Tutorial- Adding a V-Neck to a Straight Neckline, Hitchcock Sweater

#1- Pin the front to the back at the desired shoulder width, and sew the shoulder seams (if it's not done already). Locate the center front of the sweater neckline, and place a pin at 1" below the desired v-neck depth (that 1" will be the ribbing band)

#2. For the back neckline shaping, fold the back neck opening in and down 1" at the center. Ease the curve to the shoulder seams, and pin in place.

#3. Sew the back neck facing down.

#4. Angle a ruler from the front shoulder seam to the v-neck pin. Mark that line with pins.

#5. Repeat with the other side of the v-neck. Use highly contrasting waste yarn and sew along those lines. Those lines will become the new fold line, where the neckline band stitches are picked up.

#6- Zig-zag stitch 3/4" away from the contrast stitching for the new steek reinforcement lines. (or use whatever steek reinforcement method you prefer).

#7- Cut along the new steek reinforcement lines.

#8- Fold the v-neck steeks in and tack down. Note that you will not be able to fold the new steek in at the v-point until it is clipped (later).

#9. Using a 16" circular needle, pick up stitches around the neckline along the fold (removing the contrast yarn as you go). Pick up 1 stitch for each stitch around the neckline, place a marker just before the V-neck point, pick up 1 st in the point, place a marker, continue around neckline, join. Work neckline K1 P1, and K the center st (between the markers). Every other rnd, dec 1 st on either side of the center st. Work ribbing for 1", then BO in patt.

#10- After knitting the neckband, carefully snip the V-neck point steek fabric to within 1 st of the band (just like you would do if you were sewing on woven fabric). Use yarn or thread to secure the cut stitches and prevent raveling. Tack down.

#11- Inside view of the finished back neckline.

#12- The finished v-neckline!

See the finished sweater here

See the Tutorial on tandem sleeves here

See the Tutorial on setting sleeves in a sweater tube here.

Tutorial- Setting Sleeves in a Sweater Body Tube

I find it so much easier just to knit a sweater body tube, and then cut the armholes (and do the neckline shaping) after it's finished- no jockeying with the chart motifs to make them match before and after the armholes (or necklines), no dealing with decreases, no extra stitches for the steeks. On the other hand, you do have to measure carefully. I say- measure carefully..... it cannot be emphasized enough: MEASURE CAREFULLY, and then proceed.

With this method, you can adjust the armhole length  to suit the finished sleeves, you can adjust the neckline width and depth and style. You can even turn an intended pullover into a cardigan if you want.

This tutorial was written with a pullover sweater in mind. If you're knitting a cardigan, the procedure is the same, just place the *seam* in the center front (instead of at the side), and continue on.

It's easy peasy.

#1- Lay the sweater body tube flat, with the *seam* (the beginning of the round) to one side. Measure the sleeve width at the top of the sleeve, and then measure that length from the top of the sweater body tube and mark with a pin. Repeat on the other side.

#2- Sew along the cutting line with highly contrasting waste yarn, stopping about 2-3 sts from the pin.

#3- Zig-Zag stitch along either side of the waste thread (or reinforce the new steek in your preferred manner)

#4- Zig-Zag across bottom of the cutting line, 2-3 sts above the pin

#5- Cut armhole open between the zig-zag stitching, to within 1 stitch of the end zig-zag stitches

#6- Both armholes cut open

#7- If you know how wide you want your shoulder seams to be, sew them now. Otherwise, just sew a couple of inches in from the armhole opening. (You can figure out your shoulder width when you do the neck shaping).

#8- Fold the new steek edge in 3-4 stitches, and whip stitch in place.

#9- Pin the sleeve in place and sew the sleeve in the armhole

#10- Sleeve sewn in place. Ease the sleeve around the lower opening edge.

#11- Voila!

P.S. You can do this with any sweater pattern- it's not just for Fair Isle.

See the Tandam Sleeve Tutorial here.

See the V-Neck shaping in a straight neckline tutorial here.

See the finished sweater here.

See the Finished sweater here.

Hitchcock- FO

It's not a world record, but this sweater went together pretty darn quickly. And actually, I've had the assorted pieces done for a week, it just took me awhile to get around to assembling them.

