Tag Archives: cuffs

Acrylic & Sweaters (or at least acrylic and my sweater)

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I’m making great headway on my husband’s sweater!  It’s very exciting.  I’ve got the body done, and one sleeve. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe shoulders/sleeve situation looks great, if I say so my self, and I really like the ribbing on the hem and cuff.  (I added a row of purls along the top of the ribbing to make a defined line between the body and the hem.  I think it turned out well!)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABut, I’m pretty sure I messed up.  I the body is maybe 2  inches too short.   And that’s really too much to let slide.   If this was a wool sweater, I’d at least try to block it out a little longer.  And if it was a cotton one, I’d hang it up for a while to see if it would sag down to a more reasonable length.

But, I’m knitting this bad boy in acrylic Brava Worsted, which means that neither of those tricks are really going to work.  (Unless there’s some other secret trick that I don’t know.  Tell me if there is!)

I think my only recourse is to rip out the hem and knit a couple extra inches to the body, then re-knit the ribbing.  Sigh.

But, maybe I’ll just wait for a while before ripping anything out, I don’t know if I have the heart to go to town on this sweater quite yet.

Remember, kids, always measure twice before binding off.   Sigh.

Do you have any tips on blocking acrylic?

Tubular Cast-on and Bind-off in the Wild

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On Friday, I waxed poetic about the tubular cast-on and tubular bind-off.  How they look the same, how they’re perfectly stretchy, and how they are ideal for cuffs and collars.  But, I didn’t show you any examples.

Now, it’s time for me to put my money where my mouth is (metaphorically speaking.  I don’t have enough money laying around to just start eating it).

Behold, the hem and the collar of my (almost finished) Stellar’s Jay Cardigan.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASee how they match perfectly?  The k1p1 ribbing makes a lovely subtle edging, and the tubular cast-on/bind-off stops the sweater from pulling even a little bit.  Sure, my perfect edges are something that only an obsessive knitter would notice, but as a slightly obsessive knitter, they’re something that makes me very happy.

Casting on-Tubular Cast On (with bonus Tubular Bind Off!)

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A couple months ago, I told you about one of my favorite cast-ons, the Tubular Cast On.  It’s still one of my favorite techniques, so I figured that I would tell you about my favorite aspect of the tubular cast on:  the Tubular Bind Off.

I know, that’s a cheater’s answer. How can a bind off be my favorite part of a cast on?  Let me explain.  The tubular bind off and cast on look identical when they’re finished.  I love using the tubular cast on/bind off on sweaters, because it means that my cuffs (cast on) and my collar (bind off) can have the exact same finished edges.

I’ve already linked you to a really good tutorial, so I won’t waste my (or your) time with showing you again.  But, I will show you how to do the Tubular Bind Off.

Start with a piece of knitting (it looks best with a bit of 1×1 ribbing, which is why I particularly love it for cuffs and collars).

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERARepeat the following to the end of the row: (Knit 1, bring yarn to front, slip 1, bring yarn to back).  Then turn the work and do the same thing on the next row.  This seems weird, but think about it this way:  you’re knitting all the knit stitches on the right side of your work, then you’re knitting all the knit stitches on the wrong side of your work.

Then, here’s the cool part.  Grab an extra needle (try to use the same size that you’ve been knitting with, but if it’s a little smaller, it’s not a problem.  Don’t go buying extra needles for this).  Now you have two stitch-less needles and one needle attached to your work.

Slip the first knit stitch onto one of your needles.  Slip the first purl stitch onto the other needle.  OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Then continue, slipping all the knit stitches onto the first needle, and all the purl stitches onto the second needle.  When you’re done, your knitting will look like this:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThen, cutting a tail at least three times as long as your knitting is wide, use a tapestry needle and the Kitchener stitch to join the two needles’ stitches together.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAYou end up with a lovely, seamless, super-stretchy bind off that looks identical to the Tubular Cast on.

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