 |
| Look- ribbing! |
I have now finished the bottom off. And I made some more mistakes/learning opportunities!
Once I got up to the lace pattern at the bottom, I realised I didn't have enough stitches to make it work- I hadn't taken into account that my stitch count had to fit into a multiple of 8 for the lace pattern!
Whoops! I had 2 stitches more (or 6 stitches less, depending on how you look at it)!
I decided to undo my work back and add in two more decreases, in line with the other decreases I'd made under the arms.
Another lesson to remember for next time...
Okay, so problem solved right? Although I did realise... my cardigan is going to be extra tight in the waist.
I already decreased a bunch from the pattern to fit my small bust. But then I did the waist decreasing as well! I'm thinking I should have decreased 8 stitches less. I will be ruminating on this! I don't want it to look odd and tight with stretched out button holes at the bottom.
If I decide to change it I will have to rip out maybe 30 rows. Scary!!! So I will make sure it's necessary first!
Now, this is for any fellow beginners out there:
Here is how I figured out the bust:
*caution- maths ahead!*
See my explanation of gauge swatch maths here.
Basically, based on my blocked swatch, to get the 2" negative ease in the bust I needed, I had to have 128 stitches at the bust. So that's 64 on the front and back. The back tops out at 63 stitches. No need to change that! So I simply stopped increasing the front at row 25, where there were 32 stitches on each side of the front (32 x 2=64).
Okay, onto the sleeves! Here, Gail increased the size of her sleeves to accommodate her larger arms. I need the opposite (I have noodle arms). I did some more maths, and to get zero ease in the arms, I need to take out four stitches! Here's what I'm thinking- Row 1 has you K2tog at the start of the row, and ssk at the end. I could just do this for the next two rows as well! Thoughts, experts?
And I have one more question for experts- The pattern doesn't mention double pointed needles, but trying to knit my first row on the circulars was annoying, and I had to stretch the knitting out just to knit the stitches. So- I have to buy DPNs right? lol! One more thing to learn about!
Gail is gone on holiday guys, so I'm like a little lost sheep.. help me out guys! :D
p.s Stay tuned for me finally finishing a garment, lol! I'm finally hemming the skirt I've been making!