Oh, Frog It!
I've started over completely. I had finished the body including the neckline and one sleeve. I was following the Shapely Tee pattern with edges from Nothin' But a T-shirt and a neckline of my own concoction (a compromise between the scoop of Shapely and the small crew neck of Nothin' But) when I decided to begin again for the following reasons:
- My neckline was still more open than I wanted.
- The sleeve wouldn't have fit onto the body correctly. (I know people have knit up the Shapely Tee with success so I imagine this was some problem unique to me.)
- Finally, the reason I'm going all the way back to square one is because I've decided I'd like a closer fit.
I got a lot of inspiration and tips by looking through the blogs of the participants in the knit-along hosted at nonaKnits. My new plan is based more on Nothin' But a T-shirt and only borrows the short-row shaping at the bust line from the Shapely Tee.
First, I took careful measurements of myself, a T-shirt whose fit I want to emulate, and the gauge of the pre-frogged sweater. Then I knew I wanted to make it smaller around and shorter in length. I drew out a new schematic to help me figure out where and how I'd need to re-figure the pattern.
To find the number of stitches to cast on, I multiplied my stitch gauge by my target distance around the lower edge. (As before, I'm knitting it in the round.) The waist shaping will stay basically the same. However, I'm knitting fewer rounds between the hem and the decreases and also between the decreases and the increases in order to shorten the length.
I don't need any extra width across the shoulders so I am going to bind off more stitches at the underarm in order to get back to the same stitch count as the pattern. The remainder of the armhole and neckline shaping will remain unchanged.
For the sleeves, I will need to keep the cap shaping the same, but match the bind-offs at the underarm to those on the body. Comparing the number of stitches in the row before the bind-offs and the number of stitches required at the cuff, I realize I need more increase rounds then the two that the pattern has. First, I will try increasing every round for the first four rounds after the hem in order to fit them in. If this looks odd, I'll try increases every other round, but lengthen the sleeves by a few rounds to make it work out.
After all my preplanning and a glass of wine, I frogged the first attempt and wound up the yarn. Then I did a provisional cast-on to make my life easier when it was time to knit the hem together. Now I'm just about to complete the decreases for the waist shaping.
Wondering about some of the techniques I've referred to here? Well, I haven't created any tutorials of my own, but I know where to find them:
- Elann.com advises you how to re-size a pattern.
- Kim shows you how to wind a center-pull ball by hand.
- Knitting at Knoon provides a video of the provisional cast-on.
- Marnie MacLean takes you step-by-step through a no-sew hem.
- KnittingHelp.com teaches you just about all you ever need to know about decreases and increases.