2 sleeve questions, maintaining rib and adding cables

#1

i’m working on the manly sweater from S&B, which i had planned on adding the cabled sleeves from Durrow from MagKnits too. The chart is too complicated for me and there seems to be a large amount of rev. st. st. on the RS which is freaking me out anyway.

I’m going back to the sleeve instructions for the original sweater, which is done in a K5, P1 rib.

Question 1: How do you maintain the K5, P1 ribbing after the increases begin? This one has increases first every 4th row and then every 16th row for a total of 46 stitches increased. The row before the increases begins with a k1, p1, It doesn’t say where to do the increases (i would figure at the beginning of the rows) and how would I continue to do the 5x1? Would I just add K stitches for the first 4, then the next one would be a purl, then 5 K increases and a purl kinda thing expanding outwards in the K5, P1?

Question 2: if I wanted to add a cable to this sleeve, say a 14-stitch cable, how am I going to determine the center 14 stitches with all of that increasing? i figured i would start the cable 2 inches into the sleeve, as in the Durrow pattern. Based on gauge, that would have me at around 5 increased stitches, so 56 stitches, and that is where the increases would go to every 6th row, so would i do 21 in 5x1, 14 in cable, and 21 in 5x1 at that point or is that not really the middle because increases will follow? Durrow works cable until 4" and then goes into increase rows, but just says to “maintain pattern” so maybe this is right?

Question 3: Am I in over my head here? :wink:

Thanks a bunch!

#2

Question 1: Yes.

Question 2: I’m not quite sure I understand what you want to do? I think you’re saying that the cable will be worked up the center of the sleeve beginning at the 2" mark. If I’ve got that right… just work until you want to begin the sleeve, count how many stitches you have, subtract 14, then divide in half. That will give you how many stitches you need to have on each side of the cable… which is exacly what I think you wrote in your question.

The cable won’t be affected at all by the future increases, only the rib will, and you should just continue those as you explained in Question 1.

Question 3: Nope, you know what you’re doing. you just don’t know it yet :slight_smile:

#3

re the ribbing
see this hat:

see how 4 ribs ‘eat up’ the others?

pretend one of those 4 ribs is your underarm sleeve seam.

to keep in ribbing, place a marker -(1 or 2 stitches in)

K2, (increase/decrease) k5, P1
(every other row, knit the knits,purl the purls)
K2, (increase/decrease)P1 k5, P1

then
K2, (increase/decrease)k1,P1 *k5, P1 (at the beginning of each row)
K2, (increase/decrease)k2,P1 *k5, P1 (at the beginning of each row)
K2, (increase/decrease)k3,P1 *k5, P1 (at the beginning of each row)
K2, (increase/decrease)k1,P1 *k5, P1 (at the beginning of each row)
and so on.

at the other end, the same process, a marker before last stitch/stitches, and increases before marker.

in the hat shown, at one point there are 6 knit stitches in a row, (2 from 2 x2 rib, 2 center ribs (that remain unchanged though all the decreases) and next set of 2 knit ribs.

two rows later, the knit stitches of the ribs will be decreases away, (the process would look like this:
P2, SSK, K2tog, P2 --the SSK/K2tog are the center ribs (and they are ‘eating up’ the other ribs)

the process is the same, no matter what the ribbing pattern.

it seems wrong, but it ends up looking right (and even better when seamed than when knit flat.)

#4

Hi Sean,

I’m working on the same sweater from SnB. I have the back done and I’m about to finish the second sleeve. Yes you increase a couple of stitches IN from the edge of each row indicated in the pattern and once you do that you can build the k5 p1 rib outward as you go. If you miss a purl or knit on an increased row, don’t worry about it, just start it on the next row. Most of it will be under the arm near the seam anyway and will be invisible.

Good luck and post a picture of it when you’re done. I will too.
Mickduf