I'm sure that everyone who has ever knitted a sweater has had this thought at one time or another: "Wouldn't I really like a vest better?" After knitting the back and front, and maybe even sewing the shoulder seams and finishing the neckband, getting started on the sleeves can seem like an unnecessary chore. After all, vests are legitimate garments, too.
However, in the motivating mental image I had created to encourage me toward my birthday deadline, I was definitely wearing a sweater with sleeves. (For some reason, I was also swinging an umbrella and singing about fresh laundry, a scene I might have imprinted from a detergent commercial.) I would be true to my vision. I plunged right in and started on the sleeves.
The first thing I did was write out row-by-row directions so that I wouldn't miss an increase. Checking off each row as it is completed helps me to keep track of how many stitches I should have on the needles at all times, and it also provides tangible evidence of progress. Unlike measuring the sleeve itself, by checking my written directions I can also count how many uphill rows are left to go before shaping the sleeve cap.
The increase I used was the same for each edge of the sleeve; I did not match them as I have since learned to do. At least I left two edge stitches before working the increases, since I now knew that this technique greatly eased the task of sewing-up. In fact, it was not until making the beige sweater that I just completed that I used matching sleeve increases designed to lean left or right. I found the instructions for these raised increases in Beth Brown-Reinsel's book Knitting Ganseys, along with some very clear photographs. At the time that I was knitting my second ugly sweater, however, I knitted what I knew and used the right-leaning increase for both sides of the sleeves.
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W.I.P.
I was able to finish the back section, and I've started the armhole shaping for the front section. Now that the back is complete and safely stored in the closet, out of reach of curious paws, I've switched back to my normal-sized knitting bag. I'd like to reach the neckband bind-off today, but since the clocks changed last night and I lost an hour of knitting time, this might be too ambitious a goal.
Purls of Wisdom
From Roger von Oech's A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative: "If a thing's worth doing, it's okay to do it poorly. Otherwise, you'll never give yourself permission to be a beginner at a new activity. If you have to do well, then you'll prevent yourself from trying new things."
Tomorrow:
- Sleeves, sleeves, sleeves.
- W.I.P.: Will I at least be at the color change yet?
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