I got a bee in my bonnet a couple of weeks ago (June 13 to be exact), when I decided to look up the other sweater class that I had bought after I bought the Affiknity one. I wanted to check and see if that sweater was also seamed. I hoped it wasn’t – that it was knit in one piece in the round. No such luck – it’s definitely seamed. Ugh.
I had already purchased yarn for it, and that yarn was 90% cotton, 10% wool, a sport (medium) weight. Another sigh. Cotton is very hard on my hands. However, I had an idea of trying a summer sweater – a tee with some patterned stitches. I found one that I thought might work, and wound some of the yarn.
The first thing I did after knitting a few rounds was change needles. I had started with some of my favorite wooden needles, but the yarn was not sliding along them very easily at all. And I’m not a super tight knitter. I picked up my Chiaogoo metal interchangeable needles, and they helped quite a bit.
I also started the sweater using my usual knitting method, when I remembered that my row gauge is way off when there is any purling involved. My purl stitches are just a smidge too big (and honestly, look a little sloppy). Over time that really shows up in the garment length (as evidenced in my recent disaster in Affiknity). I also noticed that when I knit back and forth, my “purl back” rows are even more evident on the front of the work (there was some short row shaping). The stitches, being larger, make the stockinette rows very bumpy instead of the smooth ones I get when I knit in the round.
All of that is to say – I changed how I knit about one-third of the way through to combination knitting. Essentially, in combination knitting you purl stitches clockwise instead of counter-clockwise around the needle, which seats the stitch backwards. It uses less yarn, and tightens the stitches a bit. Then you have to remember to knit or purl into the back of the stitch on the following round instead of the front. I actually tried this for the first go-round of Affiknity, but it made the work super tight with wooden needles. And I didn’t even think of trying (more slippery) metal needles. Duh.
Even knitting on a few other things, I managed to make this sweater in two weeks! I cast on Saturday morning, June 14, and bound off and wove in the ends June 28. I’m super happy with it, and would consider making it again in a different yarn. It’s very comfy, can be dressed up or down, and fits quite well. Score!