I'll post tutorials this week, with lots of pics, for cutting/setting sleeves in a seamless sweater tube, and for neckline shaping. It's not necessarily easier to do both of those things this way- there are no pre-set guidelines for cutting. On the other hand, there are no pre-set guidelines for cutting, which means you can cut and shape and design your sweater after all of the knitting is done. It's wonderfully freeing.

anyway...

Ta da!

See the tutorial on V-Neck shaping from a straight neckline here.

See the tutorial on Tandem Sleeves here.

See the tutorial on setting sleeves in a sweater tube here.

Hitchcock Body

I spent most of today thinking about Lost- don't worry, I won't post any spoilers because I know that many haven't watched it yet. But I will say that I was totally satisfied with the ending. And that I sobbed. I'm going to miss spending time with those characters (and Sawyer's dimples).

While I was thinking, and remembering and comtemplating explained and unexplained mysteries, and watching the Chuck season finale (not quite so many tears on that one, though I probably would have misted up except that I was all cried out), I finished knitting the body of the Hitchcock sweater. I think it turned out rather well.

In the next day or so, I will cut the sleeve openings, sew the shoulder seams, and do the neck shaping (including a v-neck). I'll post tutorials and process shots of those steps, but probably not until the end of the week, since the AI Season Finale shows are coming up. I have finally decided that it's okay if Crystal wins, which probably means that she won't. Wednesday will tell...

Tutorial- Tandem Sleeves, Hitchcock Sweater

I hate knitting sleeves separately, so whenever I can, I knit them Tandem- 2 at a time on a circular needle, in a single piece with 10 stitch steeks in between. This works for any sleeve pattern, not just Fair Isle, as long as you're using yarn with some *grab*.

Cast on and knit the cuffs back and forth (not in the round) separately (so they don't have a bulky seam), and then join them, casting on 10 stitch steeks in between the sleeves on a circular needle. Knit as per the instructions, working the steeks in alternate colors on 2-color rnds. Bind off.

Click on any of the images to enlarge them.

#1. Finished sleeves, still in one piece

#2. You can use any sort of steek reinforcement method you prefer. I like to zig-zag stitch on either side of the center steek stitches. You can be brave and just cut the steek open and reinforce later, but I don't recommend doing that on your first steek.

#3. Steek reinforcement completed.

#4. Cut between the lines of zig-zag stitching. The stitches won't go anywhere. Trust me. (sorry for the blurry pic. I didn't realize it wasn't sharp until it was too late to take another).

#5. One steek cut. The other needs to be reinforced and cut.

#6. Sleeves separated.

#7. Inside view- just because I think it's pretty.

#8. Fold the steek edges in and sew the sleeve seam. This method does add some bulk to the sleeve seam. On the other hand, you don't have to weave any ends in, so it's an even trade. In case you're wondering, I didn't bother trying to make the motifs match at the seam. If you want nicely blended motifs, just center each set of sleeve motifs, and they'll work out.

#9. Whip stitch the steek down. I usually use a yarn or thread color that blends in more, but I wanted the stitches to show for the picture.

#10. The seamed sleeves are ready to sew in the armholes.

Except that the armholes aren't ready for the sleeves.

I'll post tutorials on cutting armholes without steeks, and neckline shaping as I get to those stages on the sweater.

See the tutorial on v-neck shaping in a straight neckline here.

See the finished sweater here.

See the tutorial on setting sleeves in a sweater tube here.

Sweater Name, and More Slickers

I'm nearly done with the sleeves on the leftover yarn bird sweater- the blue/brown border will take me to the proper length, so I can bind off, and cut them apart. I'll be sure to take pics. Then it'll just be a matter of making the sweater body long enough, which will involve 2 or 3 more bird borders.

Thanks to blog reader Mary Wilson- we have a name for the sweater:

Hitchcock

heh...

I spent some time sewing more American-Girl slickers yesterday. I used a different flannel-backed vinyl table cloth and I'm not nearly as happy with the results. Though both this one and  the red gingham cloth were made by the same manufacturer, same size, same price, same store, the stripey one is stiffer and more fragile. The fabric tears more easily and I am worried about how well these coats will hold up under normal little-girl dollie play. But they're far too fiddly to discard, or to start over, and I need 3 or none, so I'll forge ahead.

It's still pretty cute, and I am impressed with my own arty fabric cutting, which makes 3 coats (I'll finish the last today) cut from the same fabric, all look different. I am not so impressed with the fact that I couldn't get the stripes to line up properly on one of them. Oh well.