Rafn Sweater: Second Sleeve: Fixing the Oopsies

[lwood]

If you'll recall from yesterday, there was a blurry picture of two purls standing up in a field of knit, and that just won't fly.

Once I had time to actually inspect the thing, I realized that I had not one, but two, misplaced purls. That actually made more sense. Why?

Well, when cabling, it is generally done that a cable of knitted stitches arises from a field of purl. While it may be that a cable is 1, 3, or 4 stitches across, 2 is the most common of my experience, and anyway it's what all the ones in this book use. Also, in order to ensure that the stitches are all well-defined in their relief from the field of reverse stockinette, it is generally done to make the panel two purl stitches wider than the actual cabling on each side of the panel. I had just tried to do this bordery bit right after I'd just done it.

Anyway, while on the BART train home, I dropped the topmost stitch and c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y laddered down to the bad bit. As I tend to have a crochet hook in my knitting bag to both handle these and knock out the occasional scrunchie, it was pretty easy to fix and, as I could pull as little as possible, did not visibly affect the tension.

When the train was stopped in West Oakland, I could take a picture of the same place, with one of the two misplaced purls fixed, and the other still in place:

--so now some future reader knows what that looks like...

However, a couple hours later, well into the increases/tapering part of the sleeve, I noticed that there were 36 stitches on one side of the cabled panel, and 38 on the other. ALl the increases had been done properly...

...I had, like an idjit, set the cabled panel off by one stitch: it should have, at that point, been 37/12/37, from an original 27/12/27.

Honestly, if this sweater had been for anyone but me, I would have fudged it or left it. 2/5" is between 3/8" and 1/2" (it's nigh exactly 1cm). But it wasn't--and having made such a fuss earlier...

Still, it was only in a moment of pique and frustration that I ran it all the way back to the lifeline at the top of the cuff, the green line you can see in the first sleeve picture. Even I woulda been satisfied to rip it back to the beginning of the increases, before any shaping is done.

*sigh*

Diligent work yesterday and this morning during the commute has recovered the sleeve nearly to where the increases begin, and you'd better believe I've counted everything. Several times.

Nrgh!

In happier news, Sigdrifa (one of my cats) has an appointment for an Assignation this evening, in order to continue the Greyhaven line of kitties, promoting healthy healthy exogamy courtesy of a beau who is not at all related to her (cats have no trouble with, shall we say, Vanic levels of genetic confluence). Once maiasaur and I have locked both cats in dpaxson's library to Have Things Out, it'll be time for a knitting lesson with medancer. Whee!

-- Lorrie

Comments

[evilwenchesinc.livejournal.com]

As good as you are at knitting, I figured you'd leave it in as a vanity stitch.

This whole sweater gives me hope for my knit, purl, stab tendencies.

Also, KITTENS????? HOORAY!

It has been entirely too long since I last saw a teenytiny kitten. :(

[lwood.livejournal.com]

Heh! No, my vanity's better served by not having vanity stitches...

The kittens are distant potential, just now, and her line has a reputation for small litters, but we'll see what happens...

-- Lorrie