How To
Ask Patty: Sweater Better
It seems, even in these uncertain times, there are a few things in life we can count on. When the weather becomes crisp, a knitter’s thoughts turn to sweaters, and when the pattern becomes confusing, a knitter’s thoughts turn to murder.
I’ve had a slew of pattern reading questions come in recently, so I thought I’d grab three from the mailbag and do what I can to lift the veil of mystery.
For the first two, I come back to a saying (slightly Friday Night Lights inspired) that I have used in my video sweater classes:
Words on page, no assumptions, can’t go wrong.
Hi Patty,
I have a question regarding reading a pattern. I am knitting the armhole shaping for a sweater back. The size I am knitting is the third size in the sequence. Instructions read:
Begin armhole shaping: BO 4(4,5,6,6,7,8) sts, at beg of next 2 rows, 0(0,2,3,3,3,4) sts at beg of foll 2 rows, and then 0(0,0,0,2,3,3) sts at beginning of foll 2 rows — 56(64,62,66,70,74,78) sts.
Do I still work the last two rows even though it says BO 0 for my size … or do I skip those rows entirely and move on to the next part of the instruction?
Sue
Dear Sue,
To paraphrase an old theater saying, “If it ain’t on the page, it ain’t on the stage.” Here’s a pattern reading tip that will never fail you:
Read the instruction you know applies to your size, then read the next instruction that you know applies to your size. Do those things. Anything else is an assumption not found in evidence.
Let’s look at your instruction as an example. If a pattern is telling you to do something zero times, it means just that. Do it zero times. In other words, it’s the anti-Nike instruction—“Just don’t do it.” You wondered if you replace those rows with working 2 rows even. Let’s say for argument, the next instruction was, now work 15 rows even. Does that mean you work 17 rows even? Nope. Move on to the next instruction that applies to your size.
You are not alone. I have found that the smarter the knitter is, the more trouble they will get themselves into by overthinking the pattern and trying to outsmart it.
If you find yourself asking “I wonder if they mean … ” remember this:
Words on page, no assumptions, can’t go wrong.
Understanding Those Decrease Instructions
Dear Patty,
I have a pattern reading question. I have a pattern that tells me to do a decrease row and then repeat that every 6th row 8 times. So does that mean I do the decrease a total of 8 times or 9 times? Why can’t patterns just say what they mean?
Feeling Stabby (Alice)
Dear Stabby Alice,
Put the needle down before anyone gets hurt. This instruction can be confusing (I prefer the language, repeat 8 more times). But if we stop and ask ourselves how it would be written if the pattern meant us to work the dec a total of eight times rather than a total of nine times, we have our answer.
First, you can’t repeat something you haven’t done yet. So, think of it this way: if a pattern told you to do a decrease, then repeat it once, you’d end up with … only one decrease? No. Of course, doing a decrease and repeating it once would give you two decreases. So if an instruction tells you to do a decrease and then repeat it 8 times, it doesn’t result in 8 decreases total, does it? Nope, it doesn’t. It would get you 9 decreases. Make sense?
Moral of the story: Words on page, no assumptions, can’t go wrong.
Shifting into Reverse
Patty,
Could you write a how-to letter about reversing shaping for left and right fronts? I’m knitting my first sweater, a cardigan from Rowan. The pattern states it is a Level 1 and the knitting is easy enough, but I cannot understand the reverse shaping.
Sarah
Dear Sarah,
This one I feel most profoundly. The first cardigan pattern I ever did had the left side fully written out, and I followed it word for word, knitting exactly what was on the page. I felt pretty good about myself when it was done, turned the page with heart full of joy, only to read a one-sentence instruction for the right front—“work as for left front but reverse the shaping.” What? What? What? I remember feeling like someone had just led me by the hand to the center of a corn maze, then let go of my hand and said “to extract yourself from the center of the corn maze, do the same in reverse.” I promptly put that sweater in timeout for two years until I discovered the joy of sweater mapping.
