NQC tries to make a sweater ... again

[NotQuiteCockney]

Ok, I'm trying to make a sweater. I think I will do the Zimmerman yoked sweater (currently working my way up the body) as DS1 wants colours on it.

But the armpits and sleeves are bugging me. She is a bit 'and then the magic happens, make it up as you go along' about the armpits.

What are the seamfree (or relatively so) options for sleeves? I have found:

• Raglan/yoked (basically the same, right? only difference is whether decreases are all together or spread out)
• deeply weird one involving steeking (zimmerman)
• picking up stitches and knitting sleeves top-down

Are there more? The third tempts me most, but I guess I won't do it for this one ...

oh cos of the 2 ends?

I keep mine in a pencil case or a tin

oh no, duh, am with you

yes you have to be more careful. or you can get point protectors

thing is, you can't scrunch dpn knitting in the same way. You DO have to be more careful with it, that is true.

otoh people think you are doing something clever!

show off factor is high i agree, that is if you're not a clandestine knitter, which i am. i knit in secret, in cupboards and such like.

I've started working my way up the first sleeve. Cuff was a bit tricky, as I'm doing a K1/P1 rib with twists on all purls and all knits, but it's done, and I'm on the main bit. Not bothering with a shaped sleeve, as DS1's arms aren't exactly shaped.

i also do twisted ribbing! think it looks nicer, but takes soooo long...

This is my first real time doing twisted ribbing - my mom said she liked it, and then Zimmerman goes on about it, so I thought I'd give it a go. It does seem better than normal ribbing.

Then again, I also like a 3k2p rib with a slip stitch every other row in the middle of the 3ks. That makes a very deep ribbing.

Does twisted ribbing work in 2x2 ribbing, too? Or just 1x1?

yes, i've done it in 2x2 and 1x1. just makes it look tighter and neater. i've never tried your method. interesting about the slip stitch.

The slip stitch makes the middle stitch of the 3 knits stand up more, and makes for a much deeper, more dramatic rib. I've done hats in it, as an all-over pattern, and it works very well.

Ok, I've done the body and both sleeves. And put it all one one needle, so I will start knitting the yoke.

DS1 has chosen a pattern with a reindeer on it. Well, he'll like it. I think they'll be mostly red, but with grey hooves and antlers.

I found the sweater I knitted last year for DS2. The sleeves were done by picking up stitches, and they look ok, there are some gaps, but you really have to be looking for them. The armpits look rubbish, but then again, I didn't sew in the ends, so that could be fixed. The real problem is, the neck is too small.

Oh, NQC, I was going to start a thread for you but this one will do! I just got a copy of Top Down Sweaters which seems to be up your street (no pun intended). There's one jumper in there that has short sleeves and a lacy edging that reminded me of what you were asking about before, and most of the patterns involve picking up stitches at the armholes and avoiding sewing

Ah, I've been curious about getting a top-down book. Top-down sounds more sensible to me.

I'm doing ok with bottom up for now. But top-down, with picking up stitches, sounds like the way to get a set in arm without (ugh) steeking.

Aargh. I did a row of fairisle, and it came out overly tight, so I'm frogging it and doing it again. I think I'll read up in Montse on fairisle, and maybe on that knitting videos site.

I'm holding both colours with my left hand, but finding it hard ...

good luck. i'm also struggling at the moment.

What are you struggling with? I'm working up the energy to have another go at the fairisle. It was quite disappointing, I had the numbers all right, the image centred, and the change-over point in the middle of the back, all fine.

But the stitches, especially in the second colour, were just way too tight. I used to knit too tight, and it doesn't come out well, and is unpleasant to do anyway.

I think Montse has helped. Apparently tight floats are the most common cause of this. And she recommends the 'use another finger' style of fairisle (or jacquard, as she calls it).

i don't have any montse books. sounds like they're very good, although the one problem i have with books is that they don't always show you step by step. kinda like instructions for flat-pack furniture: here it is in pieces and.... here it is assembled!!! all in one easy step!!! meanwhile you've got 327 different pieces to assemble. does your book explain well?

have you tried using one yarn in the left hand and one in the right? i find it very difficult to knit with both in the same hand. is that what you mean by jacquard?

i wonder why the second colour is so tight. perhaps practice on a small swatch?

i'm struggling with my jersey because they say use intarsia, but the whole picture is comprised of large areas of colour b as well as lots of small 'lines' of b too. so i'd do the small lines as fairisle except the amount of colour a between the lines is too much iyswim. so i'm trying it totally in intarsia but i've got a gazillion little balls hanging off it and it just takes ages to do a row.

The Montse I have (Knitter's Handbook) isn't really an instruction book per se - more like a guide book. It talks about a range of problems and provides solutions, basically. There are 19 (I think?) cast on methods, and a similar number of cast offs. It has every technique ever.

I never really assemble things, I don't like sewing, and the one go I had, the tops of the sleeves were shorter than the armholes, and what do you do then? (I gave up.)

I tried one yarn per hand, but I really can't knit English-style. I find the two yarns in the left hand works fine - it's what Montse recommends, anyway, and I think it's what German-style knitters are 'meant' to do, anyway.

My second colour was tight because it had a longish float in it (6 stitches) and I was pulling it tight. Oh, and because the second colour was being held on my middle finger, which I don't have a hold for, so I was fiddling with it, and dropping it and so on. I've nearly finished two rows of my second go, and I'm not having the same problem. My second colour may be a bit too loose, but I don't think it's worrisomely so. I'll keep fiddling.

Ok, it's gone wrong, I've frogged all the jacquard bits. They were too tight, they had texture from the floats being too tight, particularly on the rows I was just picking up and dropping yarns to change colour.