A.R.A.N. PROJECT

Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 09:12:04 -0500
To: Multiple recipients of list 
Subject: KNIT: A.R.A.N.-Post 7-Sleeve Length and CIITMYHP, Mistake
Contest, A.R.A.N. on WWW


Good morning all

HI, DeeDee in New Hampshire. Blue Hill is on the east side of the Hudson
River, just south of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.  If you decide to join the
A.R.A.N. group after you raid your stash, let me know.  It's kind of nice
to keep a tally of the interest, and if something comes up (like maybe
we're going to do something outrageous and not let the rest of the list
know...heehee...) I can get in touch with everyone. 

Time to make decisions on when to end the sleeve...

SLEEVE LENGTH...Marilyn dropped a gem this past weekend by reminding us of
how heavy this sweater will be. (What would we do without help?) It
occurred to me that knitting this sleeve an inch shorter than you really
want it to be would be a good starting point in rectifying this situation. 
I am a real fan of hanging cotton sweaters for a week STILL ON THE NEEDLES
two inches short of your desired length to see how much the fabric wants
to s-t-r-e-t-c-h before you finish off. I am going to knit an inch shorter
for now and do the stretching later when we get to the yoke (which can be
shortened a bit without too much trouble). 

So, how long will you knit this sleeve? If you started off this whole
project by measuring a sweater that fits you well, you have a good
reference point.  First of all, add your DEPTH OF ARMHOLE to your UNDERARM
LENGTH OF SLEEVE.  I envision the yoke of my sweater to measure 10"(nice
and deep for layering and letting the cables fall well to look stunning!)
so I will subtract 10" from that sum.  For me: 

9" + 18" = 27" - 10" = 17"

So, since I am anticipating a little stretch, I will knit for a total
length of 16". 

One full repeat of the pattern measures 3" for me, and my cuff measures
3", so after 4 full cable patterns completed, I will have a sleeve
measuring 15"...but notice that I will be short 4 sts. Guess what...I
don't care.  Rules are made to be broken. When I get to that point, I will
take a look at my sleeve and decide what to do.  Right now I think it will
be OK.  Since this is an oversized sweater, an inch or so deviation from
the percentages won't make a whole lot of difference, in my mind. But, all
that being said, I will be open to frogging if it looks necessary later. 

So, now that all the measurements and numbers are figured, how do you go
about doing the increases? Our wonderful Janet Szabo (author of the "I
Hate To Finish Sweaters" Guide to Finishing Sweaters) sent me the most
welcome e-mail last week suggesting we do the increasing on each side of
the cable.  Great idea...so... 

(CIITMYHP) Cute Invisible Increases To Make Your Heart Pound:

Round 6: slip marker, work cable pattern over 34 sts, sl marker, P one st
in loop of next st in row below stitch on needle, then work pattern of
"K2,P2"  around, ending K2...after last K...remove marker...P one st in
loop of next st in row below st on needle, replace marker. On each
subsequent round, keep this single st in double seed stitch pattern. 

   NOTE: sometimes it helps to pick up the loop of the stitch underneath
   the "proper" stitch on the left hand needle...put that loop up on the
   needle...and work into it from there(easier to grab). If you are going
   to do that, dig into the loop from the back and pull it up that way so
   it doesn't get twisted (which really won't matter all that much...but
   some people like to do things "right" hah!) 

Round 12: slip marker, work cable pattern over 34 sts, sl marker, P one
stitch in loop of next st in row below stitch on needle...P1...then work
pattern of "K2,P2" around, ending K2,P1...after last P1...remove
marker...P one st in loop of next st in row below st on needle, replace
marker. On each subsequent round, you'll notice that you now are knitting
on a complete and even repeat of double seed stitch. 

As you work the increases on Rounds 6 and 12, notice the the stitch you
will be adding has to STAY IN PATTERN...it won't always be purl, but it
WILL always be the same at the beginning and end of the double seed
pattern. The best way to stay in pattern, is to look PAST the point where
you will be adding a stitch...count your stitch pattern backwards to where
you will be doing the increase. 

Hope this has been clear. I am again sponsoring a Mistake Contest...first
few finders of errors receive a thank-you gift from Countrywool. (Sure
beats proofreading till I want to spray paint the computer monitor...with
black paint!). 

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