After you embrace “words on page,” there’s nothing I love more than mapping out and then tossing the words! I first wrote about sweater mapping last year (mapping and gapping) as a wonderful way to map out a written pattern. This trick also helps you write out one that isn’t written.
Reverse shaping breaks down to three easy steps:
1. Flip the left side schematic over and trace it to make a right side schematic.
2. Map out your left side.
3. Fill in your new map for the right side.
Say you have a cardigan pattern that says:
LEFT FRONT
Waist Shaping
Dec row (RS): K1, k2tog, work to end of row—1 st dec’d.
Rep dec row every 8th row 6 more times.
Work 1″ straight, ending with a WS row.
Inc row (RS) K1, M1, work to end of row—1 st inc’d.
Rep inc row every 6 rows 3 more times.
Shape Neck & Armhole
NOTE: Armhole shaping and neck shaping are done AT THE SAME TIME.
Next Row (RS): Bind off 5 sts.
Dec row (RS): K1, ssk—1 st dec’d.
Rep dec row every RS row 3 more times.
AT THE SAME TIME
Starting on the same row as your first armhole dec row, dec 1 st at neck edge as follows:
Work to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.
Rep neck shaping 9 more times.
Before trying to tackle the reverse, I would take my left schematic and map that out.
Having the left side all mapped out makes mapping the right side super easy to do. I’ll get you started.
If on the left side you are shaping at the start of a row, the right side it would be at the end. If the left side the pattern used a right slanting decrease, then the right side would use a left slanting decrease. So, instead of:
LEFT FRONT
Waist Shaping
Dec row (RS): K1, k2tog, work to end of row—1 st dec’d.
Rep dec row every 8th row 6 more times.
It would be:
RIGHT FRONT
Waist Shaping
Dec row (RS): Knit to last 3 sts, ssk, k1—1 st dec’d.
Rep dec row every 8th row 6 more times.
Now it’s your turn. Give it a try. I’m putting in a blank right side schematic and you can fill in the rest. Leave me a comment letting me know how you would write out the rest of the side.
With this simple trick, a flip and trace, and a bit of mapping, you will never be left in the middle of a corn maze again.
And it means you can knit without wanting to stab anyone—well, at least not because of the pattern.
In the MDK Shop
Patty in your Pocket
This is brilliant. Thank you. A vast array of sweater patterns has suddenly moved from the “Oh no — Never Never” column to the “Let’s Make That One and That One” column. Oh, the pleasure I will have envisioning all those sweaters!
An outstanding way to start the day. I have a swatch blocking and yarn on the way for a sweater.
What an excellent tutorial on reversing shaping! I really resent designers who write a pattern stating that you should simply reverse all shaping for the other side. Lazy pattern-writing!
Amen, Sister!
Or saving $$ in tech editing?
I would honestly probably go line by line for the other side to check it to understand it anyway!
Amen!
Amen, amen! But this schematic is fantastic!
Mapping is a great idea, will have to read a few more times and wrap my brain around it. However, it’s a lot more work than I feel I should do for a paid pattern. Freebie, sure.
Sweater mapping will help you get a full understanding of the pattern. It’s how Japanese sweater patterns are written. It’s not just to fill in blanks, but rather so that with one page you have the entire pattern and can, in essence, throw out the words. It also helps you see where you might want to alter the pattern for your body. It’s an incredibly valuable tool that will make your knitting life easier and better.
I think there are *reasons* though. Why mess it up? Why specify the pattern in reverse and make it seem like it’s a different piece, when it’s just the first in mirror. If you adjust the first, then you are doing YOUR same in the second, instead of re-inventing. Except I have just taken about 2 months off a thing that I REALLY want to finish, because it will require mapping it all out, so… Yeah.
Mapping! Who knew? Thank you so much.
This is going to be so useful!
Knitting for more than 60 years and there’s always more to learn..
More confusion here.
So if, in the first item, there is no bind off at the beginning of the row you don’t work that row? I’ve always taken that to mean that there is no shaping in that row, the zero for the size is a place holder in the instructions.
