I have now finished the fourth colorway
and I did indeed stop the neckline Mistake-Stitch Rib pattern as soon as I worked the double dec that “joined” the outermost two columns of knit stitches. I am quite pleased with the final result.
OK, I lied in the previous post. 🙄
I decided, during a time of insomnia, that I did not, after all, like how the bottom of the V-neck was asymmetrical. The bottom of a V-neck is always going to be prominent, even in an ordinary ribbing (or other edging pattern), so it’s usually worthwhile to spend a bit of time to get it right. Since my two neck edgings were mirror-image, then the innermost knit columns on each should always be decreased away on the same round. I recharted this area in my drawing program, using a different symbol (what’s usually the slip-stitch symbol) for the right-side knit columns’ stitches, just to make the intended effect as clear as possible. (Note that the central stitch is shown as all knits due to my laziness for simplicity, but in the WIP, I’m working them as alternating knit and purl.)
I’m going to try an interesting technique to finish the bottom of the V-neck, which is made somewhat easier because I’m working top-down (I wouldn’t like to try this little experiment if I were working bottom-up, though it would work out fine if one could be quite sure of one’s row/round gauge).
On the first and third sweater adventures, I did the simplest thing possible to use the colorways I had: I worked each one as far as possible before switching to the next. But on the second sweater, the CotLin Circular Yoke, I used the lightest colorway in one tall section at the neck and the darkest in one tall section at the waist, then I split the middle three colorways into two groups of shorter bands and reversed their order below the waist. I think the overall visual effect worked out fairly well, and splitting the three middle colorways certainly allowed me to use nearly every bit of their yarn while making the bands all the same height.
Having thought through the entire edging situation several times, I think it’s easiest to start in the middle of the process: how I’ll knit (or purl!) up stitches along the combined neck edgings to form the first row of each sleeve’s stitches. Once I know how I’ll do that part of the process, it will be obvious which row will need to have been the last one I work on each of the front-neck extensions.
Since I prefer to start all major knitting stages and milestones on the right side, I’m going to want to knit/purl up along the front extensions’ cast-on edges such that when I turn to work the first actual row of the back neck, that first row is a RS row 1. So instead of knitting up along the front extensions’ CO edges, I will indeed have to purl up along them. I’ll do my usual crochet CO for the free edge between them.
My first plan for heights of the neck edge’s rectangles makes the back neck 10 rows tall before I knit/purl up for the sleeves. That means I’ll be finishing a WS row, which puts me at the left shoulder, because the CO edge between the two extensions will be at the top of my back neck.
Very good. That means that I’ll create stitches for the left sleeve along the left front’s extension and the left end of the back neck (left meaning the wearer’s—my—left as the garment is being worn). Since I’ll still be looking at the WIP’s wrong side as I rotate to create those stitches, I’ll actually need to purl up stitches for the left sleeve. Then when I rotate to work the held live stitches of the left front’s extension, I’ll still be working a WS row, which means I need to work the left front’s extension such that I end having worked a RS row. If I work through row 19 in pattern, then I’ll work row 20 after I’ve purled up the left sleeve’s stitches.
Very good again. I turn in the usual way this time, so that the RS is facing me, then work back across the left front, the left sleeve, and the back (and the back will still be in pattern, since I want the back neck’s edging to be a total of 14 rows deep). Now it’s time to knit/purl up along the top-ish of the right sleeve. Since I’ll keep looking at the WIP’s RS when I rotate (not turn) it to access the outer edge of the edging rectangles already worked, I’ll knit up the right sleeve’s stitches. I will again rotate (not turn) the WIP to work a RS row on the right front’s edging extension, so I will have needed to stop that front extension with a WS row.
I will have worked row 21 on the left front’s edge extension, and now I need to work row 21 on the right front. That means I will need to have worked 20 rows on the right front’s edge extension before breaking off the yarn.
When I have worked row 21 on the right front, I will have the entire yoke’s stitches on the needles, in pattern, in order, and ready to continue down to the underarms.
Exactly how many stitches will I need to purl and knit up for the sleeves on those two rows? I’ll use simple ratios to figure those numbers out.
My stitch gauge is 24.5 per 4 inches, and my row gauge is 38 per 4 inches.
For the left sleeve, I’ll have the 10 rows from the back neck’s edge plus the 19 rows from the left front neck’s extension, so 29 rows. My ratio using my row gauge is
x inches 4 inches -------- = -------- 29 rows 38 rows
Multiplying both sides by 29 gives 3.05 inches’ worth of rows.
So how many stitches will I need to purl up along those 3.05 inches’ worth of rows? I figure it out by using a simple ratio with my stitch gauge:
x sts 24.5 sts ----------- = -------- 3.05 inches 4 inches
Multiplying both sides by 3.05 means I need to purl up 18.68, so 19, sts for the left sleeve.
For the right sleeve, I do the same thing. I’ll have the same 10 rows from the back neck plus 20 rows from the front, or 30 total rows.
x inches 4 inches -------- = -------- 30 rows 38 rows
While I have a general plan of attack for my seamless, top-down, raglan V-neck sweater, I do need to be sure of the details so that at each point along the way, all the different steps will work together properly. I need to