Hi all
I am currently knitting the Sunday Sweater Junior size from Petite Knit and need some help with the neck line/collar. It is a top down novice (!!) jumper which utilises a fold over 1x1 rib collar. The 2 videos that they have for this technique are not great because you can’t see what is being picked up from the cast on edge. There only seem to be those 2 videos, the rest are using smaller needles to pick up the stitches.
Thanks in advance!
I am possibly looking jn a different place as I only see one video, not two, but it looks reasonably clear when I zoom in. The example shows picking up the cast on edge one by one as they are worked and also how to use a smaller needle to pick up several before working them with the collar.
Ideally you will pick up with the stitch in the correct orientation, right leg forward, but if you don’t it’s not really the end of the world in my opinion as it is going to be hidden on the inside of the sweater and will still be pretty neat.
It’s just the very outer stitch/yarn created at the cast on.
The main thing would be to ensure you line up the columns correctly so you don’t twists the collar, the knit on the RS will be a purl on the WS that you work into to K2tog.
That’s a clever design. The details page from Ravelry gives an alternative to picking up sts for the fold over. You can also stitch the collar down. I find it helps to pin the fold over so that the stitches of the cast off align with the cast on. This helps to prevent the collar from skewing.
If you are committed to picking up sts, it may help to pick up sts with a small circular. The needle size can be smaller than the size needed for the collar since it will only be used to hold sts. Then you can knit together the cast off to the held sts. Since you can count the held sts and make sure they equal the cast off this helps keep the collar from skewing.
Hi there
Thanks for the reply. There are 2 videos, one with yellow yarn and then one that comes up after it with white yarn.
Problem is I am a beginner and not good at reading my knitting. When I fold the piece up to start knitting in the cast on edge, I am not sure what I’m looking at. As far as I can make out there is a series of chevrons on the top of the cast on edge with a loop at the back and one at the front. Both videos are unclear as sometimes the knitter picks up the front and then at other times the back. Either way it goes too quick to see what’s going on.
Also, I have no idea which is which side.
Hmm… I’ve looked at quite a lo5 or video tutorials trying to find a clearer one but I haven’t found any better. Maybe someone else knows a clear tutorial.
Now would be a good time to put in a life line with some smooth spare yarn or embroidery thread. This is a great resource for knitters new and experienced alike and well worth the time. If your folded neck doesn’t turn out right you will be able to go back to this life line without losing all your stitches.
If you’ve never done a life line before you might want to try it out on a small swatch, like in the tutorial.
If you follow the first stitch all the way down its column from the needle edge to the cast I edge and place a marker or safety pin or piece of scrap yarn through it, when you fold the cast on edge to the inside you will easily identify which the first cast on stitch is you need to join.
I would just pick up the cast on edge and not worry too much about if you got it exactly the right way. Learning is about trying, not always getting it right and then improving as you go. I did some quite random pick ups and increases on my first knitted sweater and no one knows. So long as you don’t drop stitches your sweater won’t fall apart. This join is all on the inside so going to be hidden anyway.
You could try it out on a small swatch if you have another pair of needles and a spare ball of yarn - it doesn’t need to be in the round, doesn’t need to be the same size needles, just cast on say 10 or 20 stitches and rib as many rows as needed to be able to fold it over then have a go at it and knit of on a few rows beyond the join to see the effect.
I use lots of swatches when I come across a new technique, you can practise without worrying about ruining your project.
Or, as salmonmac mentioned, you can skip this join and just continue with your pattern. Then at the end you can sew down the folded neck edge to the inside. Perhaps have a look at some videos on how to sew a knitted hem and see if you would feel happier to do this?
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At about 4:40min in this video you can see one example of where to pick up the stitch on the inside of the collar. If you have a nice series of purl bumps, this’ll work.
Here’s also a tutorial that may help. See the 3rd photo down the page.
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