Gusset experiment

"Mystic" sweater progress, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

There is half a sleeve left to knit, but I've started seaming the sweater: to have some of it over and done with, to see how it turns out and to make it easier to handle. (It was like having an octopus in my lap.)

When I knitted St Brigid recently I added cables to the edges of the sleeves to make the seam as invisible as possible. I've done the same thing here, but developed the idea: the cables start at the bottom of the front and back pieces. When I got nearer to the armholes I added increases on each side of them to make a kind of gusset, and when I picked up stitches for the sleeves I added the gusset stitches. This way I could continue the cables without interruption.

The negative thing about it is that there is not only a cable but also a seam in the middle of the armhole, which might make it less comfortable than an ordinary gusset, but I wanted to give it a try anyway.

Kanske blir det lite obekvämt med en bred fläta med en söm i mitten i armhålan, men jag kunde inte låta bli att testa en idé jag fick. När jag stickade St Brigid nyligen lade jag till flätor i kanterna på ärmarna och tyckte att det blev snyggt - och då fick jag för mig att jag skulle testa att ha det så hela vägen från höft till handled. För att få en kilform under armarna ökade jag på var sida om flätorna och satte maskorna på trådar efter att jag hade kommit till ärmhålen. Sedan fortsatte jag på dem i samband med att jag plockade upp maskor för att sticka ärmarna.

Aranish sweater: joins

Aranish sweater progress, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

Perhaps this picture gives a better idea of the construction: the two gusset halves are about to be joined (three-needle bind-off) and the needle shows where the side seam is.

Den här bilden visar kanske tydligare hur jag tänkte mig konstruktionen. Man ser de två kilhalvorna som möts under armen; jag tänker maska av dem tillsammans. Det syns också var sidsömmen är, alltså inte mitt i sidan.

St. Brigid finished

St. Brigid: attaching neckband, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

This is the first time I've knitted a neckband separately before sewing it in place - but probably not the last time! It was rather tricky getting the length right and making the seam neat, but I really like the horizontal braid: a glorious finishing touch to an already gorgeous design. Starmore for president!

I added a finishing touch of my own: framing the sleeves with cables that slant in opposite directions. When joined by the sleeve seam they form a new cable pattern.

sleeve seam

With this sweater finished I thought I'd return to the 19th century-style "spedetröja" I started a some time ago and that has been lying waiting patiently in my bag the past couple of weeks. But lying under what? Look at the tip of the needle! Perhaps it bent out of resentment being neglected.