The instructions shown are for shaping. So there is no shaping for those rows for some sizes, but the rows still exist.
I have seen instructions that say “repeat last 2 rows 0(0,1,2,3) times. I take that to mean don’t knit the rows.
Row instructions versus shaping instructions.
I don’t think that I’m overthinking. My knitting fits as expected,
I agree. The pattern doesn’t say ‘don’t knit the rows’, it says ‘don’t *bind off* at the beginning of the rows.
I am in the camp that says the 0 refers exclusively to the shaping decreases not the rows. It says, very clearly, that for that size you do no increases for the next two rows. If you don’t work the rows at all, how can you do them without decreases?
If you miss out rows simply because you’re not doing a decrease on it, your sleeve will be too short for the armhole. The different length needed in total for the sleeve heads in different sizes will be taken care of further on in the instructions.
Same here too, I would still work the rows but with 0 shaping.
Agreed
Take a look at my answer later in the thread. Although a – is clearer than a 0, understanding what comes next is key. In the case of an armhole, what comes next is, now work even, so you are skipping to the next instruction. However, there are many pattern examples where doing something 0 times does not mean replace those rows with working even. Read example below.
It’s important to step back and ask yourself, what comes next and if my assumption makes sense.
We don’t know what the OP’s pattern actually said, though.
Unless it’s a really strange armhole pattern, then after the BO and decreases, on every armhole known to man comes “now work straight until armhole measures . . . “
Respectfully disagree with Patty on this one. 0 means don’t do the bind-offs but you still knit those rows. You have a 0 because you started with fewer stitches on the needles in the small sizes but you still need to knit the full length of the armhole.
In the example of an armhole, the next part is “now work even”, so you are in fact, skipping to the next instruction, even if you don’t think of it that way. But there are many times in a pattern when you would not replace instructions that don’t apply to your size by working a few more rows even (see example below).
This is why I prefer using – to using 0, however many older patterns do use 0 when they mean, “not you”.
My interpretation of the pattern was also to bind off none, but work the two rows. My mind is blown. I’ll have to keep an eye out for this in the future!
I agree, if it said to do zero rows for her size, then you knit nothing, but if it says that you do 2 more rows with zero decreases, then you knit 2 more rows, you don’t just skip.
Doing something zero times, means you are not doing it, so go to the next instruction for your size.
In this person’s example, it is an armhole, so the next instruction IS to work straight until armhole measures x number of inches. Therefore, SKIPPING an instruction that doesn’t apply to you (meaning doing something 0 times or – times) is the SAME as working even, since this is the next instruction. However, that’s not always the case.
Although I personally would use a – rather than a 0, to avoid this confusion, MANY older patterns use 0 to indicate you don’t do that. So, this does not mean you would replace each 0 row with an even row of knitting. I means that instruction doesn’t apply to you, for instance:
Say it was about shaping and the (totally made up) pattern said:
(RS): Shaping row K2, k2tog, work straight to the end of the row.
Rep shaping row every 4th row 0 (0, 2, 3, 4) times followed by every 2nd row 2 (2, 1, 2, 3) times followed by every row 1 (1, 2, 0, 0) time, then work even for 9 rows.
That does NOT mean:
-The smallest size works the shaping row, then works a row even, then works the shaping row every RS row twice.
or that
– The largest size works even for 10 rows
It DOES mean:
– The two smaller sizes would skip the rows that said to shape every 4th row and START the shaping every other row.
and that
– The two largest sizes would be DONE with the shaping in the every other row instruction and skip to now work even for 9 rows.
Thank you. That now makes perfect sense to me.
100% agree with your example above Patty, that you would not knit if it says “Rep shaping row every 4th row 0 (0, 2, 3, 4) times” however, that is not what the pattern in your example says. It has “and then 0(0,0,0,2,3,3) sts at beginning of foll 2 rows —” which means that you knit the next 2 rows, you just don’t decrease. This could be key if the instructions continue with more decreases and not just “knit even”.
