Shades of blue cardi

[Bodgeitandscarper]

I've spent the last few days knitting another cardi.  I'm using two blues, one denim and one sky, one fine strand of each knitted together.
It's knitted in full needle rib, that makes a lovely flat fabric that's the same on both sides, but is a little fiddlier to do shaping as it's one the main bed and the ribber.
I also had the bright idea of working out how to knit a "grown-on" collar, which has worked, but the variegated effect of the yarn unfortunately highlights where stitches were held then knitted into the collar, but it doesn't matter.
As I'm so fat, I can't knit the back in one piece, and think one centre seam would look odd, so like other cardis I've done this one has a centre back panel. 
I though I'd do a pattern on the panel, so I've spent all afternoon finding a stitch pattern, then plotting it onto Designaknit, which then prints a copy which is used to mark the design on a punchcard, then punching all the many little holes in the card.  I've knitted it with a couple of different choices of a second yarn, and decided I don't like the pattern against the plain, so it's going to be plain after all.
Some pics of progress up to now.

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[Efemera]

I love the checked samples... you must really have some patience!

[Elnnina]

Oooh Bodgeitandscarper you have been busy.  Now have you tried plating, that way you can get one colour/shade on one side and the other colour/shade on the other - works very well with very fine yarns.  I did this once using one end of 2/30's industrial yarn and one end of boucle, and it sort of thickened the knitted fabric up nicely.  I also decided that I wanted the knitted stocking stitch welts (which were turned up and knitted together before starting on the body) and I had to reverse the plating to get the desired effect.  The result was lovely and just what I wanted.

If you haven't heard of or tried plating, go looking in your instruction manual and then have a play - might be just what you are wanting,

[Kenora]

I love the two yarns together and, whilst I like the patterned samples, I think a plain panel in the back will look really good. I do miss my knitting machines but I love seeing what you do with yours.

[Greybird]

@Bodgeitandscarper that looks great. I really like the grown on collar - I think you'll find that where the stitches were held won't show at all once it's washed. I prefer the plain to the patterned.

[Bodgeitandscarper]

Thank you everyone for the kind words 

@Elnnina plating is the one thing I've never tried, not even when I used to knit lots, 25/30 years ago, I will give it a try.

@Greybird It's more the way the colours have "pooled" that I thought made a line there, but it'll do!

Hopefully I'll get the back panel done today, then decide if I can sew it up on the linker - it should be the neatest way rather than my dreadful attempts at mattress stitching...

[Ohsewsimple]

Ooh really like that.  I don’t think it needs a pattern although they are nice. 
Brings back memories of my mum when she knitted.  There were samples of all sorts all over the house.     It’s sad that she can’t do it now. 

[annieeg]

I think that is so impressive @Bodgeitandscarper. and I'm with Greybird -   I like the grown-on collar.
 :thumbsup:

[Elnnina]

Well that is something for you to try Bodgetandscarper, I must admit it is a bit of a fiddle getting the plating yarn in its correct place, so not something you want to be doing when you are tired or it is dark, but the results are very pleasing.

Now when I knitted my plated boucle sweater, all of this was industrial yarns, and each on its own cone and some of those cones were in fact huge.  Well the whole sweater had been knitted and sewn up - well the side seams and sleeve seams had been sewn on the sewing machine with a narrow zigzag, the shoulder seams are never cast off as such, they are either grafted or the stitches put back on the machine i.e. both the back and the front pieces and one loose row knitted and then cast off, and the neckband was again all held stitches and put back on to the machine when the neckband had been knitted and then one loose row and cast off.  Well my sweater was just laying there and I looked at it, looked again and though why does that look a different shade of blue, moved the sweater in case of shadow and it was still there, and yes it was very noticeable when laying out flat.  So what did I do, start taking it apart - not easy by any means, as I have said I have open stitches on the shoulder seams, and around the neck, and machine zigzag side seams.  I carefully put some markers in where the colour changed - this was the font only and a good way up the front but before the armhole shaping.  Having carefully threaded all shoulder and back neck stitches onto a nylon cord I then proceed to undo the front, but as it was plated this meant doing this very carefully and winding each yarn into a separate ball.  I carefully pulled it back to my marker, and rehung the stitches back onto the machine, then checking that I had the right shade of boucle, threaded up again, rethreaded the plating yarn and reknitted the front without dropping a stitch and then finished it all off again and you would have never known.  Yes it was a fiddle, but well worth doing.

