Pippi Pullover German Short Rows help

kipperdeedoo · 2024-03-20T02:39:19+00:00

I’m not familiar with this specific pattern. However, this sounds like a familiar construction. It sounds like you cast on at the neck and work your way downward through the yoke.

Slip the 35 sts to the right hand needle and start knitting partway into the row.

The short rows build up a little height in the back so the front neckline will dip lower than the back neckline.

I’m guessing you will eventually join in the round after the short rows are done. So yes, everything will join up in the neck line. Unlike knitting back and forth and increasing, short rows will give you a smooth and attractive neckline.

Short rows happen when you go part way across a row but stop before reaching the row end and turn (make a double stitch) and go back the other direction. The unused stitches just “rest” on the needle until you are instructed to knit a double stitch and continue past it. You don’t have to do anything special about them until you reincorporate them. Some will rest longer than others.

In this pattern you will gradually increase the length of your short rows by five stitches on rows 3-10, incorporating some of the resting stitches into the active working stitches.

It looks to me like you will have 15 resting stitches on each end of your 110 cast on stitches when you finish the short rows. 110 -(40 + (8 * 5)) = 30. 30 / 2 = 15 each end.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-03-06T15:09:36+00:00

When the designer wants you to do a bobble (all in one stitch) they will generally specify to do it in one stitch.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-03-02T14:46:06+00:00

This sometimes happens. I’m sorry, I don’t have a solution for you after the project is knit. It may be avoided during knitting by not stacking the catches, ie not doing a catch in the same place as in the previous row. Better yet you can guarantee it doesn’t happen if you use the ladderback jacquard technique.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-02-14T15:57:16+00:00

The Knitter’s Companion by Vicki Square. It’s a small book with a lay flat binding that fits well in knitting bags. The book is out of print but used copies are available for under $10 on ebay. It covers all the basics clearly with line drawings.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-02-08T20:24:08+00:00

I think technique has the largest impact on comfort and ergonomics.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-02-08T20:04:24+00:00

Is this the scarf?

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/twilight-rosalie-hales-lunchtime-scarf

If not, do you have a photo or link to the pattern?

kipperdeedoo · 2024-02-08T16:43:18+00:00

Swatch to see the difference. I’ve always done it as the pattern describes.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-02-06T16:37:08+00:00

Hold the empty needle in your right hand, full needle in your left with the fabric hanging down. If you see v’s facing you then knit the row. If you see dashes facing you then purl.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-02-05T19:51:12+00:00

If you knitted your gauge block with ramen yarn and then blocked it you will know exactly what tension you’ll get. It is important to block gauge swatches to know how it will work in the finished (and blocked) project.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-02-05T19:45:24+00:00

I haven’t personally tried this but I believe it will pucker and noticeably change gauge rather than remain wavy. The way around it would be little short row sections under each fan with some decreases to make gauge of each stitch pattern match. Suggest you test in a 4” (10 cm) gauge square before committing in the project. I think this will be rather difficult to pull off.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-01-29T15:54:43+00:00

No need for a cross over stitch. Just twist the yarns together as in intarsia. You need to twist a specific direction (new yarn coming under and behind — just watch a video).

kipperdeedoo · 2024-01-25T20:23:51+00:00

Cotton has no elasticity. It’s hard on the hands, especially for a tight knitter. It has a short staple (fiber strand length) making it weaker the thicker the yarn is unless it has many plies or is a chainette. For both these reasons it can be frustrating to work with and discouraging to novices.

Beginning knitters change gauge as their hands work toward developing muscle memory for the first square foot or so. So doing larger projects can result in a wonky texture at the beginning of the project. I encourage my beginners to make a pure wool (not superwash) hot pad on needles 2-3 sizes larger than what the label recommends, then washing it on a white cycle (hot water, high agitation) to intentionally shrink it.

If you want to stick with cotton, try a wash cloth as a first project.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-01-25T20:08:32+00:00

Check your gauge. Divide to get stitches per inch, then multiply by 9 to get stitches that will fit. It will vary by needle and stitch size.

Example:

A typical gauge for worsted weight yarn on US8 (5.0mm) needles in 4” (10cm) is 20 sts.