The difference is between a pattern that says
Repeat 0(0,0,3,3) more times and
Bind off 0(0,0,3,3) stitches at the start of the next 2 rows.
In the first case, you would not knit the rows with 0, however, in the second, you should knit the 2 rows and just not bind off.
Aren’t you saying the same thing as Patty? You do the shaping for your size, and when it says your size does a decrease 0 times, you knit the next rows for your size specified in the pattern, probably to work even for so many rows/inches to the shoulder. Different sizes will have narrower or deeper armhole shaping, but all sizes will work even for so many rows/inches above the shaping.
.
That’s such an awesome question. I had to read the pattern several times to make sure I wasn’t missing something. I would read this as bind off 4 stitches at the beginning of the first two rows, then two stitches of the next two rows then no stitches fir the last two rows. So, my question would be, we know how many stitches we should have on the needles but we don’t know how many rows we should have.
I have also worked the row without doing the bind off but my understanding of Patty’s lesson is that I was doing it wrong. This makes sense to me since I want the arm scythe for the smaller size to be shorter. I am not sure why I did not think of that before (I sew and should know better). I also do not knit the rows if I see the instructions to “repeat last 2 rows 0(0,1,2,3) times.” Patty, please let me know if my interpretations are correct.
I will try my hand at pattern reversal once it is fully light out and I am fully caffeinated. I have done something similar before but agree with others who feel like the pattern author should write this out – they and the test knitters had to figure it out to knit the sweater so why not include it!
I agree too – I’d work the rows but without decreasing/shaping.
I agree. I’ve seen patterns say “BO –, (–, –, 2) sts” and to me that means don’t work the row if there isn’t a number. But, as my algebra teacher taught me, zero is still a number. For Patty’s example I’d work the rows even.
Take a look at my answer later in the thread. Although a – is clearer than a 0, understanding what comes next is key. In the case of an armhole, what comes next is, now work even, so you are skipping to the next instruction. However, there are many pattern examples where doing something 0 times does not mean replace those rows with working even. Read example below.
It’s important to step back and ask yourself, what comes next and if my assumption makes sense.
I would interpret the same. Don’t do the bond offs but still work the row.
I would love to tackle Japanese patterns where it’s all about the pattern map and a key; sometimes less is more. Otherwise I’ve been mapping my patterns after I learned from your method. Got my giant graph book to chronicle WIPs; also makes it easier to see where I left off. Love it!
Perfect wake up knitting whimsy for my morning prep before an all distance meeting/teaching prep day.
I love it Stabby Alice…tee hee.
And THANK YOU for “if it ain’t on the page, it ain’t on the stage”: I will SO be using that paraphrased wisdom today if need be.
Gracias!
Wow Patty, thank you!!! After years of failed attempts at knitting set-in sleeves that I couldn’t make to fit properly into the armholes, I gave up and started knitting only sweaters top-down in the round, to avoid the whole issue. I think Patty you’ve just given me the solution to why I could never get them to work! I may even find the courage to tackle a set-in sleeve pattern one more time, just to see!
Wow! Another fantastic article. I got so much out of this. Thank You a Bunch Patty, Ann and Kay.
I’m confused by Patty’s response to the first question. I would interpret the instruction as working 2 rows even. The instruction is phrased as cast off 0 stitches at the beginning of the next 2 rows, so I would do just that. I would only omit the rows if the instruction was to cast off x stitches at the beginning of y rows, where y is a range of numbers relating to different sizes, and for my size, the number y =0.
Have I been doing this wrong for years!?
Doing something zero times, means you are not doing it, so go to the next instruction for your size.
In this person’s example, it is an armhole, so the next instruction IS to work straight until armhole measures x number of inches. Therefore, SKIPPING an instruction that doesn’t apply to you (meaning doing something 0 times or – times) is the SAME as working even, since this is the next instruction. However, that’s not always the case.
