I’ve finished one sleeve for the pinwheel sweater and I’m working on the last one. I thought I would share the way I’ve been doing the armhole and sleeve because the pattern is difficult to read and understand – for me at least. And since I had done it this way for Piggle and… something else… it was already familiar to me.
When you get to the part of the pattern that says “knit the first set of 18 stitches and the yo from the round before, place the second set of 18 stitches on a holder, join a new ball of yarn and cast on 18 stitches using a provisional cast on – see below for provisional cast on instructions (this will be the sleeve later), join yarn and continue knitting 4 more sets of 18 stitches plus the yo’s from the previous round, slip the next 18 stitches on a holder, join yarn and cast on 18 stitches using a provisional cast on, knit the last 18 stitches and yo from the previous round.” Ignore it. Way to confusing in my mind!
What I did (which I’ve discovered is also called an afterthought heel, interesting) is knit the 18 stitches plus one yo on waste yarn, then turn the work and knit these same 19 stitches again with waste yarn. Switch back to your working yarn and continue the pattern. In the middle of your sweater you will have two rows of waste yarn where the armhole will go. It looks like this.
When you’re ready to do the sleeves, pick up 19 stitches of one side on #9 needle. Personally it’s easier for me to see what stitches to pick up if I do it on the wrong side. Just push the needles through to the right side when you are ready to knit.
Pick up the other side of the 19 stitches and it looks like this.
Now you remove the waste yarn, a tad scary, I know. You end up with two needles and an armhole!
Spread the stitches out to 3 or 4 needles, whichever you prefer, then continue the pattern.
The only thing that I discovered, and I suppose I’m missing something, maybe someone can point it out, is that I now have to purl the sleeves in order for it to look the same as the rest. No big deal but knitting is a lot faster than purling for me!
If you see anything wrong in my explaination, please do let me know! Enjoy your pinwheel sweater!
August 18, 2007 at 10:23 am
[...] I did a technique called “afterthought heel” in some circles. You can read about that here. I also changed the sleeves, Ending in a stockinette stitch instead of the ribbing, because I liked [...]
August 22, 2007 at 11:01 am
That’s a great idea for the sleeve! I, too, had some trouble understanding the instructions at that point and ending up developing my own workaround. But I like yours better (very tidy!), so I think I’ll try it the next time I knit one of these!
August 28, 2007 at 7:49 am
Thank goodness for you! I was tearing my hair out over the instructions in the original pattern. But even a not-so-advanced knitter like me can follow your solution. Thanks to you my daughter will have her pinwheel sweater after all!
August 28, 2007 at 7:51 am
Thank goodness for you! I was tearing my hair out over the instructions. But your solution is great, even for a not-so-advanced knitter like me. Thanks to you my daughter will have her pinwheel sweater after all!
August 30, 2007 at 9:00 am
THANK YOU! I still don’t understand but maybe I can get some more time this evening to figure it out. I wish their instructions were more clear. I guess you get what you pay for.
Thanks for the photos and details instructions!!
August 31, 2007 at 5:58 am
[...] you know how many rows are between buttons and such. Also um, I did the sleeves differently, using my favorite way of doing sleeves. I’m not sure it will work. And then there’s the fact that I ran out of yarn and I [...]
September 3, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Thank you so much! I found this on craftster and your instructions make things SO MUCH easier. I probably would have had to put my sweater away for another day to try and figure out the complications with sleeves but I followed your steps and can keep right on knitting- I may even finish my big circle today! you rock!
September 28, 2007 at 1:59 pm
OMG thank you, I have been totally stalled at the first arm hole becaue I can’t make heads or tails out of the pattern. I tried 2 provisional cast on techniques today and both looked impossible until I found this one. Thank you!!!
September 30, 2007 at 8:44 am
Brilliant. I sure hope I can find this again (even though I’m bookmarking it) when I need it. I love that sweater.
November 13, 2007 at 4:33 am
[...] of the sweater, not at the back of the neck, where either side might be visible. I will also use this “afterthought” armhole instead of the pattern as [...]
November 17, 2007 at 8:10 am
This worked perfectly! I am not sure why, but when I did it I was able to knit the whole sleeve (did not have to purl). I am still a pretty novice knitter so I have no idea why it worked that way for me.
November 19, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Ok, I was stumped and then I found your modification. I’ll give this a try, I sure hope this works! Thanks for sharing!
December 11, 2007 at 7:53 am
Push your sleeve “inside out on the wrong side of the sweater and you can knit it then just turn inside out and pull through to the right side when done.
May 25, 2008 at 10:13 am
The reason you had to purl your sleeves is simple. You started at the wrong end of the needle. If you had started at the other end, you would have knit them.
fran
June 22, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Don’t have to purl, just turn it inside out and knit!
June 30, 2008 at 10:20 am
Thank you so much… and yes, the original instructions are confusing… and I did figure out what the original instructions were…I thought I was the only one that was tearing my hair out… It took 4 hours of re-reading and redoing to figure out the instructions… then I came across your idea… and thought to my self I could have at least saved 3hr and 40mins… Oh, well now I have two techniques that work well. Thank you.