Let's review here:

• We knit a swatch containing the main cable pattern (Aran Honeycomb) and the cable patterns to one side of it (Right Twist, Little Twist Cable, and Four-Rib Braid). [My examples will come from my sweater, which is a worsted weight, but the same principles apply for the sport weight version.] After the swatch was knit, it was washed and blocked to determine the final gauge. Gauge in this instance does not really refer to the traditional "sts per inch," but rather how much of the final width of the sweater each individual pattern will take up.

• We decided how long to knit the saddles based upon the cross-shoulder measurement we wanted to use. I have decided that a cross-shoulder measurement of 19" will work well for me. We subtract out the back neck measurement (from 6-8" based on your size), and divided the remaining number in half. Therefore, for my sweater, 19" - 7" = 12", so I knit two saddles measuring 6" each.

So....the total width of my cable patterns will equal the width of the group of cables on one side plus the width of the Aran Honeycomb panel plus the width of the cable patterns on the other side, or 5" + 5" + 5", for a width of 15". Remember, though, that I want the width of the sweater here to be the same as my cross-shoulder measurement, which is 19". I have to make up that 4" of width, and this is where I add in my filler stitch.

There are 4" to be "filled in" -- 2" on either side of the cable patterning. My gauge over moss stitch is 4.5 sts/inch, so I would add 9 or 10 stitches to either side of the cable patterning to make up the width.

What happens if you have a cross-shoulder measurement of 21" and your cable patterns only take up 14" of width -- should you fill that remaining 3 1/2" on either side with filler stitch? It's up to you -- you can make up the width by adding filler stitches, or by increasing the width of the Aran Honeycomb panel, as I did with my sweater. Likewise, if your cross-shoulder measurement is 14" and the cable patterns take up 14" of width, you can either not have any filler stitches in the top of your sweater (I've seen it done that way -- it looks nice), or eliminate a repeat of the Aran Honeycomb pattern.

Let's go back to that back neck measurement for a moment. I decided that my sweater will have a back neck width of 7", which just happens to be the same as the width of my Aran Honeycomb panel (5") plus a Little Twist Cable to either side of it (1" each). I don't like my front or back neck openings to cut into my cable patterns if I can avoid it. It's better to have a back neck opening be a little wide than have it slice into the middle of a cable pattern.

Your current assignment, then is to decide on the final pattern placement for your sweater. Coming shortly (later this afternoon), I will give specific instructions for figuring out how many stitches to pick up along the saddles and how to cast on for the back of the neck.

Questions welcome!

Janet
jknitter@digisys.net