Nake-id Knits learns something
Even after...ah hem...30-plus years of knitting, old dogs can learn new tricks.
Was reading The Joy of Knitting in bed last night and came upon this bit of wisdom:
Say your having a tough time matching your sleeve increases to the length of your sleeve. Author Lisa Myers suggests, "Heed row gauge!" The formula goes like this: Determine the length in inches you have to accomplish your sleeve increases. This means subtract the cuff length from your sleeve length, then subtract another inch for good measure. For the sake of argument, let's pretend you're knitting an easy set-in sleeve. The total length must be 18 inches and your cuffs are two inches. 18-2=16-1=15. You have 15 inches in which to complete your increases.
Easy enough so far. Now take your row gauge. (Believe it or not, it took me decades to sort out the difference between stitch gauge and row gauge. So here's the secret: stitches run side to side, rows run vertically.) Your make-believe row gauge is 7 rows to the inch. Figure the number of rows you have to increase by multiplying your row gauge by your length (see above). Seven x 15=105.
Here's where things get tricky. You want your sleeves to be eight inches wider at the top than the bottom (set-in sleeves look like wonky trapezoids). Time to revert back to stitch gauge. Your pretend stitch gauge is 5 stitches to the inch. To determine the number of stitches you must increase to get the wide part of your trapezoid, multiply your stitch gauge by the number of inches you want to add. 5x8=40. You must add a total of 40 stitches. Assuming that you are increasing at the beginning and end of rows--two stitches per row--you will need to increase 20 times (40/2=20).
Although this is beginning to sound like one of those wretched word problems, the rest is easy. To find the rate at which you must increase, divide 105 by 20=5.25. Well, fudge. If you increase every 5 rows, you finish at 100 rows (20x5=100). If you increase every 6 rows, you'll end up with 120 rows (20x6=120), way too many. So mix it up a bit. Increase at the beginning and end of the row 15 times, every fifth row (15x5=75); then 5 times every sixth row (5x6=30). Add 75 to 30, and voila, you get your 105 rows.
Whew.
Moral of the story, read and learn.
Nake-id Knits Summer Reading List
The Joy of Knitting--Lisa R. Myers
Knitting Without Tears--Elizabeth Zimmerman
The Knitting Goddess--Deborah Bergman
Zen and the Art of Knitting: Exploring the Links Between Knitting, Spirituality, and Creativity--Bernadette Murphy
Knitlit: Sweaters and Their Stories...and Other Writing About Knitting--Linda Roghaar, ed.
9:25:32 AM 
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