Hi, my name is Julie Mahoney. I’ve been a knitter for years, but this problem is a first!
I’m making a long wrap (worked flat). Cast on first and then starts with the cuff ribbing K1P1 for 10 inches. It has a beautiful knit in pattern for about 110 inches in length, then you knit the other cuff still working flat for K1P1 for 10 inches. After basting the two cuff’s seams and wrapping it around my shoulders a couple of times, I’ve decided it’s not working for me and I want to just remove the cuffs. I will use it as a shawl.
Question: How do I rip out (frog) from the cast on edge of the first cuff?
Many thanks for helping this old grandma!!! (haha but true)
Julie
Welcome to the forum!
What is the name of your pattern and designer?
It sounds like a very pretty pattern for a wrap. You might try this trick which works well for shortening (or lengthening) knit pieces. If you’re not sure about it, try it out on a swatch first.
This is just my personal experience of having done this, I’m no expert in this (or any knitting!). There isn’t really a need or use for picking up in pattern because when you catch these stitches after the surgery you can’t knit down in the same column as you knitted up. You’re catching the bottom of the stitch which is a half stitch out of line with your pattern (it’s not the top of the stitch that you pick up because that’s at the top or bind off end).
Ideally you would do the surgery at the transition row between rib and pattern so your pattern fabric is saved and rib removed. When I’ve done this myself I found I lost a row or two because of my lack of skill so if it was me I would do the surgery in the last row of rib and slowly unpick each stitch to get to the pattern row. Then bind off.
Doing it this way is slower because it doesn’t just frog and the yarn has to taken out of each stitch, but for me it’s safer to ensure I don’t lose a pattern row.
Maybe make a swatch of rib and pattern and then do the surgery on that for a practise first? It’s a useful test to see how it’s going to look and how to treat the new edge (which bind off to use or if you want to add icord or a small crochet or knit kace edge or whatever).
