Zoey Cardigan KAL - Week 2
Woo! Week one of casting on and starting is done... and I'd like to tell you that week 2 gets more exciting but it really doesn't. Not that this WHOLE THING isn't exciting. It totally is! But I think we can all agree that the increases on a raglan-style sweater like this is the hardest part. But I promise, by the time you're done this weeks' allotment of work you're going to be SO jazzed!
Let's take a look at this weeks progress - there's not much posting going on so far but the two that I'm seeing are looking awesome:
The aqua on the left is by @jesb_712 and her colorway is the "I Ain't Afraid of No Color" combination which I'm DYING to see completed; and the right is from @monkeyjg and she's put together her own combination and has even added a 4th color. Squeeeee! I love folks creativity!
If you haven't gone too far afield and you knit the first 5" or so of the sweater then you've likely finished one skein of yarn. Here's where I'm at after my first skein (1 row beyond 5"):
Since there isn't much more in the way of "teaching" for this weeks' round of work, I thought I'd share some tidbits on increasing since I can't NOT share info. I feel like the whole point of KAL's is to learn something so let's talk about increase styles since, well, we're doing a whole lot more increasing this week.
Increase Variations
When you work increases in pairs like we are for the raglan shaping on this sweater, you're always going to get a 45-degree increase like you see on the shoulders of your sweater. That's nothing new. It's HOW we're increasing that makes the difference.
On the Zoey Cardigan we're using a simple M1 increase with right and left slants with one stitch in between the increases. What that does to the stitch in between the increases is elongate the stitch and give you the look you see above. It's my preferred method for basic raglan sweaters since it uses the fewest stitches but there are some wonderful other options to use.
For example, the Pilsner Pullover, just released by Ewe Ewe Yarns, has a wider raglan banding but also incorporates the M1's like our Zoey Cardigan. Check our how a few additional stitches between the M1's changes the look of the raglan (also, the pocket is the CUTEST):
M1's are popular because they tend to close up nicely and continue a stockinette look across increases. K1fb's are a great alternative as they don't create holes but you DO end up with the purl bumps that some folks would sooner avoid (but are PERFECT for garter stitch increases).
And last but not least, our old friend, the YO increase. This is a beautifully decorative way to make increases in a sweater. As I am a loose knitter I tend to avoid YO's for my raglan increases however in the right application, like the Pop Your Color Cardigan (also from Ewe Ewe Yarns) it's the perfect accent to a sweet, simple sweater that gives it just the right amount of decoration.
If you want to get REALLY fancy, you can start throwing cables into the raglan increase bands - the possibilities are actually surprisingly endless - you just have to decide how fancy you want to make it.
Ok - so now you can get back to your myriad of increases. When you get to the point where you're ready to divide for the sleeves I'd recommend stopping since there's some thought that needs to go into that bit.
Stay in touch!
To stay in touch with me and the other folks participating in this KAL, join our group on Ravelry, tag me on Instagram and use #zoeycardigankal and #unapologeticknitter.
And by all means, if you have questions, email me at meaghan@unapologeticknitter.com or message me on Rav (SoCalMeaghan), leave a comment here, or leave questions in the Discussion board.
**NOTE**
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Happy Knitting!!!