Pullover to Cardigan....

I've decided -- the Alcea Pullover will become the Alcea Cardigan.

Some subtleties have to be sorted out though.....

This is a large 48 stitch repeat -- the 36" pullover is 6 repeats, the 48" pullover is 8 repeats -- this sizing is governed by the large repeat of this design. With an equal number of repeats, your shoulder seams will match exactly -- something I'm very fond of. But, because of the large repeat of this motif, I'm willing to forego the matching shoulder seams for a better fit.

I'm thinking 7 repeats is 42", and with a 1.25" cardigan front band, that would make a 43.25" cardigan -- a little snug for me right now, but with some judicious blocking, it will work!

So, 7 repeats it is, that makes the body (7 x 48) + 1 = 337 stitches. Why the extra stitch you say -- well, look at the repeat of any motif -- if you started the front of a cardigan with a full repeat, and ended with a full repeat, you'd need stitch 1 of the repeat at the end to make the fronts match up exactly on either side of the front steek.

This means that the fronts are 84 stitches each, and the back is 169 stitches (84, 84 +1).

I don't like the ribbing on the bottom of a cardigan to pull in, so I have some choices here -- either I make the ribbing the same no. of stitches as the body, and just do it on a smaller needle. Sounds like a plan to me -- but there is another consideration....

When doing a pullover with corrugated ribbing, you need the number of stitches cast on to be divisible by 4. K2P2 repeat to the end right?

On a cardigan, you want the front of the sweater to match on either side, so what you need is a number divisible by 4 + 2. So for example, say I cast on 336 stitches, that's 84 repeats of 4 -- so I'm going to cast on 334 stitches, that's 83 repeats of the 4 rib stitches, plus 2 -- I'll start and end my corrugated ribbing with K2 -- so on either side of my front button band, there will be 2 knit stitches.

So, I'm going to cast on 334 stitches, plus my steek stitches (two edge stitches and 8 steek stitches) for a total of 344 stitches.

On the last row of the corrugated rib, I'll add 3 stitches (one at the center of either of the fronts, and one at the center back) to bring me up to the full number of body stitches required for 7 full repeats of the motif (plus one stitch).

With me so far?

I'm off to do my ribbing, and I'll check back with you when it's done. As I mentioned, I've abandoned the idea of doing this on the double-pointed needles -- because I don't want to hurt anybody, or anything!

Happy Knitting!

Comments

  1. No, you lost me! But I trust you do know what you're doing, so I'd love to use your "reworked" instructions once you're done. I love the idea of an Alcea cardigan.

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  2. Hi Anne- Sounds like a plan.
    I don't like my ribbing to pull in either, so I usually do the same thing, try to be as close in number to the body stitches as possible.
    I've tried the needles as well, and I think you really need a knitting belt. Those Shetland women were very resourceful.

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  3. Anne; Stumbled in from the Sherrif's place. You are now on my "reads" list. Love the way your mind works! And where can I get that pattern. It is awesome.

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  4. Sounds like a well thought out plan! Alcea is such a pretty pattern.

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  5. I am so glad I read your entry today! I am looking very forward to reading about you making a cardigan from a wonderful pullover pattern.
    I love cardigans, but seem to have a hard time finding special ones, especially for men.
    I am going to watch your progress and attempt a gansey pullover into a cardigan for my husband.
    Thanks again.

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  6. About "matching shoulder seams", wouldn't ending on either Rows 2 or 26 give you a matching shoulder seam?

    ReplyDelete

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