September 5, 2017

Finished the yoke today and love the design…such gorgeous colors! But have concerns that this yoke is shorter than many of the others I’ve knitted and there are no instructions that say to make up for this in the length of the raglan decreases. This design is only 57 rows where as the deepest one I’ve knitted is The Gray Egg which is 76 rows…a difference of 19 rows which is at approximately 1.5 inches.

The good news is that my cousin, Peggy is small and I will be able to account for this difference with some adjustments but it is good for others to note that the yokes do differ. Some patterns say what the yoke measurement should be after the rows are completed but not all do and this one does not. This yoke also ends with 400 stitches rather than the 408 that most end up with after the final increase. This is significant as it represents nearly an inch of width. I’m considering how to address this, but I think I will knit an inch of MC in stockinette adding an 8 stitch increase before I divide for the front/back/sleeves and begin the raglan increases.

September 6, 2017

So, I adjusted for the shallower yoke this way: I knitted 10 rows of MC after the last chart row but also evenly increased 8 stitches (one stitch every 50sts) so as to have a bit more of a ‘standard’ yoke in both directions.

I then worked one set up round in plain stockinette while I set up for dividing the stitches into front/back/sleeves and placing my pins for short rows.

I typically use the set beginning of the chart as my back right shoulder and so I start counting the right sleeve stitches from there but as I placed my sleeve markers, I noticed that the center front would hit in an odd spot on the motif. I know this isn’t supposed to be an issue in Bohus designs but I decided, as I did with Stora Svanen, to adjust the placement of the pins to reflect a ‘centered’ front since the last, large motif reads with some significance. This was very minor as it was a 4 stitch adjustment.

So, I divided my stitches into 82 per sleeve and 122 per front/back. I place a stitch marker to indicate the center front - 61 stitches on either side of this marker. Then I place pins for my short rows starting 10 stitches away from the front center pin and locate them every 5 stitches for a total of 10 short row pins on either side of the center and ending with 6 stitches before each front sleeve marker. Are these short row pins necessary? No, I’m just lazy and want to count these placements out once - in advance - and not as I’m working the piece and questioning myself.

With pins in place, I knit from the new start of round marker (which is the newly adjusted back right sleeve) all the way to one stitch before the left front sleeve marker. At this point, I begin the first raglan increases by increasing with a right lifted increase in the next stitch, slip marker, knit 1, and make a left lifted increase.

(This pattern of increases continues at each of my sleeve markers on the knit side of the work only until all the short rows have been completed.)

As I continue to knit to the back sleeve marker, one increase on either side of the marker and then knit the back stitches. I work both the back and front right sleeve increases the same and then a few stitches after that, I am at the first pin marking the first short row location. When I reach that pin, I remove it, turn work, make sure my yarn is in front and slip the left hand stitch to the right needle and pull the yarn up and over that right needle and all the way to the front again to purl the next stitch. (This is a German Short Row.) I then purl all the way around to the next short row pin marker and execute another GSR.

All the next rows are as following until all the short row pins are used up: increase one stitch on each side of sleeve marker for the raglan increases and continue knitting/purling to make all the short rows until the final short row pins are used up (this will bring you all the way around to within 10 stitches of the center front.

After final short row is worked, knit to the spot where the double stitch needs to be picked up and change to working in the round, continuing with raglan increases on the right side only (EOR) until the number of stitches are correctly increased for the size you are making.

September 9, 2017

Finished short rows as well as all raglan increases but will need to knit plain rows for another inch or so to reach the optimal yoke to under arm length for me of 11” before separating body and sleeves. I have only had to add extra rounds of plain on one other yoke so far.

September 17, 2017

Finished body knitting except for lower ribbing. At this point, I usually switch to sleeve knitting for a change of pace and did so this evening, starting first sleeve.

September 21, 2017

First sleeve finished. Began knitting second sleeve.

September 25, 2017

Finished second sleeve. Now back to the final inch of body before starting the long haul of 4” lower ribbing.

September 28, 2017

Lower ribbing in progress. Love this design and hope Peggy will too!

October 2, 2017

Finished sewing kitchener bind off late at night. Note to self, NEXT TIME, DO THIS IN THE LIGHT OF MORNING! Off to the blocking board.

Yarn remaining:
MC 200 55g
300 6g
301 2g
302 1g
303 1g
304 2g
305 2g
306 > 1g