Sunday, October 17, 2010

knitting advice, please!

I have started a new knitting project. So excited, but I have a question: I'm making the Slouchy Cardigan from Greetings from Knit Cafe (I checked it out of the library). (Leslie's beautiful version of the sweater is posted here). The yarn is some gorgeous "aran weight" wool my mom bought me on her trip to Ireland a few months ago. I love it. Here is my question: I put in one row of knit-one purl-one ribbing along the bottom as directed in the pattern, but as you can see, it is curling badly. Do I rip all this out and put in more rows of ribbing? And also, if I do so, do I knit-one purl-one on the back as well? Or would that be purl-one knit-one on the wrong side rows? As you can see I'm a real beginner.
I'm only about 4 inches in, so it would not be too bad to rip the whole thing out. (The pattern calls for alpaca, not wool. Would alpaca not curl as bad? What do you think?)

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

you'll probably be able to flatten that curl out with blocking, when you're done knitting. however, if you want to ensure that it lays flat, about an inch or two of ribbing couldn't hurt. and: when you're working the ribbing, you'll want to k1, p1 on the right and wrong sides--just knit where you see a knit stitch and purl where you see a purl stitch.

good luck!

Jennie C. said...

I'm a beginner, too, but I'll tell you, in case you didn't know, that a purl is the reverse side of a knit, so when you flip it over, the stitches you knitted on the front will look like purls on the back. So you just have to knit the knits and purl the purls. I don't know how to stop the curling, though, except by adding a border that doesn't curl. Perhaps it'll straighten out at the assembly stage?

Studio Paars said...

Like it was said before, just knit the stitches on the wrong side as they come along.
I think you may be able to work out the curling at the blocking stage, but if you want to be absolutely sure it doesn't curl I would suggest you rip it all out and at least double your ribbing edge.
Good luck!

Elisa said...

I'm just making a baby cardigan and did this seed stitch for the first time. It's quite pretty and doesn't roll at all. I'm not sure if you want it to look like this though. Here's a picture from the pattern. http://doveknits.blogspot.com/2008/04/free-pattern-green-zebra-baby-sweater.html

Look at the baby cardigan on the edges...it looks like little bumps/seeds =)

Work seed stitch bottom band:

Row 1: (k1, p1) to end of row
Row 2: (p1, k1) to end of row

Deb Robertson Writes said...

Knitting does just curl! But when you have finished it you put a damp cloth on it and press with a warmish iron and it flattens out. Well that's what my mum taught me to do. I'm not sure what's different between that and blocking!

Tava said...

If you don't put a good ribbing edge on it, it will curl. That's what stockinette stitch does. Knit 2, Purl 2 ribbing would work. Or you could do the seed stitch. Good luck!
PS- I don't think blocking will get rid of the curl all the way. If you don't do ribbing it will always be a roll edge sweater.

Tava said...

Also, wool does not roll more than alpaca. Alpaca is stretchy and slouchy so a sweater out of pure alpaca will get stretched out. Good thing you are using wool!
I just looked at the pattern and a seed stitch border would look lovely! Maybe 8-10 rows.

Unknown said...

I'm thinking that you will be ok when it's blocked. A couple inches of ribbing would be a good idea though. Good luck...

cagio said...

Looking at the finished sweater - I really like the thin edge - it gives it more grace and movement. I would recommend maybe leaving a question for Leslie asking if she had an issue or checking for that pattern on ravelry to see if anyone else noted a problem with rolling. I too think that you might be fine with blocking at the end. I think extra ribbing might make it lose such nice lines but perhaps not. Good luck and let us know comes from it.

Fiona said...

I think checking Ravelry is a great idea that someone else suggested. The projects section of a pattern is a mine of information. If you look closely at Leslie's photo the rib does curl at the edges. She also says she added an extra 2 rows of rib which you can see in the photo. I'd say a inch of rib would get rid of curling in the finished garment. Remember that the curling is worse before you've assembled the pieces of the cardigan together.
Also for your Irish reader, what is the name of this lovely aran wool? Good wool is hard to find, even in this wooly land :)

Michelle said...

Hi Mary Beth! I tend to agree with the other readers that some more ribbing would be helpful. I wonder if you could pick up stitches along the edge for this, after you've pieced it together, then do the ribbing all together?

Also, my favorite site for knitting questions is
http://www.knittinghelp.com/

THere are free videos, and tons of info-- it's how I learned to purl and cast off!

Good luck:-)
~Michelle

PS I finally got my shawl photos up today!

Mary Beth said...

Thanks, everyone, for the advice! Most likely I will rip this back and add one more row of ribbing, although I hate to rip out this much knitting. Just one more row would maintain the graceful lines but ease out the curl, I think.

Fiona--it is Tivoli Celtic Aran (superwash). I'm enjoying it so much. It's a dream to knit with! (I see on the price tag that she got it at Blarney Woollen Mills).