I have just completed a cardigan and have issues with the collar, checked again with the pattern and I’ve followed it correctly. Trying to look for solutions on RUclips and found your video. I’m so surprised that the red cardigan in your video is exactly the same one I’ve knitted. Hope I can sort that problem out as it is a very lovely one❤️❤️❤️
❤ Okay, game changer - thank you! I could not suss out why the backs of my collars are always too shallow, despite short row shaping. Now you've taught me it's because the back neck bindoff was defeating the effort! Thank you so much!
You could sew seam binding tape along the ridge of the purple sweater to help support the shoulders and keep the neckline in the back from stretching. Either just the tape alone, or along with the crochet.
I would consider working short rows in garter st instead of rib for the collar for the first sweater. There would be less to no rib visible when the collar is turned back.
Kathy Trajkovska rib and garter will both be very stretchy. Maybe use a smaller needle with moss stitch, or even stockinette to keep the section from stretching.
This was great fun, Rox. I loved seeing how you revisited the collars, and I'm glad you got to look at the reference books. I have heard many people swear by putting those crochet stitches in the collar as a stay. Also, the story about your mother-in-law's wrap is really funny.
What a beautiful baby sweater! It's also exactly what I'd love to knit for myself. Does anyone know of a grandpa sweater pattern for women? Also - Roxanne, have you ever got "caught" inspecting a stranger's sweater trying to figure out how it was made? Was your explanation received kindly? Seems like it could be a kind of funny situation...
The baby sweater comes in 14 sizes, from 0-3 months up to 4XL. There's no reason you couldn't knit that same sweater for yourself. I knit a women's Grandpa sweater by Jo-Ji a couple of years ago, but found the collar to be way too narrow to serve as an actual shawl collar. I would suggest doing a Ravelry search, using filters that match the criteria you are looking for (e.g. V-neck, shawl collar, cables, etc.)
I have never knit a shawl collar, and an still learning (a lot!) about the difference between woven and hand-knit fabric when it comes to dealing with the contours of the body. Still, it strikes me as interesting that these shawl collars seem to be constructed from straight rib. The shape of a shawl collar when it lies properly against the body is narrower on the folded edge and wider on the lower edge. The stretch in the rib must allow it to flare out at that lower edge, but surely it wants to draw back in, leading to it slowly climbing the neck as it tries to find a narrower point on the body?
The shawl collar gets wider starting at the base of the V neck, on up to the point where the back of the neck begins, and maintains the widest width across the back neck. The collar can be worked perpendicular to the edge, or it can be knit in parallel with the edge. For the latter, as the V neck causes the body to get narrower, the collar gets wider.
Hi Rox, I don’t think that’s quite what I mean. I think you are talking about the width of the collar across the “lapel”. I’m talking about the perpendicular measurement, from the base of the v around the back of the neck and back. The fold of the collar takes that path high on the back of the neck, a relatively short distance, while the lower, free edge of the collar should take that path a good few inches further down, over the shoulders. That lower path is longer than you might think (I’ve been surprised when drafting coat collars before!).
So the same number of stitches that we want to run nicely along that folded edge must also stretch out to follow the path along the free edge of the collar, does that make sense? Obviously this kind of collar must work much better in hand knit fabric, which is stretchy and can be blocked to shape. Still, I thought it was interesting!
Rox, check this out! Sloan Rosenthal has just posted two blog entries about those back-sloped shoulders, and why people use them. sloanerosenthalknits.com/blog
I live in Michigan and the service people put paper booties over their shoes when they come in the house. (I don't care for your darning technique, I would remove the foot and pickup stitches and knit a new lower portion of the sock so as not to waste the yarn)
And I would darn the daylights out of the foot and then, when it was just too worn out, unravel and recondition the good yarn from the leg to use in future projects.
Understandable, I however go to thrift shops to find sweaters for a dollar that I can frog to get good quality yarn cheaply. I'm retired and on a very fixed income so I am very frugal. I grew up on a farm and I have always tried to get the most out of the least. Even when I was married and my husband could afford new socks, I would darn his old ones until he yelled at me to go shopping, LOL. I think it is ingrained into my psyche at this point.
I like to reuse things, too. I have three drawers of socks, but I just can’t throw them away when they get holes. I darn, and darn, and darn again! When the bottoms are no longer usable, I carefully separate the leg, pick up those stitches, and Knit another heel and foot out of coordinating yarn. Because I love knitting socks, and I don’t want to throw away the good part that is still pretty and usable.
I don't reknit sock feet, but I am a doll collector and sock yarn is often a good thickness for doll knitting. I salvage all the good yarn from my worn out socks and use it for my dolls.
I have just completed a cardigan and have issues with the collar, checked again with the pattern and I’ve followed it correctly. Trying to look for solutions on RUclips and found your video. I’m so surprised that the red cardigan in your video is exactly the same one I’ve knitted. Hope I can sort that problem out as it is a very lovely one❤️❤️❤️
I love how you take risks in your work -- especially in talking through challenges and assessing solutions.
