I Know How to Knit Short Rows. I Still Got These Wrong.

Apparently, I have Champagne on the brain.

Which, knowing me, isn't exactly surprising.

So I guess it was inevitable that I would end up knitting and teaching the Champagne Cardigan.

Last week I flew to California for my daughter's wedding, and naturally I brought everything for my Champagne Cardigan with me.

I wanted to work through it carefully before we start knitting it together in Club. Then, somewhere over the country, I turned on the in-flight entertainment and watched Widow Clicquot.

I mean, how could I resist a French* film about Champagne?

I wanted to get started on this cardigan because the last sweater we did together had some aspects that I would like to have handled on my own before I taught the sweater to others.

I knew the techniques and understood the construction, which has always been enough in the past. But with Saila, it was not.

So this time I'm knitting through the tricky bits of the Champagne Cardigan ahead of the Club and marking up my pattern as I go.

And it's a good thing too.

Short rows

Right after that, there are short rows, as I knew there would be. But I found myself reading the pattern and doing the short rows and wondering, “Is this what she means?”

I know how to work short rows. I've done them plenty of times. The short rows themselves weren't the problem.

I just wasn't completely sure how to interpret what the instructions were telling me to do at that particular point.

The pattern says, "Purl to 3 sts after last WS turn (meaning purl to the turning stitch, then purl 3 more sts"

I read that carefully, and decided that decided that it meant that I would purl to where I turned, and work three more stitches, which would include the short row stitch.  So, resolve the double stitch, and worked two more stitches.

Wrong.

So I went back and resolved the double stitch and then worked three more stitches.  I believe that to be the correct interpretation, although I am used to seeing "resolve the double stitch, then work X more stitches."

This isn't a criticism of the pattern. It's just something that happens in knitting.

No matter how carefully a designer writes an instruction, and no matter how carefully we read it, there is still room for interpretation. Does she mean this? Or does she mean this?

And experience doesn't necessarily prevent that.

Sometimes you have to actually put the thing on the needles to see what's happening.

I'm glad I ran into this now instead of at the first class. Honestly, it would probably be fine either way, but now, when someone gets to that same place and asks me, I can explain the subtle difference and why I think the second way is what she meant.

We have a lot of good and experienced knitters in the Club, and I know they appreciate knowing that the pattern instructions can be confusing. It’s not just them—I got it wrong the first time.

Small changes, big impact

I'm also using different increases than the ones specified in the pattern because I think they look better and are easier to do. And I must say, I think my method of assigning stitch marker colors really helps keep you from making mistakes in the increases.

I’m also using a couple of different techniques that will give the garment structure despite it being seamless.

But before all the knitting, I spent some time on fit, particularly ease and raglan depth.

Choosing the correct size doesn't necessarily mean every proportion of a sweater will be correct for your body. Raglans are famous for their easy and uncomplicated fit, but I like everyone to check her own raglan depth and understand what she's looking at before deciding whether she needs to make a change.

These are the things I've thought about before casting on as well as the things I’m noticing because I'm actually knitting the sweater now, rather than looking at the pattern and thinking, Yes, I know how to do all of that.

Because I do know how to do all of that.

And I still got the short rows wrong.

That's probably the biggest of several lessons I took away from Saila. Knowing how to knit a sweater isn't quite the same thing as having knit this sweater.

So I'm going first this time.

I'll make my notes, try things, change things where I think there's a better way, and undoubtedly find a few more places that make me stop and think.

Then we'll knit it together.

Want to knit the Champagne Cardigan With Me?

We're starting the Champagne Cardigan October 15 inside Club Crazy for Ewe.

We'll work through the sweater together, including yarn and size choices, the short rows, keeping the increases organized, raglan fit and modifications, and all the questions that come up once we actually start knitting.

You certainly don't need me to teach you how to knit.

But if you'd like to have someone who's already knit down the road a little ahead of you, I'd love to have you join us.

Come Knit Champagne With Me →

*Widow Clicquot is an international French-British-American production, filmed in France and performed in English.