So I'm finishing up a sweater. Not the one I wrote about last week; this is the striped cardigan I started back when I had surgery. And I feel like I need to finish it before starting on another.
I've never made a sweater before, just simple hats and scarves, so I used super cheap yarn in garish colors. That way, if I mess it up, I don't feel like I wasted a lot of money. Just time. Of which I have so much to spare! (that was sarcastic.) In fact, I did not mess it up and it wasn't a waste of time. On the contrary, it seems to be turning out well! I like the way it fits in the body. The sleeves are big though. Not too big to wear, but if I make this pattern again I'll do the sleeves at least an inch narrower, and a bit shorter too.
Over the weekend I had to learn a couple of new techniques: sewing pieces together and picking up stitches to make the ribbing on the edge. Both of which went well. I was worried about matching the stripes when I sewed the pieces together, but it turned out to be easy. Easier in fact than sewing striped fabric. Because when you (or more to the point, when I) sew on a machine, the top fabric always shifts a bit. Not enough to mess up the seam, but enough to throw off the stripes. But since I hand-sewed the sweater, I could match up all the stripes as I went. In a way it made it easier to make sure I was sewing the pieces together evenly.
My next concern is casting off. For some reason, when I cast off the finished edge always ends up loose and messy looking. I don't want the whole front edge of my cardigan to have that messy edge. Am I doing something wrong, or is casting off just like that? Are there multiple ways to cast off, and how do I find instructions for a neater method? The only thing I could think of was to switch to smaller knitting needles for the cast off. I wonder if that would work. I'll be ready to cast off the sweater soon -- maybe tonight! -- so I hope I figure this out.
3 Comments
There are a few different ways to bind off-- you can find techniques online or in books. I've never tried anything but the regular method. A lot of sweater patterns do have you switch to smaller needles to do the ribbing and binding off. Another issue could be which side you're casting off on? It does look a little wonkier when you cast off in the rib pattern, but you want the edge to have that stretch. I don't think I offered any real answers here, but I'm glad you are almost done with your sweater!
Five minutes of googling and I found this page:
http://www.savannahchik.com/2006/11/tubular_bindoff.htm
That looks like exactly what I want, with detailed instructions and photos. Thanks so much for the tip! The author mentioned a book which I put into my wish list too.
Yay, I can comment!
Thank you. :-)
I'd already tried several weeks ago, but somehow it never worked.
And, to stick to the subject: there are lots of very useful techniques (with videos!) for all on knittinghelp.com.