Although I personally would use a – rather than a 0, to avoid this confusion, MANY older patterns use 0 to indicate you don’t do that. So, this does not mean you would replace each 0 row with an even row of knitting. I means that instruction doesn’t apply to you, for instance:
Say it was about shaping and the (totally made up) pattern said:
(RS): Shaping row K2, k2tog, work straight to the end of the row.
Rep shaping row every 4th row 0 (0, 2, 3, 4) times followed by every 2nd row 2 (2, 1, 2, 3) times followed by every row 1 (1, 2, 0, 0) time, then work even for 9 rows.
That does NOT mean:
-The smallest size works the shaping row, then works a row even, then works the shaping row every RS row twice.
or that
– The largest size works even for 10 rows
It DOES mean:
– The two smaller sizes would skip the rows that said to shape every 4th row and START the shaping every other row.
and that
– The two largest sizes would be DONE with the shaping in the every other row instruction and skip to now work even for 9 rows.
I get that you wouldn’t work an entire shaping row, but it doesn’t make sense that you’d skip an instruction for treating a *portion* of a row – if the instruction only applies to the first 0, 2, 4, whatever stitches, shouldn’t the rest of that row be unaffected by the instruction? In this case, the “next instruction for my size” would be the remainder of the row.
For an armhole, the next instruction for your size is to work even.
Patty might be a genius. Thanks.
Great article. My biggest learning is to read the pattern thoroughly first (more than once?) and if it involves doing the same thing again in the opposite direction, drop it and run. Right now. Do not pass Go. Save myself. There is too much good, easier stuff out there to do to put myself through the frustrations and mistakes I would make. But, thanks Patty, you tried.
Wonderful article. Such clear explanations! I am feeling my age though, being a knitter for 58 years, when sweater patterns more commonly were written just this way – the second side almost always just said to “reverse the knitting”. Because of this, more detailed explanation was not expected, until pattern writing (for the most part) changed. I appreciate the details included in newer (past 15-20 years?) patterns but am also grateful for those early knitting years of trial and error as patterns written that way don’t put me off.
TOTALLY agree!! I started knitting in the age of “Reverse Shaping” and “At the same time”, and I felt figuring these things out is why I grew confident and not afraid of, knitting patterns. My sadness about every step being written out is that for everything it “clears up”, there’s something else that in confuses. Even the example of when a pattern means to work a row even, rather than skipping to the next instruction (if it says 0) is totally cleared up by understanding the full pattern by stepping back and thinking through logically what would be the result. That thinking comes from those 1/2 page long patterns of my youth!!
Yes, this. Exactly. I’m really mailing myself to the paper to do the one I’m working on, just trust the page. I used to be a “wish-they-spelled-it-out” but then it’s hard to tell what is going on when you mess it up (or they did). Now, if I just follow. the. words. I find the understanding IN the knitting and get it much more deeply than if they had also explained it.
Patty is the best best best! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and making the light go on for lots of us. Those Ah Ha! moments bring the joy back to knitting.
Love the first paragraph! Thanks for this helpful article
I like the mapping idea … helpful.
My mother taught me to knit both fronts/sleeves at the same time … so all your increases/decreases ‘match’ i.e., are done t the same time. It helps also that you can see how you create the reversal.
That being said … I hate the recent patterns that knit sleeves in the round … as though people are afraid of seaming and forget that seams do serve a structural purpose.
I always try to knit 2 of anything that needs to match, sleeves, pockets, collars, etc at the same time. I’ll even try to do 2 sleeves in the round together by alternating working on first one than the other.
PREACH!!! Did you read Kate’s amazing article on seaming – https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/why-try-seamed/
THANK YOU, Kay, Ann, and whoever you have writing your computer programs.
Maybe this change has been here awhile, but today I went up to bookmark/save this great article and discovered no bookmark. Then I looked at the top right corner, and sure enough, my name wasn’t next to the little person. This now makes it so clear that I wasn’t logged in and therefore can’t save something. Again, thank you.
Patty, this is a great article. So helpful. But I also like Mary’s comment to “…drop it and run. Right now. Do not pass Go. Save myself. There is too much good, easier stuff out there to do to put myself through the frustrations and mistakes I would make.”
