Knitting first ever cardigan......tips please!

[Givemecaffeine21]

I'm a seasoned crocheter but a fairly new knitter. I've made a couple of scarves and a couple of hats on circulars. I reeeeeeally want to make jumpers / cardigans to wear so have bought my wool, got a pattern and am ready to roll.....I'm having pre-garment jitters though!

It's in the round and top down www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lady-kina

I'm sure it will come clear once I actually cast on, but how on earth do you make sleeves? I'm trying to understand the pattern before I start but maybe I should just start and worry later.....

I'd jump in and start. It's top down so you start with a few stitches and increase at the front and back of each sleeve until you're knitting across the front, one sleeve, the back, the other sleeve and the other front. At this point (where you divide for the sleeves) you can slip the stitches onto a length of yarn and see if it fits, if it's too small you carry on increasing, if it's too big then you rip it back a bit. When you divide for the sleeves you abandon the sleeve stitches so you just work on front-back-front and you knit on until the body is long enough (there's probably a few stitches cast on under the armpit). When you've done with the body you come back, recover the sleeve stitches that you left behind and knit the sleeve.

It will be fine - the thing about top down is that you can check that it will fit early on when all you've knitted is the shoulders.

Thank you - that's what I needed to hear - it makes sense to me now. So I cast off the sleeves I'm guessing then carry on knitting the body....

I like sleeves that end at the wrist, with those you'd thread a length of waste yarn through the sleeve stitches, knot the ends together and leave them there while you continue to knit the body. Later on you put the sleeve stitches back on the needle, rejoin the yarn and knit until the sleeves are the length you want (there's usually some decreases along the way). With this pattern you work three rows of garter just on the sleeve stitches and cast off THEN continue knitting the body.

Right....so the stitches can't pull themselves out if you just take them off the needle, or is that where the piece of yarn comes in? That's what makes me anxious - the bit where stitches are just sort of hanging whilst I knit elsewhere? Or doesn't it work like that? Blimey I'm a novice!

If you take them off the needle they will run. With crochet you only have the one live stitch but with knitting they are all live. You can get stitch holders which are like really long safety pins but there will be a lot of stitches to hold and it's a sweary moment if they pop open so I use waste yarn. If you pass yarn through the stitch (with a big needle) it can't run down. With this pattern the sleeves are knitted first and then cast off so it should be danger free.

It will be fine - it's only knitting not brain surgery and no-one dies if you get it wrong.

Haha - good point! There will be no lives lost tonight

Thank you, you've been very helpful! I shall be back if a crisis occurs