A gorgeous morning in Bowen Park for the photo shoot!
It has been something of a banner week for me. Since last Monday I have finished off the projects for the Magic of Mohair Competion. I photographed the projects on the next Saturday and edited and sent off the pictures and papers on the Sunday – not without a few issues involving the scanner on my printer, the computer and e-mail system – I was a little frazzled on Sunday!
Wisteria Cuff - glove version
In between the finishing of the projects and the weekend I knit one beaded glove, and strung the beads for the other. At the same time as knitting the glove I got the pattern started and a couple of charts done for the “Wisteria Cuff” pattern – pattern for beaded cuffed socks or gloves. Then I knitted a beaded beret as the first sample for the spring class and pattern that I am planning and then I actually fixed my son’s sweater! All in the space of a week! I am not usually quite that organized.
Unvravelling the sleeve stitches and picking up the stitches that need to be knit as I go!
I have the most patient of children! As they grew up they heard – “Just one more row/round”; “Let me finish this pattern repeat”; “Not now, I’m counting”; and other such statements! Many times then and now Christmas gifts would be wrapped still on the needles and need to be finished, in fact – it is now a Christmas tradition that at least one gift be still on the needles!!
Sleeve separated into 2 pieces with sleeve stitches ready to be knit.
Last year I knit my son a sweater for Christmas. He had requested a sweater – with sleeves – up until last year he only wanted vests – and I was happy to oblige. Like most of us I started to run into the usual time dilemma as Christmas drew closer – a week before Christmas I knew that time was going to be an issue and I really wanted this sweater to be finished. To help solve my problems I managed to convince myself that my 6’4″ son really did not have arms that long and I knit the sleeves a little shorter!
Stitches picked up from cuff ready to be grafted onto the longer sleeve, marker marks the original length.
The sweater is beautiful. I knit with Akapana, a Mirasol Project yarn and kept the shaping and pattern simple to better show off the beauty of the rustic, slightly thick, thin tweeded yarn. While the sweater was beautiful, I was wrong – my son did have arms that long and maybe even longer!! Now, 11 months later I have finally fixed the problem. And only a few weeks before this Christmas he is about to receive his last Christmas’ present!
Grafting almost finished. An invisible join - just maintain your knitting tension!
The fix was not really difficult. Just fiddley work, not much fun to do but less work than taking the sweater apart and re-knitting the sleeves! I cut the sleeve, unravelled a row of knitting, knit another 2.5 inches to each sleeve and then grafted the wrist ribbing back on to the sleeve. Voila! Sleeves are the right length and you can’t even tell that they were too short! Well I can tell, but I know what to look for as I am now very familliar with the changes that were made!
The added 2.5inches is between the markers - if you look carefully you can see lines where the knitting was added. After wearing (or reblocking) they won't be visible at all!
This cut and add technique is very useful for lengthing or shortning sweaters. It is not necessary to graft on the rib. I choose to graft rather than knit to save time and effort. If you have the yarn and don’t mind knitting your ribbing again you could continue the knitting straight into the ribbing and ended when your ribbing was long enough.
Happy Knitting
Lynette
The finished sweater with 21 inch arm inseams!
Random Thoughts and Minor Musing of another Knitter – compulsively addicted to the craft!
