Slade: Version #2

Slade:  by Michele Wang

The photo above is my son finally getting to wear a cardigan I knit for him way back in November.  But it didn't always fit this well.  Here is my tale of woe:

When I started my blog two and half years ago I cheekily named it Woolercoaster:  the Ups and Downs of a Knitter.   Up to now I have mostly shared my knitting successes with you, but today I need to discuss a fail.  When I originally blogged about Slade, a Brooklyn Tweed pattern, that I had knit for my son, I admitted to you that I was not happy with the sleeves.  I wished for some expert knitter to appear in my life and magically tell me what I should do to fix them.  I still am not sure where I went wrong.   Although the body fit well, the sleeves I knit were a total fail. See what I mean? 

Following the well written pattern by Michele Wang, I knit the original sleeves from the cuff up, and then seamed them into the sweater.  All I can tell you is the sleeves were ridiculously huge.  I attempted several times to rip back and reknit the upper sleeves and reseam them, but to no avail.  I knew in my heart of hearts that if I truly wanted my son to wear this cardigan, I would have to reknit the sleeves from the beginning.  

I don't really know anyone with tons of experience in this area so I was left to my own devices.  I put the sweater away and finally got the courage to look at it last weekend.  I decided to rip out every stitch of those sleeves and start again. Using 5.0mm needles I picked up 60 stitches around the armhole and proceeded to do a set-in sleeve, using a previous cardigan pattern (Capall Dubh), that I had knit before, as guidance.  

Set-in sleeve

Once the cap was done I decreased two stitches every ten rows until I got down to 52 stitches.  When it came to the cuff I knit the ribbing in 3.75 mm needles. Happily the result is much better fitting sleeves (still not perfect but definitely wearable). 

I am trying hard not to think of all those hours I spent on the sleeves and just focus on how much better the cardigan looks.  The great thing is my son is so appreciative and loves handknits, so I foresee him getting a lot of wear out of this sweater.