section. Here’s how I’ve opted to alter the circumference:

• Started with 76 st on needles and did the set up round and following rounds to get back to 76 st. Repeated this 14x (as per pattern)

• Did the increase round for the size M as instructed (89st)

• Worked plain for 18 rounds (vs the 5 instructed) because I needed to get some additional length in the sleeves before starting the gather section. I opted NOT to do the second increase segment so I had 89st as of the set up for the Gather stitch section.

• Gather Stitch set up round - to get to an even number of stitches and to do the kbtl/k2tog set up 14x, as instructed, I did this: K2tog, K28, PM, ktbl, (K2tog)x 14, ktbl, PM, K29 = 74st. That is 11.5” circumference.

• I then followed instructions till Next Rnd (the next increase round) wherein I re-increased the 14 st removed in the gather segment, as instructed. 88st (13.75” circ at my gauge).

• I will do the final increase round as follows: slm, (k3,KFB) till end of round. This increases st count by from 88st to 110st or a circumference of 17” (as large as I want it to be).

• I don’t want a wide sleeve to be too long (or it is impossible to do anything) so, given that I already added length above the elbow, I started my garter edging 6 rounds after the final increase round. This means I only worked 5 of the instructed 29 stockinette rounds after the final increase round. I intend to knit the garter hem longer than instructed and I’ll leave my stitches on holders till after blocking, to confirm that the length works. Update: In the end, I didn’t lengthen any further - the sleeves were at just the right spot so I just bound off.

• I used 205g before doing a) potential lengthening of the body or sleeves (which are on holder till after blocking). Amazingly, the bind off of both sleeves and body took only 2g (or 10y of yarn).

Pre-blocked Dimensions: Forgot to take these before putting this in a bath but I did a lot of math and measuring as I went, so I’m hopeful that I won’t have any surprises.

Post-Blocked Dimensions
Centre back neck - shoulder tip: 6”
Length of arm from underarm: 9”
Length of arm from top of shoulder to cuff: 18.5”
Length from underarm to body hem: 14.5”
Length from centre back neck to body hem: 26” (This was longer than I thought it would be but it works…)
Upper arm circumference: 12”
Bust circumference: 39” (at underarm where front bands meet)
Hip circumference: 40”
Sleeve cuff circumference: 8.5”

02-04-2022

For Reference Only:

The one that didn’t work: Neck/Shoulder construction modification 1 to the back neck collar, to reduce it’s depth, specifically on the back neck, by ~3” - the neckline remained too deep at the centre back and front neck:

I casted on 18 st provisionally and worked on US4. I used 8st for the front band (see below for details on this) and 10 st for back neck.

From the first RS row, on either side of the centre back, I increased on the back collar side of the work (not the side with the neck band), every right side, until I had 8st of width for the front band and 34 st on the side from which st will be picked up during the setup row. Ended after WS.

This took 48R in total over a cast on of one row followed by a set up of 2 rows and 23 more 2-row repeats. Effectively, I biased the back body stitches from the centre back neck which removed 3” of depth from the upper back.

How I increased: On RS, when working right collar I worked to one stitch before the non-band end, M1R, K1. When working left collar I knit to one st before the non-band end M1L, K1.

Then, on the Set Up and Work Increase row, I followed the instructions (but with my 8st band, vs 5st) except, when it came to picking up the st for the side back / back body panel. On the back body, I got to the requisite number by picking up through every other st, through the holes created by the increases. The impact of this is that 8 st that were knit as / “belonged” to the front body (which increased at a faster rate than it did when I followed the instructions) are taken up by the sleeves.
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Pre-blocked US4: 27st and 38R in 4”
Post-blocked US4: 26st and 39R in 4”

Pre-blocked US5: 26.5st and 35R in 4”
Post-blocked US5: 25.5st and 36R in 4”

Pre-Knitting Pattern Options:
You could use this yarn in 2 ways: held single (1500 yards) or held double (750 yards). While I haven’t swatched yet, I sense that I want a 28-32 st per 4” gauge for the single held and a 24-28st per 4” gauge on the double held.

Options to Hold Single (1500 yards):

Pre-blocked US4: 27st and 38R in 4”
Post-blocked US4: 26st and 39R in 4”

Pre-blocked US5: 26.5st and 35R in 4”
Post-blocked US5: 25.5st and 36R in 4”

Sumile (Eri Shimizu): This gauge with one strand will work because it’s a summer cardigan. Estimate that I’d need 1100 yards of yarn. Gauge suggested is 26 stitches and 34 rows in 4”. So based on gauge I’d use the US5. The shoulders look quite narrow.

NIamh (Isabell Kraemer) - I’ve almost made this many times. Looks like a great pattern but not sure this is the yarn for it (though I do get stitch gauge and near row gauge). I’d likely use the US4 if I opted to make this. I like this pattern but I’m still not ready to commit. This is a pass.

Basix (Hinterm Stein) On the winter theme, I could also do this one… My row gauge is smaller (26 st vs pattern’s 25) and I wouldn’t want to go up a needle size with this yarn - I mean above a US5. Note: This sweater is too structured for the yarn I intend to use. It’s a pass.

Herring (Lisa Renner) - No projects to refer to but the design looks pretty simple and straight forward. I want to look at the pattern, at a min. Gauge: 30st and 42R in 4”. Likely to take 1000 yards and I’d prefer to use more like 1100-1200y. I really don’t know how forgiving the pattern will be given waist shaping as there are few sizes and there’s no schematic. That really puts me off so it’s a pass.

Options to Hold Double (750 yards): Not going to go this route…

Pre-blocked US6: 22st 32R in 4”
Post-blocked US6: 22st and 33R in 4”

Pre-blocked US7: 21st and 29R in 4”
Post-blocked US7: 20st and 30R in 4”

Apparently, this yarn does shrink slightly when blocked. The stitch count seems to change in the larger needle sizes slightly (the fabric gets slightly bigger), but this doesn’t happen with the smaller needle swatches?! I have to say that I prefer this yarn knit single stranded at a much smaller gauge…

Slanting Slip On - Prob need 900 yards of this - which means it won’t work cuz I don’t have 1800 yards. Also gauge is 22st and 35R in 4”. I think this could be better knit up with 1 strand of robust sport or light DK, rather than trying to get to a sport weight, maybe, by holding 2 strands double. Also, not enough yarn.