Hello. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how to avoid gaps and elongated stitches when picking up and knitting around armholes?
The pattern I’m following has set in sleeves which are knit bottom up and then seamed. I have been learning short rows for this and following a great tutorial on how to do top down set in sleeves ( Set-In Sleeves from the Top Down | sweaterequity.com ) which involves picking up a calculated number of stitches (using gauge to work out size) and then working the sleeve cap back and forth. I did however notice I had gaps at the start of the sleeve.
It’s silly but the top at the shoulders is knitted with size 3.25 mm needles but I only have 3.0 and 3.5 mm circular ones so I used the 3.5 mm needles to pick up the armhole stitches before switching to the straight 3.25 mm ones for the sleeve cap. Could the bigger needles account for some of the gaps? Another “special” thing I did was pick up the stitches one row away from the edge so when I pulled them out and corrected this, I had made that row around the armhole gappy.
Whilst working, I thought I would be able to close some gaps at the end when weaving in tails and the like but after finishing the cap, I thought it would probably be better to frog. I realise I could pick up more stitches for the sleeves (especially on the diagonal decrease armhole section) and then follow this with a knit round where I do decreases to reduce the stitch count but does anyone have any advice for preventing the elongated stitches? Have I been pulling them too much with my awkward straight knitting?
When I searched for advice I only found information on reducing gaps picking up only the underarm stitches where the yokes had already been knit so I thought I’d check before frogging.
Thank you everyone.
2 Likes
I use Paula Ward’s technique for picking up stitches for a top down set-in sleeve. It works to solve the type of problem you’re having: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv3YDmqnQzA
1 Like
I did a very similar thing to you, learning the top down set in sleeve method by calculating and short rows for the cap. I also had the same result of loose stitches at the pick up. From what I’ve read and the help I received here I believe this is quite common and there are tips to overcome it which adds to the idea of it being quite common.
Starting with a larger needle won’t have helped but even so, you’d get this loose pick up with the correct size too. Starting with a much smaller needle for the initial pick up row can help a fair amount and switch to the correct size for row 2 (all the short row shaping). I feel this has some but kind of limited success.
Another method is to add a second strand of thread, like an embroidery thread, hold it with your working yarn on the pick up row, drop the thread after row 1 and continue the cap with your project yarn. Later (after cap is worked never straight away) you return to the thread and either:
Pull the thread from both ends, like mattress stitch seaming ‘zip up’ method, leaving it in the sweater, and weave in both ends. This requires matching colour thread although it is not really seen inside the ‘seam’.
Or
Use the thread as a guide to show you where the pick up row yarn travels and take out the slack of the very last stitch picked up, then the next and the next and so on, eventually reaching the first stitch picked up. This produces a huge amount of slack at the tail end of the working yarn where you started the pick up, the slack is removed from all around the armhole making a good job of neatening it all up, the resulting long tail can be cut and woven in or used for seaming down the sleeve (if knitting flat) or duplicate stitch to pull together any little hole at the underarm after finishing the sleeve. This requires a contrasting colour thread so it is easily seen as it shows you where the line of travel is to take out the slack yarn, afterwards this thread can be removed completely.
This result is good but the process is a bit of a faff and did leave me feeling a sewn in sleeve would have been quicker and easier.
Here’s a short video of part of the process as i haven’t managed to find the original video i watched
One more method i have used is to pick up all stitches for row 1, then cut the yarn leaving a tail both ends, then work into the stitches leaving a new tail. Work the short rows and all of the sleeve cap and when complete go back to the original strand used for the pick up and pull both tails like zipping up mattress stitch, this makes a very snug and neat pick up row, you only see row 2, just like a seam. It also adds more stability like a seam. There will be these two tails to weave in plus the working yarn tail. One can be used for underarm duplicate stitch to draw in any gap there.
Well, that’s just my experience and the tricks I’ve learned. Maybe some of it will help, if not then just know you’re not alone.
Your knitting is lovely and even. It may be that you are picking up sts too close to the edge of the shoulder. Moving in even a 1/2 stitch might help. The straight needle isn’t helping with these initial rows either. A circular or even dpns might help until you get started or past the short rows.
Another possibility is working the pick up or that first row too tightly or too loosely. Either can distort the stitches and leave gaps.
