Knitalong : Sewing it up

For effect I am showing you the mattress seam with really contrasting  yarn. The video shows you how to do this stitch in depth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhkQKqz2r3M or the short wordless version, my  fave:
http://vimeo.com/35725038
But as you can see in the second photo, pulling both ends of the blue yarn make it disappear. Such a great trick. I first learned this, not in knitting but when I worked for an upholsterer and had to sew many pillows shut. It is much easier to do on a sweater, really.

 I didn't use blue yarn for the real sewing however. Hint: sew the underarm (those 12 bound off stitches) to the to the body part first, and then finish the sleeve, going from the sleeve end back to the underarm. Then do the side seams from the hem back up. Bury the loose ends, of course. I use a crochet hook rather than a tapestry needle and just pull the ends through the back loops of the purls, a few times.

Why did I choose this pattern, when I never like to sew seams? Because this was how I learned to do my first sweater as a 15 year old, and I guess it was worth it to learn.  The part I really like was NOT HAVING TO SEW THE SLEEVE CAP. I would much rather pick up the sleeve than sew it in, as there is no lumpy seam.
And you may have noticed that the directions required no shaping, that is, no decreasing or increasing every 4-6 rows. Not a bit of it. And yet it all fits nicely anyway. Imagine that.
Running low on yarn made me do a half sleeve, which looks just right being untapered. If I had done this with enough yarn to make long sleeves, I would have decreased on the rest of the sleeve to make it fit the narrower part of the arm. My narrow parts need to be emphasized.
I got the necessary width and length in the blocking, thanks to the stretchiness of garter stitch. When I first started to knit I thought garter looked like it was inside out. Now I find it to be a truly elegant fabric. Plus it hides most of my knitting inconsistencies.
I am not all that thrilled with the neckline split, but it does work with a shirt underneath, which is no doubt how I will wear this. Altho the yarn is not merino, it isn't very itchy, but it is too warm for summer and not warm enough to wear alone in the winter, hence, something under it will do.

Sorry about the tiny bit of cleavage...not my style.







I must always include a stupid back view, mustn't I?
A word about how I knit...all day. It has been raining for days, and the laundry is done, and Dave was washing the downstairs floors (and waxing!!) so I was stuck upstairs or in my studio and just had plenty of time to knit. It is not a race.
Also I knit with the yarn in my left hand and that does make it faster. See this video: http://vimeo.com/4961980

PS. This will be our next project.