Welcome back!

Today we’re going to start the collar of the Tweed Coat (see yesterday’s post for an introduction.)

I’m making the 3rd size, since that’s the size the last person to email me about this was making.
I’m also making just the collar…so I cast on sts while you will be picking up and knitting yours as per the pattern instructions.

Here we go…starting on page 99 of Glam Knits.

I’m skipping ahead to page 102 to get my cast on #s.

The instructions say to pick up and knit 58 sts along the right front edge, 56 along the cast on edge, and 58 for the left front. This does indeed equal the 172 sts that I will cast on.

I have placed markers between the above sections (after 58, then 56 sts) of my caston because it will help me later when I have to determine which sts are part of which section.

Next, we simply work 6 rows in k2p2 rib:

Now, we are asked to work one row in alternating rib. If you look at the stitch pattern definition on page 100, it says to work the first 4 rows such that you start with k2…but, since we are asked to begin working in alternating rib…I start here on a P2…so that I’m actually starting to work in stitch pattern. Otherwise, I just keep working in k2p2 ribbing.

This brings us to the “SHAPE CENTER OF COLLAR” section, in which we begin short row shaping.

Continuing to work in alternating rib stitch, we start our short rows.
Work to 5 sts after 3rd marker, wrap and turn, work to 5 sts after next marker wrap and turn.

Here’s what that looks like:

I’ve worked for 5 sts past the marker, and will wrap the next stitch, turn my work to the other side, and then work 5 sts after the next marker, wrap the next (6th) st, and turn.

So you do that…and then in brackets is:

[work to 6 sts before wrap of row before previous row, wrap and turn] 4 times.

You knit until there are 6 sts left before the wrapped stitch, then wrap stitch #1 and turn. And do that 4 times.
Each time you do a short row in this way, you’re working over fewer and fewer sts at the back neck.

**NOTE: A point of debate here might be that I say in the instructions to knit to 6 sts BEFORE the wrapped stitch, which would mean that instead of having sts numbered 1 – 6 in the image above, I’d have 1 – 7 (including the wrapped st.) Either way you choose to count will work. We are simply adding height here, and whether it’s 2 sts broader or narrower will not make much difference in the end.

After you do the above process 4 times, your work will look like this:

You have essentially inserted a lens-shaped piece of fabric into the back neck of your collar. This adds height to the back of the collar, so that it hugs the neck, rather than splatting out flat onto your shoulders and back.

In the photo below, I outlined our newly inserted fabric, so that you can see exactly what it looks like:

You also notice that within the outline, we are able to keep in stitch pattern as we go back and forth doing our short rows. BUT…there is some irregularity in the stitch pattern when we compare it to the surrounding fabric.

I *think* that this is what’s causing people to send emails about the pattern being “screwed up” when, really, it’s just a matter of having to insert a non-linear (or non-rectangular) piece of fabric into a rectilinear stitch pattern.

You WILL HAVE some partial pattern repeats in this section, which means that some of your ribs will be longer and some will be shorter. It’s just the result of working your short rows.

Once you finish this section, you are asked to work one row even, working remaining wraps together with wrapped stitches. All you have to do is work that row from the beginning in stitch pattern. By that, I mean that if you start at the right hand edge, and are supposed to begin your alternating rib stitch with a p2, do that. And work in p2k2 ribbing all the way across. (If you’re on a k2 section, start with k2 and do a k2p2 rib all the way across.) You’ll re-establish the alternating rib pattern, and be able to continue through the next stage of the collar shaping.

Let’s go on to that “SHAPE COLLAR” section together:

Row one says to [work to marker, LLI, slip marker, RLI] 4 times work to end.
So, you work across your fabric in st patt as established in the row above. At each marker, you increase 2 stitches.

Row 2 says to work even, working inc sts in alternating rib.

What you want to do in these 2 rows is to keep your 2 new sts in the same st patt as the two surrounding them. The markers are placed so that they’re in between two “like” sts…so (k m k) or (p m p). When you increase, increase to make (k k m k k) or (p p m p p).

In the photo above, there are 2 k sts on either side of the marker (k k m k k)

In the next increase round, we increase so that we go back to our alternating rib pattern (k k p m p k k) or (p p k m k p p). I’ve outlined this in the photo below, in which I’ve completed an increase set and worked one half alternating rib st patt reapeat (4 rows.)

Here’s what the collar (to this point) looks like from a broader perspective:

Any inconsistencies in the stitch pattern are due to the insertion of our curved or lens-shaped area of fabric into a rectangular stitch pattern, and are really not that bad on the grander scheme of the whole collar.

The rest of the collar is pretty straightforward.

Now that you know what the basic setup is like, maybe you’ll even find a smoother way to insert your short rows in stitch pattern and share your mods with us!

Remember when Knitting was the New Yoga? And new knitters were learning in order to relax and the rest of us were like, “hey, I guess knitting is relaxing…?”

We seem to have moved away from that notion in the last few years…whether because the new knitters are now trying more difficult patterns, or what, I don’t know…but I’ve decided to TRY to bring a little of that relaxation back.

At least for a few people.

I’ve added a Q&A category to the blog called “Bring Back the Zen,” which you’ll find by clicking on the category link at left. Every so often, I’ll blog the answer one of the questions that has made its way into my email inbox.

A warning: People can sometimes be pretty worked up by the time they write these. Often, they’ve already asked these questions at knitting group or taken their knitting and the pattern to the LYS and either gotten confusing answers or no answers at all.

I’ll post the questions exactly as they appear, so that you can get the whole gist…the full effect of what I see when I first read them. Because these are questions that people want to ask me personally, most of them will relate to my own patterns, but the questions that I receive really do run the knitting gamut…so look for some tips-and-tricks-type questions, too.

I hope that (at least for some of these questions) I’m able to de-fuse the situation, help knitters to take a deep breath, take a step back, look at the problem from a new perspective, let go of the anger and frustration, and relax once again into the “zen” that is knitting.

OK, here’s the first question, in its entirety, directly from my inbox:

Hello,

I am writing about your pattern for the Crisp Rectangle Tunic Top on page 37 of fitted knits.

My understanding of a short row is that upon completion of the row, you are back where you started.

If this is correct, isn’t it impossible to have a short hip row and a short neckline row consecutively such as on page 38, rows 21 (hip short row), and 22 (neckline short row)?

I took this to the shop where I bought the yarn and was told to e-mail you as they didn’t understand either.

Thanks for your explanation.

Ann K

Ann’s question is about the Crisp Rectangle Tunic in my book Fitted Knits: 25 Projects for the Fashionable Knitter.

Dear Ann,
You’re right, in the traditional sense, a short row is a little row inserted into the knitting in order to create fullness. The most common usages of short row shaping are in bust darts and sock heels and toes. They create a little pocket for the bust (in the case of bust darts) or the heel or toe (in the case of socks.)

In this case, the knitting is turned on its side, so that the darts are adding fullness at neckline and at hip. I hadn’t seen this technique used in garment construction before, so I had to invent my own terminology for the shaping that I used. This may be why you are unsure what to do, and why your LYS also was not able help.

The instructions are worded as, “Work X sts, wrap and turn, work to end.” And then the next row is similarly worded.

Here’s how I intended for this to be interpreted:

Basically, you are zigzagging across the fabric, working a short row at one edge, working all the way across, then working one at the other edge. Once you try a few rows, you’ll get the hang of it.

I hope that helps,

Stefanie.

For more help with other Fitted Knits patterns, look at the errata, check out the Fitted Knits-Along, and the Japel Knits group on Ravelry.