Unbeknown to me when the boucle yarn was spun on to a cone there must have been a break and a new end was knotted on and it was this that caused the problem, it must have had more than one join as all the rest of the sweater was the same shade, all but from the middle of the front only.  I suppose that is the gamble we took then using these lovely fine industrial yarns.

If you are going to try plating, I hope you have a double ended bodkin the one you use for transferring stitches from the ribber to main bed, and then there is the tiniest gap in the yarn feeder right at the back on the main carriage.  As I said I reversed my plating for the welt parts as I wanted the stocking stitch hem, plain side, to contrast with the boucle which was the purl side, so it meant I had to keep changing the yarns over but so well worth it.

Have fun and enjoy playing.

[Bodgeitandscarper]

Today I knitted the back panel, 340 rows done in less than half an hour.  I then moved all the stitches over from the ribber to the main bed ready to cast off - but - I then remembered I still needed to knit another 30 rows for the collar.  Has anyone ever tried moving just one of the two stitches on a needle back to the ribber?   That was another half hour if not more!
All done now, just need to sew it up, probably tomorrow.

[Bodgeitandscarper]

Finished - almost.  I'm now waiting for some buttons, and then I'm going to do the buttonholes on the sewing machine, using some tear-away or water soluble stabiliser on the back.

The only problem is that the neck is too stretchy as there's no seam for the neckband.  I wonder if I can sew a length of ribbon along the point where the seam would have been to stabilise it?  Or bias binding?  Or any other ideas?

I do like it, but I think using full needle rib may just have made it too stretchy, although it makes a lovely flat fabric.

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[Bodgeitandscarper]

Looking at the photos, that neck is well stretched!  The collar should be going up my neck a bit and the shoulders should fit my shoulders, not be hanging off.  That's why the sleeves are so long of course.

[Greybird]

I don't know if it's still available, but I have a couple of cones of knit-in lycra which I've had for many years. It was used, along with the main yarn, on edges which were likely to be too stretchy. I do remember using it though, threaded through with a bodkin on edges that were already knitted. If I can find it (!) I'd happily wind some onto a card and send to you. It is though a camel-y colour and would have to be threaded between the layers of rib to go unnoticed. White would be better but I don't think I've got that any more.

[Bodgeitandscarper]

@Greybird thank you for the offer, but I do have some "knit-in" elastic I bought recently.  I think this neck needs more than elastic though, otherwise it will still stretch too much, and as it's a cardi, it won't matter if doesn't have any give.

[Elnnina]

How about getting some woven tape to sew along the shoulder seams and that would stop it stretching too much.  Yes you could also sew some ribbon or tape to the area that the neckband joins the body and that too should stop any stretching out of shape.

You certainly do not hang about with your knitting, hope you enjoyed the full needle rib, that must have been a challenge and a half making sure that it all knitted correctly and no dropped stitches - well done.

Now you have mentioned why you are knitting a back central pattern to give you more body width.  Have you tried tuck stitch?  The nature of tuck stitch is that it can knit quite wide, and may solve your problem.

A long time ago we could easily get some hardbound books purely on knit stitches, I think there were about 4 or 5 of them, and within in them there were stitch patterns for all sorts and lots of tuck stitch designs.  Have a look on e-bay etc. you may find them, and whilst they are for punchcard machines, there is nothing stopping you using these designs on an electronic.  Just remember that when using tuck stitch  the actual knitting comes up shorter in length but stretches in width, thus you have to knit far more rows than you would normally, but it is well worth it and of course tuck stitch gives a lovely texture.  Brother machines in particular had something called tuck lace and of course this was a bit different.

Another book was on purely tuck stitch and was by Regine Faust a Canadian lady and there were some gorgeous patterns in that book.

Another tip to help you get the width you are wanting is to make yourself a blocking board and pad this out and cover with gingham - then once you have the shape and width/length you need, draw the shape out on this in a permanent marker pen and then proceed to pin your knitting securely on to this, cover with a wet cloth and leave it, or steam the knitting to set the stitches, then when dry it should move from the shape you have pinned it out to - particularly good on acrylics.  Sometimes you can lay out an acrylic garment under the mattress and leave it there for a couple of days and the weight of the mattress with flatten your knitting.

Have fun.