From Clair: This sweater was knit as a tube so that the motifs could be knit continuously, and not back and forth as one would do on straight needles. When the first tube was complete, I crocheted a row on either side of where the cut was to be made. Here is the sweater with the first cut done--the armholes were also later steeked.
Because the knitted fabric was fairly open and airy (knit with size 8 needles and fingering yarn), the crocheted rows didn't perform well and some of the floats on the back side looked like they might work loose after the cut, so I ran a couple of rows of machine stitching along either side to reinforce things. I skipped the crocheting later on the armhole steeks and used machine stitching only, with no problems.
I very much wanted to use this fabric for a facing but, even with several adjustments, it just didn't work and pulled up one side of the sweater. So, out it came, to be set aside for some future use.
The photos below, showing the finished sweater, are all by Karen L.
The photo below is a detail of the front, showing the second tube, which was picked up along the front cut edge, knit sideways to the body of the sweater, then cut apart at the bottom center front. (See the comments below for a more detailed explanation).
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| Back detail |
