The Oatmeal Cardigan by Amy King
How-to Techniques
Knitting Techniques needed to make the Oatmeal Cardigan
We made this little video a week or so ago and please keep in mind that it's the first one we ever did! The script is below, hopefully to make it a little easier to follow what I'm talking about. I'm working on a way to fix the fact that the audio doesn't sync with the video; sorry about that. It works here in the computer but not on YouTube. Apparently there's a compatibility issue.
1. Twisted rib
2. Cable chart
3. Pick up stitches
4. Three needle bind off
Showing me:
Hi, this is Leslie of Knitting in the Round podcast. I completed the Oatmeal Cardigan and decided to make this little video tutorial about some of the techniques needed to make this lovely and simple garment.
Showing sweater:
This sweater or cardigan is worked in the round from the bottom up beginning with the sleeves. The only seaming that needs to be done is under the arms. Cast on can be anything according to the directions. I used a long tail cast on. Be very careful not to twist the stitches as you to link to work the sleeves in the round, as I learned to my cost on another project. The sleeves are started with the twisted rib.
Showing hands:
This is a one-one rib with the stitches worked backwards to give the rib an interesting texture: here's how it works
Showing sweater:
The chart in the magazine, which is the Spinoff winter 2009, is incorrect. There is a corrected chart on the Interweave Press web site at interweave.com. Unfortunately I did not discover this until after the sweater I made was done so my yoke cabling is not quite correct. I don't get too uptight about things like that so my cabling will remain the way it is. Another thing about the cabling is that, as Amy King points out in her article, the cable stitches did not show up with my two ply hand spun yarn. I had to take a break from knitting and spin enough Navajo plied yarn to complete the cable section.
Showing me:
After the sleeves are finished, you make two of course, you began to work on the main body of the sweater. The body has worked back and forth without joining on a circular needle, and for those who have not worked on a circular needle, it is very much like working with straight needles. You simply make sure that you work in the right direction as you knit the rows. It isn't really working in the round and some people find this confusing. Using a circular needle makes working with so many stitches so much easier.
When you get to the yoke, this sleeves are attached to the body of the sweater. This is not difficult. Just make sure that the sleeve is right side out and that the side of the sleeve that you want for the underside is in the correct place. When I knit in the round, I can sometimes tell where the beginning of the row is. So I set the sleeves so that this " seam" is on the underside of the arm.
Showing hands:
Making the button bands can be a little tricky. The recommended number of stitches in the pattern worked for me; I think I added one stitch to each side for a total of 100 stitches picked up. That doesn't always work. Before you bind off your button band, check to make sure that the band will lay properly. Sometimes it will be puckered or too loose. Hopefully you can tell if the band will work before you do the bind off.
The final technique that I used was a three needle bind off. The pattern suggests either Kitchener to graft or using the three needle bind off. I chose the three needle bind off because I had never done it before. Be sure that you have the right sides of your knitting facing as you do the bind off.
This pattern was a lovely first knitted sweater pattern for me. The top up construction made accomplishing the sweater easy and the little bit of cabling added a challenge. I will probably make this sweater again because I very much enjoyed working with my hand spun yarn to make a larger finished object. Ms. King did a very good job with the pattern and with the information needed to create the sweater.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
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