Swatch information or: What's a Welt?

The Knitting Fiend.

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    This page could be called the FAQ page(Frequently Asked Question. )  The most common question is:
    What's a welt? Click here for answer.
    By the end of this page, you will not only know what a welt is, but you will also have an idea how long you want your welts to be!  You will also learn what types of stitches are appropriate for knitted welts

    To learn how to specify the gauge or measure yourself go to:

    If you have other questions, feel free to ask.  I'll answer.  If I receive enough questions, I'll put together an answer page like this one!

    Knit away, 
    Lucia.

     
     

     Required Style Data for The Knitting Fiend.
    When you design your sweater using The Knitting Fiend, you are always advised to pick a main stitch, a  welt stitch and to adjust four important features that are always a matter of personal preference.  The four features are:
    • The Neck Welt.
    • The Cuff Welt
    • The Hem Welt.
    • The Length of the sweater.
    The welts and the sweater length are illustrated below.
    Full SweaterMain vs. Welt Stitches.
    Examine the picture to the right. You can see two stitch techniques are used.

    Main Stitch.
    The main stitch used in this sweater is the pink and pink swirly design.  It happens to be a fair isle stitch pattern.  You can use any stitch you like for the "main stitch".

    Welt Stitch.
    The welt is simply the trim used ribbing at the hem, cuffs and neck.  You can see the welts knit in light pink in the picture to the right. 

    Any non-curling stitch can be used to knit welts. These include all ribs, garter stitch, seed stitch, and double bed circular knitting on a knitting machine.   For the sweater shown to the right, I knit my welts in  2 x 2 ribbing. 

    Definition: The word "welt" is just the general term for "trim" placed at the edge of knitting.  Knitters often use ribbing, but sometimes they use garter stitch, seed stitch, or any stitch that doesn't curl.

     
     
    Lengths
    Look at the picture again. 

    Notice the dark blue line from the top of the neck to the bottom of the hem.  This is the "length of the back piece of the sweater from the cast on edge to the final cast off".  For this sweater, I picked 22" for the sweater length.  This length makes the sweater fall near the below the top of my hip bones.  (I'm 5'4" tall).  If you provide you provide all the measurements requested by the program, it will tell you where the cast on falls relative to your hips.

    Full SweaterNotice the bright yellow line near the neck.  That shows the neck ribbing (or welt) depth.  I used the value suggested by my program, which was 1". If you want a deeper rib at the neck, increase the value suggested. 

    Notice the pale blue line at the hem.  That line illustrates the hem ribbing (or welt) depth.  I used the value suggested by my program, which was 3".

    Notice the greenish line on the cuff.  That line illustrates the cuff ribbing (or welt )depth.  I used 2.5".

    You decide the length you prefer for all of these.  Some people chose "0 inches" for the welt depths because sweaters without welts have been in style!  If you pick "0 inches" you will need to figure out some way to keep the edges from curling! (Or you can let the welts curl.  That's been in style lately too.)

    Many sweaters use the values I've selected as defaults.  You could even make the bottom welt rise as high as your armpits and The Knitting Fiend won't complain.  So, you decide.
     

     
     
    What do you do with these numbers?
    When you reach the second design page from The Knitting Fiend, you will be asked to fill out a form.  Near the top of the form, you will find a portion that looks like the form to the right.

    The Knitting Fiend always suggest some values, but you don't have to use them. Insert the appropriate lengths you want in the boxes.  Remember: these will be in inches if you selected inches or centimeters if you selected centimeters.

    In my example form, I have specified a 22" long sweater, with 3" lower welts,  1" neck welt and 2.5" cuffs.

     
    I advise you check these to see if they match your preferences. If you do not wish to knit welts (ribbing) at the neck, bottom or neck type in zero for the appropriate length. 
    Length of the back piece of the sweater from the cast on edge to the final cast off:

    This will be the length of the sweater back.     		 Neck ribbing length:
    Length of the ribbing at the bottom of the sweater:
    		Length of the cuff ribbing: 

     

    Other Design Features.
    When you visit any order form, you will be provided a number of style choices. 

    The choices for the pink sweater are:

    • Body shaping: Straight.
    • Neck: Crew. 
    • Sleeve length: Long
    • Sleeve cap: Fitted
    • Cuff shaping: yes. (I increased stitches after the cuffs.)
    • Hip rib shaping: no.  (The number of stitches for the rib is the same as for the body.)
    I used the ease values The Knitting Fiend suggested for my chest size.  So, if you don't change any ease values, the sweater should be fitted as shown.  To make it more loosely fitted, increase the ease values.  To make it snugger, decrease the ease values.  (In the long run, it is much better to think in terms of ease, than the total dimension of the sweater.  Thinking in terms of ease helps you translate sweaters to other people more easily!)

    Some time in the future, I will add ease selections, and the ease shown will be called "Standard". 


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