I am about to pick up stitches around a neckline to do a ribbed collar. The pattern says to pick up 93 stitches (the collar is k3p3 ribbing), but I am counting the number of stitches available to pick up, and it is no where close to 93… Can I pick up every stitch I have available as long as I come out a total number of picked up stitches that is a multiple of three? I was going to do a purl row right after picking up. Should I try to increase on the purl row to get closer to the 93 stitch count? Not sure what to do…didn’t have this problem before…
Around the back of the neck you would pick up in every stitch anyway; it’s just along the sides and the diagonal you would pick up 3 out of every 4 or so. It may be that your row gauge was different and you don’t have as many rows to pick up in. So you’d just pick up less stitches, as long as they’re a multiple of 6 (which 93 is not - 90 or 96 would be).
I went back and looked at it again. Just to be clear, on the back, should I be putting my needle through only the wholes between a full stitch, or through every hole? Does that make sense? I was counting each chevron as a stitch, but I was wondering if I could go through the centers of the chevrons as well as next to them, and that would give me close to what I need…
I’m guessing they don’t want a multiple of 3 but a multiple of 3 +3 which 93 is. That way the ends will both end the same way. n=purl, v=knit vvvnnnvvv
I hope your collar will be full enough. You certainly don’t need to have the exact number of stitches they call for, but if it is too far off the collar may look different unless your gauge is off enough to add all you need. But it will probably work, maybe be a bit more diminutive.
So is it okay to pick up stitches, not only in between each stitch(chevron), but in the centers of the stitches as well, or is that going to be messed up somehow?
31 times 3 is 93. Because 31 is an odd number, and there are only 2 types of stitches (k and p), it comes out the same on each end.
I was thinking it was k3 p3 in the round so having the odd number wouldn’t work. But that would be fine for a collar.
By ‘chevron’ you mean the V of the knit st, right? Honestly, you’re just going to have to try it, maybe a couple times, until it looks right to you. Around the back of the neck only pick up one in every stitch on the neck, but along the sides of the neck you will have to change that, even if you pick up less stitches, sometimes you have to. If you pick up too many it’ll make your collar sort of ruffley and maybe not lie flat. You don’t have to pick up the number they say too, maybe 87 or 81 will look better. You can pick up [I]what fits the stitches[/I] and do a couple rows of the collar to see how it looks. What’s the pattern? A look at a picture of it can help us see where you’re supposed to be picking up.
Thank you so much for your advice. I don’t have the pattern info. I am using a photocopy from someone else’s book, and I don’t know the title. I have to get my daughter off to bed, but I plan to tackle this in the morning! Thanks again!