Unless I want to make that particular sweater and want the mental challenge (which might be the case), then I’ll pass on that one and go to one of the many other great patterns out there which might be more relaxing and fun to knit.
You’ll find ALL knitting relaxing when you own your knitting. Pattern reading only seems complicated because patterns are now spoon fed to us. When you see how totally simple (really, moments that map took me) it is to throw away the words and OWN your knitting, then you can knit any pattern and be relaxed.
PS; Hey, how about a Sweater Map App? Just saying…
Never done a sweater. Been thinking about trying one for a year! But what’s a good beginner sweater!?!
Anything you really really want to wear
I have read almost all the comments, and while I’m positive Patty is right, I have a problem with the way each example was written. In the ‘asker’s’ example, I would definitely have knit 2 plain rows because the instructions only pertain to, as someone down in the comments said, “a little bit of the row at the beginning/end” and not to the entire row. Whereas Patty’s example is written differently so one’s understanding of what to do is somewhat more clear, but not entirely. I’ve seen patterns take the time to say “For sizes a, b, c… do THIS; for sizes x, y, z do THAT” which I think is completely clear. I do not think using a dash “-” is any more helpful than using a “0”, though it isn’t a number as someone else below pointed out.
I believe the problem is with the writing of the pattern, not missing or mis-understanding what’s on the page. I do agree that one should step back and think about the goal towards which one is working, but for a beginning or even intermediate knitter who has not had a more advanced knitter of whom to ask questions, both sets of instructions are problematic.
I completely agree with you here, and no matter how many times I read Patty’s reply, or her other replies in the thread, I just can’t help but see the two examples as completely different.
The opening letter example says, in my mind, and quite specifically, don’t bind off the stitches, *not* don’t knit the rows…”bind off zero stitches for the next two rows” is not the same as “skip this and go to the next instruction”. Whereas the other examples are referring, it would seem to me, quite specifically, about the rows.
Essentially, stitches happen within rows, and rows are complete units- so stitches can be moved, changed, adjusted, etc. within rows, without impacting the row count. Telling you to not move, change or adjust those stitches, is not the same as don’t knit the row.
I agree with both CAPGEMLIB and RYANKNITSTHINGS–but also with Patty Lyons. As a former teacher, I understand that communicating instructions to different people can crop up all kinds of misunderstanding. And I think the example of the BO shows how easily this can happen. As I read through the article and then the comments, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the rows must be knit, but without the BO sts. Correct and correct: it dawned on me that what Patty was saying was that working even for the remainder of the rows means we are all right. Six of one, half dozen of the other. If you knit the two rows without BO, you are still going to work to the specified length. If you don’t knit them, same difference. But that might not be the case in another pattern, which is not simply shaping an armhole, so Patty is correct that understanding what comes next is key.
The issue for me is that some patterns are written with assumptions that EVERY knitter knows the exact meaning of what is being said–or not said. I have come across some truly horrible patterns that made no sense and some that have errors, making all that second-guessing necessary. The mapping idea intrigues me, and I’ll be thinking about that in my knitting future.
The sweater mapping schematic is fabulous. I once knit a SKEINO Miss Grace shawl and the instructions were in color and just mimicked the shawl so you’d just knit the shawl.
I do have one question about your indications: when you write “2 R” for example, does that mean every other (2nd) row on the RS? Is that what the “R” is for?
Yup. I don’t really use any symbol on my map, just the number – 6 for every sixth row, 2 for every other row, I just added an R for the column to stand for row.
The sweater mapping is brilliant! So useful, so clear. Thanks for removing the “I need to be a math genius in order to understand what to do” stigma for not understanding “what does the designer mean.”
Oh, how very extremely timely you are. I am meaning and meaning to get back to the lovely and massively cabled Martin Storey sweater I am making for the Mr. The cables, so many. I have come a long way, and then I hit… the beginning of shaping. I have been meaning to sit down and really map it out and haven’t made time. But I think if I read it all up, write it all out, I can give myself a row-by-row instruction and manage. Right? Totally. For certain.
