Designing a Round Yoke Sweater Lesson 3

Once the body is complete it is time to move onto designing and knitting the sleeves.  For the most part this is almost the same as how we calculated the body.

Materials
5 double pointed  knitting needles
tapestry needle
scrap yarn  approximately 2 yards

Determining The Sleeve Start and End Stitch Count

The first calculation you will need to do is to determine the number of stitches to begin with.  This will be using the wrist measurement ‘F’ and your stitch gauge.  Follow the calculation sheet to determine the number of stitches to cast on.  Be sure to take into account the type of cuff design you would like.  If for example you would like a knit 2 purl 2 ribbing, your cast on number needs to be divisible by 4.  After the cuff design you will need to add a stitch as the stitch count must be odd.

The next calculation will be how big the sleeve needs to be at the upper arm, (E) or the circumference at the the armpit.  This will be the sleeves final stitch count going into the yoke area and will also include stitches that will be reserved for the underarm area of the sleeve.  Follow the calculation page to determine the stitch count required at the top of the sleeve.

Determining the Increases 

You now have the stitch count you need at the wrist and the stitch count you need at the top of the sleeve.  From here we can calculate how many stitches need to be added.  Increases are completed on each side of the seam stitch.  For this reason the number of stitches to increase must be even.  If you need to make an adjustment of a stitch here, do so.  One stitch is not going to impact the sizing.

If one were to increase all the stitches at once, the sleeve would bulge out in a rather unattractive way at the cuff.  For this reason I am suggesting the increases be evenly spaced between the cuff and the elbow.  Follow the calculation page to work out how many increase rounds will you need and how many rows you will knit between the increase rounds.  You will likely need to round this number up to the the nearest whole number.

Once the increases are complete you will continue to knit until your sleeve is your “J” measurement (cuff to armhole distance).

Reserving Stitches for the Armhole

Once the sleeves and body are done the next component is the yoke.  Prior to completing that however we need to address the stitches required that will become the underarm.

The underarm area should be roomy enough for comfort and movement.  For this reason we will use 10% of the sleeve stitches here.  Place these on a scrap of yarn for now taking the same number of stitches on either side of the seam stitch.  For example: if 10% is 7.7, I will reserve 9 stitches.  4 stitches on either side of the seam stitch plus the seam stitch will provide me with the proper number of stitches.

Place the sleeve stitches onto a stitch holder or scrap of yarn, then complete the second sleeve.

You have now completed lesson three.  Be sure to check out the video to accompany this lesson at Murlo Discovery Channel.  Don’t forget to sign up to our blog.

NOTE:  If you are wanting a colour design throughout the sleeve I would recommend a simple design such as Chart A.  You will need to center the design initially and adjust the design near the seam stitch as you increase.  This way the increases and design element adjustments are not in an obvious location   You will not have the full pattern repeat as you are completing the increases.  It is recommended that the seam stitch is knit in the background colour and NOT part of the design until the full number of stitches are added.   Adjustments of a stitch or two for the design element to be repeated fully is not an issue.

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