Help with sweater edging

#1

Hello, I am new to knitting and started with the daisy chain pattern from ravelry. It is quite lovely and was easy, until NOW! I am using circular needles and am to the part where you edge it by picking up stitches. I understand the picking up stitches, but basically, I have the bottom of the sweater on the circular needles (I knitted from the top down and am at the bottom of the sweater) and then I am supposed to edge up the side and around the neck and down the other side. I tried pushing the bottom of the sweater down a bit and then using that free needle to pick up stitches, but ended up with half of the circular needles filled with the bottom of my sweater and half with the picked up stitches…that didn’t seem right. Here is what it says

Continue to work back and forth on the body in stockinette stitch (knit all right side rows, purl all wrong side rows) until the body measures 10 ½ (13 ½, 15)” from top of neck cast-on; end having just finished a RS row.[COLOR=“Orange”]I am here[/COLOR]
Edging
Place a marker to mark the beginning of the edging round. Pick up and knit stitches up right front of the cardigan (pick up 2 sts for every 3 rows), place a 2nd marker at the top of the right front, continue to pick up and knit 1 sts in every stitch around the neckline
(across right shoulder,across back, across left shoulder. Pick up and knit sts down the left front, picking up 2 sts for every 3 rows. Knit across all bottom edge sts ending at the beginning of round marker.
Next round: SM, purl around all edging sts ending back at beginning of the round marker. SM
Next round: knit to 3 sts before next marker, bind off 2 sts, SM, knit to end of round.
Next round: purl to previously bound off sts, remove marker, purl to end of round.
Next round: knit all sts.
Last round: Use #8 needle to bind off all sts

How do I do this???

Thanks, Deb

#2

You’re going to be knitting in the round for the edging. You’ll knit from the bottom sts up the front, around the neck, down the front and connect to the other side of the bottom stitches. The sts may well fill the needle that you’re working on but that’s ok. You can still knit around. If it’s really very tight and crowded on the needle so that it’s difficult to move the sts, then you may need to go up a needle length size or use two circular needles.

#3

So I use those same circular knitting needles that my sweater is on and just move the bottom of the sweater into the middle and put the picked up stitches on one needle and then start knitting with the other one?

#4

You’ll be picking up the sts immediately next to the bottom edging and picking up until you get to the other side of the bottom edging. At that point, continue on to the bottom sts so that you close the circle. In a sense, yes, the current bottom edge will be in the middle, but it will all connect as one big circle. You won’t be knitting back and forth on this. You’ll be knitting in the round.

#5

OK, I’ve now tried this 3 times and had to take it out. It says I should have ended on a RS row. In my mind that would be that I just finished knitting and when I flipped it around I would be starting a purling row. My yarn is hanging off of the left side of my sweater(ok, the left with me looking at it, but it would be right if i was wearing it…). This pattern says to pick up stitches up the right side of my sweater…I can’t do this if the string is on the other side, right? Although I would have thought it would have still worked, just been opposite…But it is sooooo not working! I can’t believe I can’t figure this out! When I lay the sweater down - the right side (knitted side) is on the table and I lay the sides over so it looks like a sweater…is that the right front or is it looking at it with the right side of the sweater facing you and not lying on the table…holy cow! OK answer me this…the bottom edge of my sweater is on my needles, the yarn is on my left - do I use the needle to my left to pick up stitches on the side where the yarn is??? I was using the needle on the right…Does any of this make sense??

#6

Right side and Left side mean as you’re wearing a sweater, so after you finish a RS row, you should have the Right edge/side of the sweater at the end of the row. Just don’t turn at the end of the RS row, but pick up sts down the edge of the sweater as it’s hanging down from your needles.

#7

" OK answer me this…the bottom edge of my sweater is on my needles, the yarn is on my left - do I use the needle to my left to pick up stitches on the side where the yarn is??? I was using the needle on the right…Does any of this make sense??"
Use the needle on the left, which has the yarn hanging from it, to pick up the sts. You want the sts to be continuous with the bottom sts that are already on the needle. You can hold the needle with the working yarn in your left hand or in your right hand, whichever is more comfortable for you but you want the outer or public side of the knitting facing you as you pick up.
It’s not mentioned in the pattern, but it’s a good idea to pick up an extra st at the corners so that the edging won’t curl as it turns the corner.

#8

I hate to confuse things… is it possible the pattern means “ride side” vs. “wrong side” ? :shrug:

#9

Hildy! You’re back! Good to see you.

And yeah, I wouldn’t get all twisted up about the R or L side/edge whatever. Just pick up the sts with the working yarn on your R needle and the Right Side of your work facing you.

#10

OK! I finally did it RIGHT!! Now I am to the end of the pattern where it says to bind off using #8 double pointed needles. Is this because I am knitting in the round? I don’t have #8 double pointed needles. Do I have to use double pointed? Can I use regular needles?

#11

I don’t see why double pointed needles. It may be that the size of the needles (#8’s) is important. Is it larger than the size needle you are on now? If so, it may be that the pattern is recommending size 8to insure that you bind off loosely.

#12

I’m supposed to be using #6 circular needles and then binding off in #8 double pointed…So just using regular number 8’s should be ok. I’m not sure what that looks like to bind off with needles other than the ones you are using…

#13

It’s going to look fine. It’s just a way to make sure that you bind off loosely so the edging will stretch around the sweater and not pull. And of course, if you don’t like it you can always take out the bind off and continue on the #6 needles.