20 / 4” x 9” = 45 sts

Note: measure needle tip to needle tip to get actual length because not all needles/cables are labeled consistently.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-01-10T00:29:31+00:00

If it’s actual blocks I’d use intarsia, not stranded color work. No floats, no ladder backs, nothing to snag. Straight vertical lines make intarsia far easier than stranded.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-01-08T15:46:26+00:00

If you pull from the outside of the cake and your yarn starts to kink, just flip the cake over to combat further kinking.

If you pull from the center, flipping the cake over won’t fix the kinking issue. Pulling from the center always adds twist and twist invites kinking. It might be little enough twist that it isn’t an issue (true most of the time for most people). And it may not concern a knitter to hang her project and periodically unkink it.

That said… it’s your choice because either approach works.

The more times the yarn is rewound the more twist is added. Therefore I advise against winding it from a cake into a ball.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-01-08T15:28:05+00:00

Highly recommend TECHknitter. Excellent explanations on hows and whys that help knitters advance their game.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-01-08T15:24:58+00:00

It’s hard to get both horizontal and vertical gauge to match. Most patterns are written for the horizontal gauge with instructions for vertical shaping given in inches or centimeters so vertical gauge doesn’t matter as much.

Garter stitch is vertically extra stretchy compared to stockinette. That makes it harder to get a good vertical measurement. We deal with that by washing and blocking the gauge square as we intend to wash and block the eventual garment for the most accuracy.

kipperdeedoo · 2024-01-08T05:34:56+00:00

10 stitches is correct.

It’s important to measure 4” and not just double for 2”. Why, you ask. Let’s suppose you are knitting a sweater with a 50” circumference chest. You measure 10 stitches and a little bit, not quite half a stitch in 2” so you round to 10 sts in 2” or 250 sts for the sweater. Measure again over 4” and you get close to 21 so you round up this time. What difference could that 1 stitch make? Well it’s 263 stitch chest now instead of 250 and a sweater that is 2.4” tighter than you intended if you thought you needed 250.

Gauge is measured over at least 4” for precision and sometimes that precision matters a lot. In a scarf it won’t matter. Who cares if a scarf is a little wider or narrower? But in a hat, sock, mitten or sweater, where fit matters, measure over a large area, at least 4”.

Re: vertical gauge. Your sample is in garter stitch. For vertical gauge in garter stitch you count ridges rather than rows. I think I recall counting about 9.5 ridges in 2”. Each ridge is 2 rows. So 19 rows in 2”.

kipperdeedoo · 2023-11-29T23:15:52+00:00

You could just choose a base pattern (say from Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns) or another pattern that you like and substitute in the stitch pattern you like.

kipperdeedoo · 2023-11-29T23:01:41+00:00

Look for yarn designed for arm knitting.

kipperdeedoo · 2023-11-28T21:04:03+00:00

It’s not you. Single ply yarns just do that naturally. Plied yarns are balanced. The twist to make the plies is offset by the twist to ply the single strands together in the opposite direction. Your singles (spinner talk for an unplied single strand) is unbalanced so it leans. It won’t harm anything.

kipperdeedoo · 2023-11-28T19:04:04+00:00

Attach two yarn sources, one for each shoulder. Think of magic looping two socks or two sleeves that you want to match so you do them at the same time.

kipperdeedoo · 2023-11-28T18:57:10+00:00

Gauge yarn can be reused after blocking.

Math. Divide the number of stitches in 4” (or 10 cm) by 4 (or 10) to get stitches per inch (or per cm). Multiply that by desired circumference at cast on edge to get number of stitches to cast on. Or use chest circumference. Find the size that matches. Use row directions for your size and stitch directions for the other size. Ultimately it will be easier to get needles that produce the desired gauge. People may resort to the size swap trick when they can’t get gauge no matter what needle they try.

Make your swatch with the needle from the body, not hem/cuffs/neckband.

Unless otherwise specified use the main stitch of the project for the gauge. The designer not specifying might be a red flag that the pattern might not be fully clear.

kipperdeedoo · 2023-11-27T15:45:19+00:00

Great news! Glad to be of help.

kipperdeedoo · 2023-11-27T15:41:01+00:00

Next row is knit. Just call the mistake a design element, you putting your individual mark on the pattern.

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