DesignaKnit 8 - Project 2 - cont.
DesignaKnit 8 – Heraldic Sweater – Finale
Now for the sleeves – this is a very complex design and the sleeves actually span part of the neckline and the cables have to match.
One thing I may have to add is that there is a small cross in the middle of the piece in your garment design – this is to allow you to move the pattern about but beware it can create hassle with the stitch pattern so if you use it proceed carefully especially with multiple stitch patterns on the go within the same piece.
Drafting it in was a serious mind boggler. Very difficult but I did it eventually, the sleeves look massive and they have cables up the arms and a single motif however, I ensured the cables matched the highlighted marks on my machine and off I went – loads of increasing and decreasing plus the added complexity of a mirror image sleeve.
Alterations
My tip here is if you manage to get your sleeve drafted in – save, save and save again, each and every alteration. Once you are completely satisfied (or as far as you can be with this design) the do the mirror image and save again. Its easy to delete the excess but impossible to bring back a deleted or altered part. I looked at the design and decided for instance to move a single cable and discovered that for some unknown reason DK deleted a whole line of cables – and the consequence was that I had to place them all singly and that ain’t no fun – why because I did not save the damn thing BEFORE I altered it but worked on the same piece. Another hint via the cables is that if you are tidying up individual cables just if importing them in singly tap the cap key to stamp them in place and this also allows you to move the next cable into place without the hassle of going into your cable box where it imports it from the top of the screen. Good timesaver.
Sweet smell of success!
I have no idea how, but the sleeves were eventually knitted and the last thing to do was the collar which as a simple one by one rib design with a couple of lines of second colour, however the instructions were to knit the thing as a whole and take it off on waste yarn then sew it on bit by bit after linking the jersey – well my skills ain't up to that – I did try but what a nightmare – the Passap neckbands are easy to use but this one by one rib was a total disaster for me, so I just knitted half the rib, placed the jersey back on the machine with back and shoulder part then knitted it off with a single row by hand and with a machine knit single row, which I then cast off. Did the same with the front but it was slightly wider, so I used my decker comb to put the excess rib stitches (about 6) out of work then applied the technique above – I was then left with the excess rib and able to finish the neckband.
Never again!
Huge project not least because the yarn was supposed to be light double knit by Rowan which I did not have – all my stuff is industrial in every material know to knitters, so I found some ancient cops of a beautiful white wool and used these (carefully ensuring the tension matched ie 2 ends on tension 10) I also used what I hoped was 2 other colours and prayed none would dye or run into the white.
Ok so I may not be the most skilled machine knitter on this earth but I have knitted this jersey at last – I can say I will probably never knit it again, as it was such a hassle but no more so than the pattern from the book. It fits my other half just fine though! (Not that he ever has a say in what I knit)
