The Knitting Fiend

I’m ready to knit the sleeves for Jim’s Aran. Since I knit the body from the top down, I’m going to knit the sleeves top down. In fact, there isn’t any choice. It’s the only way to continue the cable motif along the shoulder saddle down the sleeve.

So that’s what I’ll be doing. But, I need to admit something. One of the things I absolutely hate about knitting heavy wool long sleeve sweaters top down is holding the entire sweater in my lap while working the cuffs on double pointed needles.

I’ve mentioned this fact to some fans of top down knitting, and they’ve told me responded with comments like these:

“Oh, it’s not that much of a bother. Lot’s of people do it. You can too!”

Well, yippee! That’s the attitude. We knitters can do anything we set our mind to.

But, the fact is, I’m knitting the sweater, and I don’t enjoy that. What do I care what others mind or don’t mind? And since I understand basic sweater constructions, and I can create the sweater I like without doing what I hate, why shouldn’t I use a method I like?

So, here’s my solution:

I’m going to use a provisional cast on, then work in pattern increasing stitches at the sides. Then, I’ll decrease stitches as I approach the cuffs, work ribbing and bind off. Afterwards, I’ll graft the live stitches to the top of the sleeve and mattress stitches the sides.

Why do it this way? After all, it’s not as though I like seaming and grafting. Well, obviously, I dislike doing those things less than I dislike having a whole sweater in my lap while I work cuffs on DPN’s.

Of course, some of you are wondering how I’m going to shape the cap. Remember I wrote a calculator on designing a set in sleeve cap?

I’m using that calculator! Admittedly, I modified a bit because I added the little strip for the saddle, but if you examine my sweater, you’ll see I have an opening the geometry of the armhole opening is exactly as shown to the left. Naturally, the numbers are exactly as in the calculator I already provided– because I entered the numbers for Jim’s sweater!

Of course, that calculator describes how to knit from the bottom of the armhole up. But, I think my readers are smart enough to figure out how to work from the top down.

Oh, you’re not a regular reader? You got here by way of google?

Ok, here’s how. Visit the page on shaping the sleeve cap. Find the “calculate” button just after the heading that says “Design the armhole.” Click the button. ( If you want to the directions to match a sweater you’d like to knit, read the article, and change some of the values for gauge, chest width etc. as you read. )

Now, print out the directions for knitting bottom up. Now, near the very end of the article, find the directions for shaping the sleeves. They’ll look like this but with numbers in the boxes below.

• Repeat the following
  more times:
1. Knit 1 stitch, ssk, work in stitch pattern until 3 stitches remain, k2tog, knit last stitch.
2. Turn, work back in stitch pattern.
• Bind off the remaining
  stitches.

If you remembered to click “calculate” the directions you printed out will have numbers in place of the “xx” and “yy”. Find those values and replace the ones shown here.

Now, here’s how you reorganize to work this bit top down. Working bottom up, the last thing you do is bind off some number of stitches; working top down, you cast on that number of stitches. Then, you increase stitches to widen. So, those very final directions become:

• Cast on
  stitches.
• Repeat the following
  times:
1. Turn, work back in stitch pattern.
2. Knit 1 stitch, M1, work in stitch pattern until 1 stitch remains, M1, knit last stitch.

Of course, you need to fill in the values of “xx” and “yy” by hand to get this far. You may also substitute any increase you prefer for the “M1s”; I’d probably work a lifted increase. But, lots of readers recognize the abbreviation M1 for “make one” and don’t recognize “L1″. So, I wrote M1.

Well, and of course, you aren’t done yet. If you look at the article I told you to print out, you’ll see that you’ve only worked the “final” shaping for the top of the sleeve cap. You will need to shape the rest of the cap.

But, if you read and digest the first article, and get this far, I think you’ll probably be able to understand what to do next. The rules are: a) follow the shaping directions in reverse order, b) and increase or cast on where the directions say to decrease or bind off.

I’m going to let you figure out the rest of the directions on your own. My theory is, you’re more likely to really understand if you figure out the second half of the shaping on your own.

But, if you’re really stumped, ask in comments and I’ll explain.