A.R.A.N. PROJECT

Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 08:49:08 -0500
To: Multiple recipients of list 
Subject: Knit: ARAN: Percentage Sweater Calculations, cuffs

Good morning all!

Today brings a heavy chore to the this knitting group...we have to decide
about patterns for the sleeve. But, fear not, we can procrastinate and do
a bit more research before finally deciding.  In the meantime, we can
start our cuffs... 

CUFFS

This Aran sweater will be heavy and thick, and some thinking should go
into the designing of a cuff that will hold up, be elastic, and fit well. 

So, based on the assumption that we are knitting with yarn that is 4 1/2
sts=1" (what I am using), we have to start our calculating for the "K"
number for this sweater so that we can continue on calculating to obtain
our sleeve numbers. 

The Percentage Method of sweater calculation (also known as EZ's) states
that there exist pretty standard correlations bewteen sweater
parts/measurements/stitch numbers.  And the best part of this method, is
that you can always start a project with this style, adjust as you see
fit, and still have it work out as it makes sense and you can see what you
are doing.  Over the years, I have adjusted this method, so you may need
to go to one of her books to see the original. 

So, we take our stockinette stitch gauge and multiply it by the finished
circumference to arrive at our "K" number... 

56" x 4.5 = 252 stitches = "K"

Now, if we were doing a stockinette stitch garment (or we had done a
swatch in a pattern stitch), we could plot out ALL the remaining numbers
we would need for our sweater at this point.  But, we are doing an Aran,
and the gauge will change as we start cablling and mossing and trellising
around...SO, we simply do the sleeve basics at this point to get started. 

Sleeve cuffs can be anywhere from 20% to 33% of "K".  Since we are
plotting an oversized sweater, we will take the SMALLEST percentage for
our cuffs, or 20%. 

20% x 252 sts = 50 sts

If you are small boned person, I would advise you to work on 44 sts. 

So, take your 12" circular #6 needle (or use 4 double pointed needles) and
cast on your stitches. Join them, place a marker on your first stitch OR
between the first and last stitch, and work in Twisted Rib in the round as
follows: 

Round 1: *K 1 in the back loop, P1* repeat between * * around.

Repeat Round 1 for pattern about 3". (My best sweater has 4" cuffs that I
fold back, but that is a personal choice). 

Normally, for regular sleeves, you would increase about 6 sts evenly
spaced, in the next round with a larger needle (#8 in this case). But,
since we are going to incorporate a pattern, we may end up adding more
sts. Remember, aran patterns will compress your gauge quite a bit, and a
lot of sts may be in order (10 or 12 more) to equalize the gauge over a 14
st plaited cable, for instance. 

Also, if you find you do not like the appearance of your twisted rib,
simply push your knitting through the center of your work to reverse it
and VOILA you are now looking at "normal" ribbing on the outside of the
work.  As you start the next round, you will need to do a wrapped stitch
to reverse the direction of your knitting so the working yarn is coming
from the right needle and not from the left needle. We'll start off
tomorrow with those directions in case you need them. 

So, that's all for today. Tomorrow I'll post the sleeve sts I've chosen
and then I take the weekend off to go spinning at Stuyvesant Community
Day. 

Keep knitting!

Claudia knitting at Countrywool overlooking Blue Hill in the Hudson Valley
of NY State in the USA
Countrywool@berk.com