Friday, November 13, 2009

Raglan Update



I've been plugging away a little each night on the raglan cardigan. It's grown a little, see?


When I got very bored with the raglan increases, I started a little 'feature' - I incorporated a twisted rib into the increases. This means that the cardigan will have vertical panels of twisted rib in the sides. I'm really loving the look of the twisted rib!

I kept going until I had around 63 stitches or so for the arms - 43 or so across the fronts and 86 in the back - then I put it all on waste yarn and tried it on. Unfortunately, it was still a little snug under the arms, so I put it all back on the needle and did two more increases. I tried it on again and it was much better.

Keeping the sleeve sections (and 1 stitch from the 'seam') on the waste yarn, I put the rest back on the needle and kept knitting, casting on 7 stitches in each of the armpits, and keeping the twisted rib panel as established across the cast-on stitches.

In addition to this, I started to incorporate two stitches of twisted rib across the fronts and back from the outside in every fourth row. This will make a deep V in the centre of the back and the front (when fastened) of the rib, and hopefully mean that the whole thing will be in twisted rib when the cardigan reaches waist length.

So now, while I'm doing this next bit, I'll be thinking about how I'd like to finish the neck edge, the front bands and the hem.


Things that are concerning me right now about this cardigan:

1. I wish I had have incorporated the rib a little earlier, I think it looks great, but you can't really see the start of it from the front, it's too far down the raglan seam.

2. At first, I forgot that twisted rib has two sides to the pattern (because I usually do it in socks, where there is no wrong side) - so it doesn't look that good for the first few rows. I ignored it and didn't frog it back when I first noticed it, and now I wish I had have.

3. The neckline is a little boxy. Maybe I should have started with less stitches and increased the front at each end for a while, giving me a V neck or at least a tapered neckline. I don't know if this is going to be a problem when it comes to the collar part - I'll have to take this into account when I decide what to do with the neck.

So - this is what I'm up to now - I'll see you all on the flipside of the weekend with some more progress, and hopefully some resolutions to the issues I have with it.

I'll leave you with a picture of a future project. Wollmeise stripes, but first I need to gather a few more colours.

3 comments:

Rose Red said...

I think the twisted rib feature is a great idea.

And I am intrigued by the wollmeise stripes - can't wait to see this one (even if the smell of it still makes me feel ill!)

2paw said...

Fabulous progress, I am thinking of diamond of ribbing at the side waists, maybe K2 P2. I am very inspired by your cardigan!!! My bamboo is 4ply on 4mm so I am taking a bit longer to get anywhere.
Oh the green is so pretty I stopped concentrating on the words!!!

Ann said...

Your cardigan is coming along very nicely. I love the twisted rib too!