Raglan Shaping

#1

I left my pattern at home, and have an hour on the train tonight to knit…I have finished the body and I just need raglan shaping - I’m knitting in the round 160 stitches. Can anyone help keep me busy on the train?

#2

If you want to make your sweater in one piece this is only going to work if you can start on the sleeves before you start your raglan shaping. That’s the way I do it. I haven’t made a sweater that I have to piece together in a long time. Just hate that seaming :aww:

Here’s the Elizabeth Zimmerman method:

(You have cast on 160 stitches as the Body stitches so everything else will be a percentage of that number.)

Put 8% of body stitches on a holder or waste yarn at each underarm and set aside. That would give you about 13 stitches for the underarm

You’ll cast on 20% of the 160, which is 32 for the sleeve. Join and work in the round, increasing 2 stitches every 5 rounds. When you have 33% of 160 (about 53 stitches) on your needle, work straight until the sleeve is as long as you want it to the underarm. Put 13 stitches for the underarm on a holder or waste yarn.

Make your second sleeve.

When it’s time to work the body you will put all of the body stitches and all of the sleeve stitches on your needle, matching the underarm stitches that are on your holders. Work all these stitches around for about an inch.

Now mark the stitches where the sleeve and body join – you can put a marker in between the first and last stitch of the sleeves in the front and back (you can use a loop of yarn or a twist tie or even a small rubber band if you don’t have a marker.)

For the raglan decrease you work up to 3 stitches from each marker and then k2tog, k1, slip marker, k1, ssk. Work the decrease every other row until you have 5% of the sleeve stitches left on the needle.(8 stitches)

This is probably way more than you could do in an hour on the train but I thought I’d give it to you just for giggles!

Hope this helps some!

#3

WAY more than I can do on my train ride, but great info - thanks! I’ve never tried working the sleeves in as one piece, but I hate doing seams, so it sounds like a winner to me!!!

#4

zkimom-
I have started the sleeves, but I can’t quite get my gead around the join up…do I work all the non-underarm stitches only (front, sleeve, back, sleeve)? Then what do I do with the underarm stitches?
Sorry if I’m being dense…
marf

#5

Yes, you work the body and all the stitches except the underarm stitches. After you finish the top of the sleeves and do the neck shaping (I can pm you the rest of the directions if you want!) you will kitchener the underarms together.

If you haven’t ever done a kitchener stitch, don’t fret, watch the video here on KH - that’s how I learned to do it, with my work in my lap and the video on!

#6

Zkimom - I LOVE the videos! I’ll take a look at the one for kitchener stitch.

Thanks for all your help! And yes, the rest of the pattern would be great - if you don’t mind!

Marf