I took a bit of a hiatus from my regular knitting to do test knitting for a gal in my group who has a new cowl she is releasing shortly (next week). It took me about 2 weeks of elapsed time, and I substituted a sportweight yarn Bugga for the fingering weight it called for. Cats Paw is the pattern name and I'll post a picture soon. The cowl has turned out to be very soft.
For Pas de Valse, I took a detour as well as I'd gone to knit the shoulders and back and realized that the stitch count was off, so I ripped back the armhole decreases to a number closer to what I needed, and just did the first few armhole decreases, and knit the back straight again. It has worked out well.
I was able to do the short row shoulder shaping, and extension increases and short row shaping to join the extension to the back of the neck, and do a three needle bind-off.
As with other patterns, it helps to read others' projects to see what modification you have to make. Although following the pattern from the designer makes the process of the assembly work out..I had the same problem as everyone else where the back of the neck is hole-y, so I will have to run a thread through there to make it closed up and look pretty. I think it may have been somewhat intentional as the collar is a shawl collar and will flop over the back neck and hide this problem..also it's helpful here to have long hair..which the designer has.
Also critical to have looking good is the increasing on the extension on the front of the cardi as it can be seen when it is on the wearer. Since I'd planned to make my shawl collar less, it's more noticeable. I hope to run a strand up the back as well to tighten it up and make it more presentable. I might try this again and see if the increase can be made at a different spot - at the edge, or further in from the actual change point. It's turning out to be a very flattering cardigan.
Sleeves:
I'm on the sleeve now that I did the short rows (for the first time!) on the top-down sleeves.
I will surely do these again, although there is probably a better way to pick up so the sleeves are not so markedly recessed as mine look.
I had 71 stitches on the armhole as opposed to the 60 I was supposed to have. I think it's better to pick up more anyway to avoid holes there, and then, decrease to what you need. So, I just followed the short row instructions for the size that said 71, but went until there was 4 stitches on each side as per my regular size. The sleeve is fitting well. I will have to try it on as I go, and not blindly follow decreases - which looks like approx 1 every 9 rows for most of the length of the sleeve. That part will depend on me, so no point in knitting to someone else's arms.
I am itching to knit with my mondegreen as the yarn is so soft and it's a light weight yarn perfect for a spring or summer cardi..but still undecided about patterns. I like to read ahead and make sure I want to make them, and check out mods etc.
I'm also adding German Short Rows videos to the left side under tips.
Pics coming soon..
