Saturday 3 March 2007

wasabi jumper conundrum



oh dear. i was afraid of this. do you see that ridge where i moved from knitting the body in the round, to separating the front and back and knitting each part straight?

here's my dilemma: i doubt if it can be fixed or avoided in the first place. so do i continue and resign myself to the fact that there will be a distinct line across my bodice and back, or do i rip it back and start over (how?)

and i believe that the sleeves are done the same way: start in the round and then finish straight. how weird will that look???

or am i the only person who will ever notice it - besides all those other eagle-eyed handknitters out there?

i really love this jumper so far and want to see it through to the end, so i can wear it with pride and tell people, "yes, i made it myself. isn't it lovely?" but will i always have that twinge of disappointment that it was going so well until i hit that critical point?

any and all advice welcome! please!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

it looks like the part that was knit on straight needles is tighter (different gauge) -- did you change needle size or type of needle (i tend to knit more loosely with metal needles vs. bamboo).

Darx said...

So this is that age-old problem of realizing that your gauge in knit one side purl the other is different than your knit in the round gauge. It seems to me like the options are to either practice on some side project to get your tension more even on knit/purl vs knit-round, or, depending on the shaping of the top (what kind of sleeves?) you could do a steek (eek a steek, easy for me to say, I haven't done them myself yet). Here's another idea: what if you did one or two rows of a nice coordinating color to kind of intentionally separate the body from the yoke at the same place on both sleeves and body? Then the different gauge will look more like a design element. Just a thought. Also, I LOVE that yarn. Location: Droolville, population: me.

Anonymous said...

It's a bit hard to tell from the photo, but it looks to me as if the stitches are twisted in the part knit in the round. Maybe you can get an experienced friend or someone at a yarn store to watch you knit and make sure this is not the case?

It could just be that it's a difference in gauge, as the other person commented, as the top part certainly looks tighter and more even. Many people have a slightly different gauge when knitting as opposed to purling, so having a section that is all knit will look different from one where you knit a rown, then purl a row.

If it's an issue of different types of needles, you can use your circular needles for the back-and-forth top of the sweater. If it's a difference in gauge when purling, you could knit with the same needle size, then purl across on a slightly larger needle.

brandarling said...

thanks for all the help! a few responses:

a) it's all the same needle, only difference is knitting in the round vs knitting straight

b) my gauge is slightly different when knitting in the round vs knitting straight, mainly due to my knitting style. i knit off my left hand without twisting the yarn. for some reason, when i knit straight it makes nice, tight straight stitches, but when i knit in the round it has a natural twisting effect - almost like the stitches are stacked on each other. i knew this would be a problem when i started the jumper.

c) i could follow jenny's advice: block with soapy water and hope for the best.

d) i could follow darcy's advice: steek (eek, indeed!)

e) i think, however, that i will rip it back and use a different stitch for the straight part. big question: what stitch???!!! part of me thinks something like moss stitch. part of me is leaning toward a more lacy stitch. what to do?!

sorry to everyone who got caught in my "comment moderation" trap. i enabled it a while ago to reduce spam.

Anonymous said...

I am currently knitting in the round for the first time and have just divided my sweater for front and back. I haven't noticed a change in gauge but your posting has me eyeing my jumper suspiciously. I will come back to your blog and check out how you're getting on when I have finished mine. I am thinking of going to the Foyles knitting group on Tuesday, do you still attend?