50520 The Knitters Bible4

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KNITTING A PATTERNED GARMENT

Increasing and decreasing to shapc a piece of stockinette (stocking) stitch is straightforward. Each stitch is either knitted or purled.

In stitch pattems with a repeat of two or morę stitches, an inereased stitch must be worked in pattem to keep the pattem correct.

To shape a sleeve. a knitting pattem will instruct you to inerease one stitch into pattem at each end of every, say, 6th row but will not tell you how to work the stitch you have madę. The incteases are worked at the ends of the rows using inc 1, but not the fuli fashioning method (see page 26). There are two ways to keep track of inereases, working them into pattem successfully: charting, which is the easiest, and using markers.

Knit Perfect

A good knitting pattem should be wntten so that any shaping into the stitch pattem will look well desłgned. Some mstructions. however. can result in half a cabłe or an mcomplete lace stitch repeat being worked at each side of the neck or armhole. If this looks like it is going to happen. add or take off one stitch morę than instructed to get the pattem lying niceły into the shaping.

Don't alter it by morę than one stitch in bulky (chunky) yam or a coupłe of stitches in worsted (DK) yam. At the neck shaping, make a notę of what you have done. so morę or less stitches are picked up for the neckband.

Charting

Chart the outlrne of the sleeve on to graph paper (see below). Beginning at the bottom nght-hand comer. plot the rows of the stitch pattem as given m the knitting mstructions. using symbols to represent the stitches (see page 63 and the Stitch library).This helps you identify the pattem repeat. The lace cardigan on this page is knitted in a pattem with a six stitch repeat. plus one stitch at the end to balance it.

Lace pattem

Row I KI. • yfwd. k I. sk2po. k I. yfwd. k I: rep from • to end.

Row 2 P to end.

Row 3 K2. * yfwd. sk2po. yfwd. k3: rep from • to end. ending last rep with k2.

Row 4 P to end.

These 4 rows form the lace pattem.

Plot the lace pattem across the bottom of the sleeve and the first and last repeats up to the top of the sleeve. Now fili in what pattem stitches you can m the mereased stitches at each side. Use this method for cables. texture stitches as well as lace stitches but remem ber that m a lace pattem. a yam over inerease must be accompamed by a dccreasc. If there are not sufTicient stitches to work both. wait until you have mereased enough stitches to do so. Rather than work a long panel of stockinette (stocking) stitch before you can work a compłete pattem repeat. it is sometimes possible to change the decrease. There is a double decrease in this pattem and by changmg it to a single decrease. like ssk half a pattem repeat can be worked. Use the same method for cabJes or tcxture stitches.

Decreases can be charted in the same way. For example. a neck is shaped by decreasmg on every row. Chart the outlrne of the front of the garment with the neck shapmg and plot m the stitch pattem. The knitting pattem will tell you which stitch pattem row you should finish before beginning to shape the neck.

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