A.R.A.N. PROJECT

Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 09:47:17 -0500 (EST)
To: knit@bolis.com
Subject: KNIT: A.R.A.N. #24 - Neck Scoops

Good morning all!

We are so close to getting done with this sweater, that I can taste it.
Have you thought about your next project .  Make sure you have
a-little-something waiting in a basket...

As you approach Round 32 of your raglan yoke decreasing, you must begin to
consider shaping the neck for a good fit. Here's a summary of what's
behind what we are about to do. 

NECK SCOOPS...THEORY 101

Raglan short-row necks, worked in the round, are approached carefully from
far off in the knitting...one works to 2" - 3" short of the desired length.
 One then works SHORT ROWS, back and forth, over only part of the front
stitches and all of the back of the neck.  One is, in essense, knitting
more fabric at the sides and back of the neck than the front
area...thereby "raising the back of the neck" or "lowering the front". 
(Is your glass half empty or half full?) 

NITTY GRITTY A.R.A.N. NECK SCOOP

Stop your work temporarily at the back left shoulder which will be the end
of a round. At that point, find the center front of the sweater, put about
3"  worth of stitches on a double pointed needle (the shorter the
better...I have even used 12" circular needles here, just scoop it through
the sts while they are still on your big needle) with needle caps at each
end to prevent stitches from escaping. I marked the entire KNITLIST CELTIC
PLAIT - minus the purl stitches at the beginning and end of it - as my
center 3", and put the glorious creation intact on my 12" circular needle. 
Working in pattern but eliminating any decreasing (this short bit of
knitting will be entirely free of any row counting...it is simply a
connecting exercise) knit past left shoulder towards the front where one
stops short at the intrusive stitch-holding-needle.  SRW the first stitch
on that needle, turn. 

SRW = short row wrap = slip the stitch from the left needle to the right
needle as if to purl...put working yarn through the two needles to the
opposite side of your work, slip the same stitch BACK to the left hand
needle, put your working yarn to opposite side of work. 

If you have never worked with short-row wrapped stitches before, and can't
recognize them yet, put a marker on each one as you do it...as you work
away from it, move the marker to the next wrapped stitch. You now have
your neck stitches on your long circular needle and your center front
stitches (the KNITLIST CELTIC PLAIT) on the short needle with end caps.
You are now poised to knit the beginning of the next row/round and this
will be your NEW beginning-of-the-round. Work IN PATTERN across back of
inside of neck (this will be the inside of the sweater and ROW/ROUND 32)
until one passes the right shoulder of the sweater and comes along to the
opposite end of the intrusive needle where one SRWs the first stitch of
that end of the needle. 

The set up is done.

Now the work is turned and we work across the back of sweater (ROW/ROUND
33), on the OUTSIDE , until one approaches the center front again.  This
time *work in pattern and stop 1 stitch BEFORE the previously wrapped
stitch, SRW the next stitch, turn and work across the back of the neck in
pattern*.

It is helpful to transfer the newly wrapped stitch to the the holding
needle at the front of the sweater, so it is no longer in your way. Repeat
directions from *to*, remembering to stay in pattern, working on the
outside one row, and the inside the alternate row.  This style of neck
shaping will allow the continual decreasing in the raglan lines to take
place, until one has "dropped" the front of the neck a few inches. 

PITHY NOTES TO KEEP IN MIND...

When you do that little bit of CONNECTIVE KNITTING at the in-between spot
before your official start of row 32...you are advised to stay in pattern. 
Well, the pattern says to knit the knits and purl the purls and TK the
TK's, so do that. But don't do the decrease recommended. This will give
you a bit of an slight extra-long look to the cables at the sweater's left
neck edge.  For those of you who find this distasteful, I sympathize. You
COULD break the yarn at the end of round 31, slip the next few stitches
until you get to the center front, reattach your yarn, and then proceed.
How unfair of me to lead you along and then drop this bomb of inexact
knitting.  For those of you who find this lack of concern
delightful...come on over for lunch someday and we'll have a grand time. 

All the inside rows are done in the "easy" rounds/rows...knit the knits
and purl the purls. REMEMBER YOU NEED TO KNIT TWO STITCHES TOGETHER
INSTEAD OF PURLING THEM AT THE DECREASE POINTS. The only surprise in the
row is the Twisted Knits that crop up every few inches and then again at
the decrease lines...they need to be worked as Twisted Purls (purl in the
back of the stitch). I simply marked them with split ring markers on the
INSIDE so that when I was approaching one, I was warned. 

You will probably run out of stitches to decrease at the sleeve tops
before you are done with your rows/rounds. If you don't, that's fine. If
you see an uneven decreasing going on because you forgot something
somewhere, correct it before you have 10 sts on the sleeve tops between
TKs...it will look better if you approach the end evenly.  Decreasing by
purling-two-together is a great invisible sort of mistake cover.  Wing it. 
I left 4 sts between the TK decrease lines, and just kept them in
purl...I like the look of that raglan sleeve top . 

Of course, now that all the fudging has made you feel that the sweater
will be a disaster...finish the d*mn thing before you cast judgment. For
98% of you, the sweater will be fine. For the rest (sigh)...rriipppp back
to ROW/ROUND 32. 

Tomorrow...RIBBING!


Claudia knitting at Countrywool overlooking Blue Hill in the Hudson Valley
of NY State in the USA
Countrywool@berk.com
get the complete Anyknitter's Revolving Aran Network (A.R.A.N.) pattern
at: Esther's Knitting Page  http://www.cs.oswego.edu/~ebozak/knit