FEBRUARY LADY UPDATE TWO

We are all merrily knitting along on our FEBRUARY LADY, and it is so exciting to see the colours that everyone has picked.  Stay tuned for some progress pics over the weekend.  So by now you are making your way to the armholes or for those who have ignored their snow shovel for the past week, you may already be at the transition point.  There will be four rows of the Gull Lace Pattern to finish before separating for the armholes and body.

Here are some helpful tips to get you through this next step-

1. Remember to place markers on your needle to designate the front borders, these stitches will remain in garter stitch throughout the body. 

2. The pattern calls for seven stitches to be cast on for the underarms, this will add a fair bit of width to the sleeve.  If you have very narrow arms (skinny minny) then you may choose to only cast on a few stitches and decrease these extra sts over the first few rows of the sleeve (this will make a small gusset at the underarm).  Don't worry about this until later, just mull it over while knitting the body.  Both the body and sleeves are worked over a seven stitch repeat so whatever you add or take away has to ultimately equal a multiple of seven stitches.

3. If you have chosen a handpainted yarn to work with, i.e. Malabrigo Merino Worsted or Rhichard Devrieze Merino Worsted, it is advisable to work invisible stripes starting at the top of the body section.  This means working with two skeins at one time (to evenly blend dyes) by knitting to the first marker (front border) then joining a second skein, work two rows in the pattern, then bring the first skein up to continue the next row (a small strand will be formed on the inside of the front border).

4. Remember to cast off with a larger needle on your last row of garter stitch (bottom border).  This is important to create more swing in your cardigan. 

Happy Knitting!