The Knitting Fiend

Message box:

1. The neck circumference: Put a tape around your neck, holding it the way you want your neck to fit and enter that value here: inches.
2. The shoulder width: Measure from the point of your shoulder to the point of your shoulder, and maybe add a little ease. Enter that here: inches.

Now, you will need to know your stitch and row gauges. If you haven't knit your own swatch, pretend you've knit the swatch and it matches the values already in the boxes below. That's good enough for learning purposes. If you want to knit your own yoke, go to the "swatch-u-lator", knit the swatch following to the directions you find there.

To use your own stitch and row gauge in the sample calculation, modify the values in the boxes immediately below:

1. Stitch gauge for main stitch pattern after laundering: stitches/inch
2. Row gauge for main stitch pattern after laundering: rows/inch.
3. Percentage the swatch shrunk when washed length %.
4. Row repeat for the main stitch pattern: rows.
5. Stitch gauge for the border stitch pattern after laundering: stiches/inch.
6. Row gauge for the border stitch pattern after laundering: rows/inch.

To begin the neckband, you will knit a neck border using the border stitch. Using the needle diameter you used to knit the borders on your swatch, you will cast on enough stitches for the neck, then knit the depth you like. I recommend any depth greater between 1/2" and less than 1 1/2" and I won't even let you pick a value less than 3 rows deep. (Just try to pick zero. Hah!)

Enter the border depth you'd like here: inches.

Next, determine the number of stitches to cast on by multiplying your neck circumference by the stitch gauge for the border stitch, then round to the nearest stitch; the result is stitches.

If you the border is garter stitch, that will be the number to cast on. However, if you are using a ribbed trim, edges won't match if the number is even. So, you'll want to change that to an odd number; since it's better for the neck to be too larger rather than too small, I you should usually add rather than subtract if required to make the number odd. (Remember you added this stitch. I'm going to force you to keep track of the extra stitch yourself. )

Once you finish the border, you will begin knitting the cape itself; often this involves changing needle diameters. At this point, you will change to knitting the main stitch pattern.

If you examine the cape, you can see that there appear to be "rings" or color; each ring increases in diameter. That means each has a larger number of stitches than the previous ring. That is accomplished by knitting a few rows, and then working increases evenly across a row. Then repeat that several times until you reach the shoulders.

The only things you need to figure out are: 1) which rows to increase on and 2) how many stitches to increase on those rows.

The general answer answer is dictated by very few rules:

1. You want the ring that hits your shoulders be as wide as your shoulders. You can determine this circumference by multiplying the shoulder width by mathematical Pi; that results in inches. To get the number of stitches, multiply by the stitch gauge, to simplify shaping, round to the nearest factor of 4. This results in stitches.
2. you want to increase at about the rate such that, when you lay the cape yoke flat on the floor, it would nearly a full circle, but with approximately 1/10 the of the circle cut out. This information is used to determine the relationship between any circumference on the circle and any distance out from center of the yoke. The formula's involve using mathematical PI. (The method is very, very close to shaping the top of a hat or a circular shawl. It's just nice to shape a tad more slowly since people's shoulders aren't prefectly flat.)
3. you need to knit enough rows to need to increase at least 12 stitches on increase rows. I prefer at least 15 when possible. This is to avoide weird "pointiness" or "wobblyness" at the hem.
4. you need to have at least 3 increase rows between the shoulders and the neck; this includes the the increase immediately after the neck border. (Note, if the main stitch spreads, the first insructio may not seem like an increase and may seem to be a decrease!)
5. you want the increase rounds to be spaced fairly evenly between the neck and the shoulder. (Because this is a calculator, they will be spaced perfeclty evenly. A human being could fudge.)
6. you want the increase rounds to occur or a row where it's easy to increase.

It's generally fairly easy to fulfill criteria 1-4. It's often trivial to add in criterion #5, but let me explain a bit.

If you examine the stitch pattern used in this cape you'll see it's difficult to work increases on rows 3 & 4; those are the rows involved in working the elongated stitches. In contrast, it's easy to work increases on rows 1 and 2. So, we will simply decide to always work the increases on a "row 1" or "row 2" type row. These are spaced 4 rows apart, and that's the reason I had you enter a "row repeat" value above. Now, if you substitute another stitch, you can change the row repeat value, and the program will calculate things out for you.

It turns out there are usually several solutions that work, although, sometimes there aren't any. :(.

I programmed the calculator to try to come up with a cape pattern based on the data you entered above. (You did enter it, right?) I included a handy dandy message box. If I can't figure out an acceptable solution, I'll tell you in this warning box. If there is no warning message, you'll be able to follow the instructions below and knit yourself a cape.

1. Using the needles diameter you used to knit the border on your swatch, cast on stitches. Knit in border stitch until border measures inches, ending knit side facing.
2. Change to larger needle diameter you used to knit the main part of your swatch and begin working yoke using your main pattern stitch.
3. On the first row, stitches evenly across row, maintaining the row sequence of your stitch pattern.  (First Note: You can calculate out how to distribute between the stitch markers using this calculator. Second: if you added a stitch to knit a ribbed border, add one less stitch than instructed here.)
   
4. Place stitch markers to divide the work in quarters containing stitches.
5. Work rows in pattern stitch.
6. Do the following times:
• Increase stitches evenly across row, maintaining the row sequence of your stitch pattern.  (As long as you increase more or less evenly within each quarter, things will be fine. If you like to fret, you can calculate out how to distribute between the stitch markers using this calculator.)
  
• Note: You will be increasing stitches in each quarter; there will be stitches in each quarter after you increase the first time.)
• Work rows in pattern stitch.
7. Do the following times:
• Increase stitches evenly across row, maintaining the row sequence of your stitch pattern. 
• Work rows.
• There should be stitches on needle.
8. Drape the yoke over your shoulders. If this yarn doesn't shrink, it should almost reach your shoulders and should lay relatively flat. If it hasn't reached your shoulders, continue increasing at the rate specified in this step.

Ok, I've gotten you to the shoulders, what about the rest of the cape? Or sweater? Well, I'm not going to discuss the yoke sweater until much later. The answer for how to knit the rest of the cape is, "that depends". If you want a really, really full cape, continue increasing at the rate in the second block of instructions. If you want a cape that's about as full as the one I'm wearing in my blog picture, keep increasing on the increase rows, but increase at a slower rate. I'd suggest trying stitches per increase round.

When the cape is long enough, work an adjustment round by stitches every 10 stitches. Change to smaller needles, and begin knitting your border stitch pattern. Continue until the border is as deep as you liked like it to be. Bind off.

Next, using the needles you use to knit your border, pick up about stitches every 10 rows along one front edge. Knit a border the depth you like. Do the same on the other front edge, working a buttonhole near the neck if you like.

Oh. I almost forgot. Are you wondering how much yarn you'll need? If you stitch pattern is stockinette you will probably need yards ( meters) to finish the yoke shaping. This does not include adding the border at the hem or the front. (Do compare this to how much you actually used to anticipate whether your fancy stitch uses yarn at a faster or slower rate than stockinette.)

You'll need more to add borders. I'm assuming you increase at the slower rate, add front and hem borders that match the top border in width. Enter the length you think you want for the cape here: inches.

If your main stitch is stockinette, I estimate you will need yards ( meters) for the whole thing. If your main stitch is something else, you may need more, or less, but I don't know how much more or less.