Oh my goodness. I’m knitting a chunky cardi for my granddaughter and was worried the seams will be huge. So I asked Mr Google who directed me to a video showing this technique which I can use for shoulder seams. It’s absolutely fab. A game changer. Now I just need a way to make the side seams less lumpy. I’ve attached a couple of photos.
3pin bind off
The cardigan looks lovely and the 3-needle bind off is an excellent choice for shoulder seam. I like mattress stitch for other seams but it will give you a marked seam on the inside. It’s neat and sturdy however.
There are seams like the Bickford seam that don’t leave sts along the seam on the inside but aren’t as sturdy as mattress stitch or back stitch.
That’s a marvelous cardi. Now that you’ve discovered the three needle/pin bind off you might find this video interesting. I’d use mattress stitch on the side seams too if I can’t avoid them altogether.
Thank you both, I’m going with matress stitch I think. The videos are so helpful. I absolutely love the 3 pin bind off though. Soooo pleased with that. Xx
Cardigan knitted. Doing the front border rib edge next. Have cast on the number of stitches as the pattern suggests knitted the border but… its saggy. Suggestions svp. Should I go for smaller needles, less stitches aaagh
Did you pick up sts for the front rib edge along the length of the front? Is the border rippling because you picked up too many sts or is it pulling up too tightly (or something else)? Depending on the main stitch pattern in the sweater, a ratio of 3sts picked up for every 4 rows of stockinette or 2sts picked up for every 3 rows of garter seems to work nicely.
Alternatively, is this a border that you knit as a band starting with about 4-6sts and continuing for the length of the front? Maybe a photo would help.
I picked up sts for the front edge rib along the length of the front. I’ve picked up the right number plus a couple of stitches as I made the garment a bit longer than the pattern. But it made a very loose edge. Very rippled.
Yes, even though the pattern gives you a number to pick up, picking up the correct ratio works better. You could do as you suggest and try a smaller needle but my go-to is the ratio method. It’s likely going to mean fewer sts and amazing how often it works beautifully.
Thank you, what would I do without you? I have to say I would never use James Brett Marble chunky ever again. It pills even as you knit. I suppose you get what you pay for. I’ll give the ratio method a try. I have faith in that.
See how it goes. I sometimes had to pull out a band when I started knitting cardigans but the ratio method has been a friend ever since.
I think you’ll like the ratio method salmomac has given, it worked for me. I notice on my pick up row my stitches are looser than a regular stitch though so I found it helpful to pick up with a needle just slightly smaller but then switch to the correct size needle for the second row onwards. The thing is you don’t really know until after knitting the band unless you have a decent sized swatch to try it on first.
My worst bit of my button band was the cast off, too tight and made my band flip.
Hope it goes well for you.
Thank you all so much, worked like a dream.