Patty you are a goddess…..and I decided a while ago that it is completely unnecessary to waste any of one’s precious time in life in knitting patterns that are not written clearly. Designers — theres no excuse! There are so many better written patterns available.
I love the way you explain stuff Patty, you’re always so clear and precise. Fortunately I’ve used all kinds of patterns, including the ones from my grandma’s books which are more like a shorthand recipe than a pattern, so I learned early on to read the instructions carefully and draw it out on graph paper if I still couldn’t get my head around it.
Love you, Patty
I’m late to the party but feel the need to weigh in. I have always done the shaping as Patty says. If the instruction for your size has a – of 0, run away from those rows and do the next instruction. The instructions in the example used say Shapping ROW and the repeat instructions refer to ROWS. To me, that means repeat the entire row x number of rows, so a 0 for your size means skip the entire roe, not just part of it. Some designers make all of unmistakeably clear by writing out shaping separately for each size, grouping matching sizing. We’re I a designer, I would consider this unnecessary extra work. (I feel so much better having put my two cents into the discussion even if no one reads this :).)
Oh I read it and found it quite helpful. I like most of what Patty says but she skipped the part where she says she will be at your side to help you when you Sweater map your next three patterns. I got really stuck when she flipped the map and was immediately able to substitute “ssk, k1” for “k1, k2tog”. That really makes my brain hurt. Come to think about it how did I ever successfully complete that Classic Elite tank from several years back (but have avoided shaping ever since)? So glad I am not the only one, which is a great relaxant in itself! I am thankful, though, Patty. I just want miracles, I guess.
Is your picture at the top cleverly refuting the meaning of the words because there is actually a mistake in the picture?
Some patterns make it explicit as to where you should go for your size, e.g.
Size 1 and 2: Proceed to next section, “Neck and shoulder shaping”.
Size 3 and 4: Bind x (y) sts at start of next 4 rows.
Neck and shoulder shaping
All sizes: Continue in pattern. When armhole depth reaches a (b, c, d) …
I can’t think of a garment pattern that has this structure off the top of my head. Bev Galeskas’s classic “Felt Clogs” pattern has it.
Also, when reversing shaping for the armhole/neckline/shoulder area, I think I am correct in saying that you end up with one more row on the second side. This is because you can’t exactly reverse bind off directions e.g. “Bind off 4 sts at start of row” can’t be exactly mirrored to “Bind off 4 sts at end of row”. Also, for simplicity, it is better to do all your decreases on the right side rather than trying to mirror them exactly with p2tog or p2tog tbl on a wrong side row.
This extra row flummoxed me for a while until someone kindly pointed out that a difference of one row doesn’t matter and I should stop worrying myself – excellent advice, although I do admit to sometimes reattaching the yarn on the second side and sliding the stitches to the other end of the needle (circs) so I can go from a knit row to another knit row, if you get what I mean.
I should probably stick to drop shoulder boat necks!
I am making single-row buttonholes on a sweater, but I want to undo the second buttonhole because I mistakenly spaced it. How do I undo a buttonhole that has 4 cast-off stitches. I’m stuck!
Yay! Saved me just in time! I have been tried to be very disciplined about – just do what it says …..not what you think it says as of late – which has been helpful — but when it doesn’t say…. well that was stumping me, till now.
Wow! Sweater mapping sounds great! In all my confusion, one day, we were sitting at the kitchen table knitting. I asked my grandmother, aunt and mother, “How do I reverse it?, It says reverse same as other side”…….they said, “just knit both pieces at the same time, your hands will know what to do to reverse it”. So, that is what I did. It worked. The sweater always look a little bit off, unlike theirs, my sweaters don’t look as good. It’s the same with cooking, I had to follow recipes to the letter for many years until I could just wing it. I still follow recipes and knitting patterns. It works better for me. Now, you have given us mapping. Mapping sounds like the solution to better fitting sweaters. Thank you.
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