❤ Okay, game changer - thank you! I could not suss out why the backs of my collars are always too shallow, despite short row shaping. Now you've taught me it's because the back neck bindoff was defeating the effort! Thank you so much!
You're awesome. I like that "not having the will to do it" is a good enough reason not to.
Really well explained!
You could sew seam binding tape along the ridge of the purple sweater to help support the shoulders and keep the neckline in the back from stretching. Either just the tape alone, or along with the crochet.
If you do any of the fixes you mentioned for your collars, could you do a video to show us what you do? That would be very instructive. Thanks.
Don't have time to watch your complete episode right now, but what a gorgeous baby sweater. I'm going to add it to my baby favorites!
Yeah, it's fabulous!
Absolutely love the baby sweater! So adorable.
How precious, your mother-in-law sounds great, love it. You make me stretch my thinking in knitting (if that makes any sense!ha)
I would consider working short rows in garter st instead of rib for the collar for the first sweater. There would be less to no rib visible when the collar is turned back.
Great idea!
Kathy Trajkovska rib and garter will both be very stretchy. Maybe use a smaller needle with moss stitch, or even stockinette to keep the section from stretching.
Steven Be is coming to the Big Apple Knitters Guild tomorrow! I will be there.
This was great fun, Rox. I loved seeing how you revisited the collars, and I'm glad you got to look at the reference books. I have heard many people swear by putting those crochet stitches in the collar as a stay. Also, the story about your mother-in-law's wrap is really funny.
I can get behind your approach to darning. Lol.
You darn socks the same way I do!
What a beautiful baby sweater! It's also exactly what I'd love to knit for myself. Does anyone know of a grandpa sweater pattern for women? Also - Roxanne, have you ever got "caught" inspecting a stranger's sweater trying to figure out how it was made? Was your explanation received kindly? Seems like it could be a kind of funny situation...
The baby sweater comes in 14 sizes, from 0-3 months up to 4XL. There's no reason you couldn't knit that same sweater for yourself. I knit a women's Grandpa sweater by Jo-Ji a couple of years ago, but found the collar to be way too narrow to serve as an actual shawl collar. I would suggest doing a Ravelry search, using filters that match the criteria you are looking for (e.g. V-neck, shawl collar, cables, etc.)
I have never knit a shawl collar, and an still learning (a lot!) about the difference between woven and hand-knit fabric when it comes to dealing with the contours of the body. Still, it strikes me as interesting that these shawl collars seem to be constructed from straight rib. The shape of a shawl collar when it lies properly against the body is narrower on the folded edge and wider on the lower edge. The stretch in the rib must allow it to flare out at that lower edge, but surely it wants to draw back in, leading to it slowly climbing the neck as it tries to find a narrower point on the body?
The shawl collar gets wider starting at the base of the V neck, on up to the point where the back of the neck begins, and maintains the widest width across the back neck. The collar can be worked perpendicular to the edge, or it can be knit in parallel with the edge. For the latter, as the V neck causes the body to get narrower, the collar gets wider.
Hi Rox, I don’t think that’s quite what I mean. I think you are talking about the width of the collar across the “lapel”. I’m talking about the perpendicular measurement, from the base of the v around the back of the neck and back. The fold of the collar takes that path high on the back of the neck, a relatively short distance, while the lower, free edge of the collar should take that path a good few inches further down, over the shoulders. That lower path is longer than you might think (I’ve been surprised when drafting coat collars before!).
So the same number of stitches that we want to run nicely along that folded edge must also stretch out to follow the path along the free edge of the collar, does that make sense? Obviously this kind of collar must work much better in hand knit fabric, which is stretchy and can be blocked to shape. Still, I thought it was interesting!
Rox, check this out! Sloan Rosenthal has just posted two blog entries about those back-sloped shoulders, and why people use them. sloanerosenthalknits.com/blog
I live in Michigan and the service people put paper booties over their shoes when they come in the house. (I don't care for your darning technique, I would remove the foot and pickup stitches and knit a new lower portion of the sock so as not to waste the yarn)
And I would darn the daylights out of the foot and then, when it was just too worn out, unravel and recondition the good yarn from the leg to use in future projects.
I have 40 pairs of hand knit socks, and tons of sock yarn. After 11 years, I'd rather have a new pair!
Understandable, I however go to thrift shops to find sweaters for a dollar that I can frog to get good quality yarn cheaply. I'm retired and on a very fixed income so I am very frugal. I grew up on a farm and I have always tried to get the most out of the least. Even when I was married and my husband could afford new socks, I would darn his old ones until he yelled at me to go shopping, LOL. I think it is ingrained into my psyche at this point.
I like to reuse things, too. I have three drawers of socks, but I just can’t throw them away when they get holes. I darn, and darn, and darn again! When the bottoms are no longer usable, I carefully separate the leg, pick up those stitches, and Knit another heel and foot out of coordinating yarn. Because I love knitting socks, and I don’t want to throw away the good part that is still pretty and usable.
I don't reknit sock feet, but I am a doll collector and sock yarn is often a good thickness for doll knitting. I salvage all the good yarn from my worn out socks and use it for my dolls.