I am knitting a cardigan in pieces, and now only missing the sleeves. The pattern states that I need to CO 82 stitches, and work 166 rows in linen stitch. I then need to sew the sleeve to the body by lining up the centre of sleeve with the shoulder seam (for both sleeves), then sew the sleeve seams and the side seams. So much work.
My question is, would it be okay to instead pick up stitches so I can sew the sleeves in the round, then just worry about seeming the rest of the side seams? If so, how many stitches do I need to pick up?
You can do this easily if the sleeve doesn’t have a sleeve cap (the shaping after an initial underarm bind off). It there is a sleeve cap, it requires short row shaping for a top down sleeve.
Make sure you can work the linen stitch in the round. There are several videos online.
Check your pattern and see how many sts there are at the top of the sleeve. In general, that’s the number you would need to pick up assuming it’s a no-sleeve-cap sleeve.
You’ll have to consider any sleeve shaping in the body of the sleeve too as these sts will have to be decreased as you work toward the cuff.
What is the name of your pattern?