Not another post on Geiger? Any non-knitters will be thinking, why not just buy a ready-made cardigan? Or, possibly, why not just wear one of the many cardigans you already own? Well, this is one for the process knitter ie the person who enjoys the business of making rather than just being interested in the product. Remember that the pattern itself runs to thirty pages.
So I've seamed the body, and because each piece has a 4-stitch textured edge, with any increase or decreases done inside the edge strip, the seaming looks particularly neat. You are directed to seam with wrong sides together and the mattress stitch seam disappears into the edge strip.
I've tried it on. I did shorten the body sections by about ten rows because I am short myself and I did not want to be swamped by it. It is about the right length now, although the blocking has caused it to relax a little. I think that is what happened. Katia Merino 100% is made up of a number of 2ply strands coiled together, but still really quite separate. The wet-blocking seems to have caused the yarn to lose some of its spring, so the fabric feels quite stretchy now. With hindsight I might have been better using a 4mm needle instead of the 4.5 mm I used to get gauge.
I have not yet blocked the sleeves, but I did seam one and tacked it into the armhole. Hmmm... this could be better - a lot better. Although I was forewarned by others' comments about the floppy ends to the sleeves - an intentional device, I'm sure - so that I had already shortened the opening rib section by about 2 inches, the sleeve was still far too long. I can't just take off some more of the rib at the bottom as some have done at this point, so I have chosen to unravel the sleeve head and begin the sleeve decreases about two inches earlier. This is no big deal as the sleeve head is relatively simple to knit.
But then, there is also a problem at the shoulder. Seaming from the right side meant that I was virtually grafting the back and the front together at the shoulder. On the cabled section this has the effect of spreading the stitches and therefore pushing the shoulder out further than is ideal for a set-in sleeve. The solution may well be to make the cable stitches overlap more, so taking out some width from the shoulder. Of course that may result in an ugly bump - we'll see.
I'm also thinking that I will use an I-cord edging instead of the ribbed bands in the pattern. There is already a garter strip at the front edges and I-cord allows for very simple buttonholes. I'm not too impressed with the effect of the front neck extensions seamed to the back neck and I-cord may give that a bit more structure.
I'm maybe a week from finishing this.
So I've seamed the body, and because each piece has a 4-stitch textured edge, with any increase or decreases done inside the edge strip, the seaming looks particularly neat. You are directed to seam with wrong sides together and the mattress stitch seam disappears into the edge strip.
I've tried it on. I did shorten the body sections by about ten rows because I am short myself and I did not want to be swamped by it. It is about the right length now, although the blocking has caused it to relax a little. I think that is what happened. Katia Merino 100% is made up of a number of 2ply strands coiled together, but still really quite separate. The wet-blocking seems to have caused the yarn to lose some of its spring, so the fabric feels quite stretchy now. With hindsight I might have been better using a 4mm needle instead of the 4.5 mm I used to get gauge.
I have not yet blocked the sleeves, but I did seam one and tacked it into the armhole. Hmmm... this could be better - a lot better. Although I was forewarned by others' comments about the floppy ends to the sleeves - an intentional device, I'm sure - so that I had already shortened the opening rib section by about 2 inches, the sleeve was still far too long. I can't just take off some more of the rib at the bottom as some have done at this point, so I have chosen to unravel the sleeve head and begin the sleeve decreases about two inches earlier. This is no big deal as the sleeve head is relatively simple to knit.
But then, there is also a problem at the shoulder. Seaming from the right side meant that I was virtually grafting the back and the front together at the shoulder. On the cabled section this has the effect of spreading the stitches and therefore pushing the shoulder out further than is ideal for a set-in sleeve. The solution may well be to make the cable stitches overlap more, so taking out some width from the shoulder. Of course that may result in an ugly bump - we'll see.
I'm also thinking that I will use an I-cord edging instead of the ribbed bands in the pattern. There is already a garter strip at the front edges and I-cord allows for very simple buttonholes. I'm not too impressed with the effect of the front neck extensions seamed to the back neck and I-cord may give that a bit more structure.
I'm maybe a week from finishing this.
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2 comments:
I love your Geiger posts and can't wait to see the finished sweater! It's a compelling pattern but I am a little afraid of its complexity. So much room for things to go wrong, even for an advanced, experienced knitter like you. I am a large woman so pretty much always have to adapt patterns even if they theoretically come in my size. Hearing about all the work you're doing to make it fit is a bit daunting, but I"m sure I'll be inspired when I see the finished photos. Bon courage!
It is the making of a sweater or what ever the maker is creating not just the end result I know we all enjoy. Looking forward to the finished sweater like you I am sure.
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