Hi there - I’m new to this site. I’m not a beginner at knitting but neither am I hugely experienced!! I’m trying out a pattern by Ana Tricosa (real name Soderman - she’s Swedish) She’s developed a (rather complicated) system she calls Ziggurat based on knitting from the top down. I’m knitting on circular needles, though currently knitting backwards and forwards on them as I’m shaping the back and shoulders. I thought I was doing OK but have got my needles and cable in a weird state where the knitting can’t continue. Is anyone familiar with the Ziggurat method out there?
Ziggurat Method
Hello
I’m not familiar with this myself but lots of members here knit top down sweaters and have experience of all sorts of methods.
I just stopped by to suggest adding a photo of your knitting and perhaps more description of what has happened as this will likely help others to help you more.
Is there a pattern name?
I’m pretty sure you’ll get the help you need to be able to continue.
Welcome to KH!
There’s a nice tutorial here that may help. Otherwise, Creations suggestion to post a photo of where you are is a good one.
https://www.asatricosa.com/ziggurat/
What is the name of your pattern? Asa Tricosa’s patterns are nicely designed but a bit tricky.
I’d never heard of ziggurat knitting before. I’m watching the video linked in the page salmonmac posted. Maybe I’ll know more after listening to Ana Tricosa talk about it. I’m intrigued. I do top down, I’m trying to work out how to do something different right now. I’ve never done the shoulders and sleeves contiguous. That was too complicated for me when I wanted to get on with making the sweater and there were rumors that fitting them is very tricky. I think Suzanne Bryan might have a video that includes the method but I"m not sure. I suspect ziggurat knitting has a somewhat different approach so that might not help even if I could find it.
Thank you so much! The name of the pattern is Dusala - it’s a cardigan and it’s from her book Ziggurats - I’d got as far as the front of the left shoulder shaping and then realised my right needle was - I guess the only way I can described it - back to front. I’ve seen the video from Fruity Knitting and when she lays out the different stages it makes sense, BUT she doesn’t show them with the position of the needles and cables. I will take a photo and post to but to tomorrow morning when there’s more light around!
Thank you - I’ll try looking at the tutorials again. And will post a picture.
I found out there’s a Ravelry group you might find helpful, she mentioned in the interview. Hopefully the link below takes you to it. I’m still watching the video. I get the concept but I suspect the details would do me in. I hope you will post a photo of your work. We might just suss out what you need to do. BTW if you haven’t watched the video you just might get your answer from the examples she shows. I’d love it if you kept us updated on how this works out for you. I might get brave and try it myself one day. Thank you for posting about it.
Dear GrumpyGramma (great name btw!) yes no worries I will definitely post a pic tomorrow when we have daylight. They’re beautiful designs in her book; I’ve actually had the book for at least 4 years and have only just got brave enough to try one of the designs. I think I’ve made an error by starting off with a cardigan, which has the complication of the button band. Wisdom in hindsight I guess. I am a member of the Ravelry group but suspect I don’t use it properly. I have watched the video but wish shed show the positions of the needles - which is where I’ve come unstuck. A demain!
You’re braver than me! I bet you work this out. I am currently working on a top down sweater with a sort of saddle shoulder - and no pattern. Some things don’t scare me. That method of knitting…well, maybe I"ll get brave enough sometime. I have some real fit issues like multiple size and I’m put together with mismatched parts. Having figured out what works makes my shy away from things and that’s not always good.
GrumpyGramma started as a joke with my grandkids. I told them I was grumpy one day and they insisted I wasn’t. They were in the car when I picked them up from school. They stopped sniping at each other for at least five minutes while I insisted I was grumpy…and I was. lol Reactions to my user name are mixed. I get those like yours and some simply assume I’m a grump and criticize it. It makes for interesting online 'people watching;. I should work out how to do a sweater with GRUMPY on the front.
I’d like to see that - a GRUMPY sweater!
OK I’ll try to put up my very poor photos and see if they can make sense.
My problem was how to get from the backwards and forwards short row knitting for the front shoulder and beginnings of button band around the back to get to the right shoulder! Flummoxed! I’ve put the front shoulder cuff onto a piece of green yarn as a temporary holder while I work out what to do - maybe continue with 2 sets of needles and cables?
OK I have already said I don’t do top down and not familiar with this method but I scanned the video and looked at your photo.
At 49.12 she says you work your way back around to the back and across to the right shoulder. Is this where you are? So after the front left short rows you work across from button band to shoulder, across left sleeve cap and to back left and across all the back stitches to the back right then work there.
If this is useless feel free to ignore.
Hi there Creations - and thank you! No it’s not useless at all - very helpful. And I am trying to work my way around where you have pointed put but my problem is that the right needle is facing in the wrong direction - which if I had continued would have resulted in the two sides joining up. Maybe I have got the knitting of the short rows back to front, but the RS and WS did seem to correspond to her instructions.
Yes, I understand what you mean.
Is there any chance you missed a row?
Or that the return row is in the next part of the instruction which is the “seam” of the sleeve cap going over the shoulder?
I don’t know how these patterns are written, do they read differently to other patterns? Could you perhaps quote a couple of lines of this section?
From the short (and dizzying) Instagram video, it looks like you won’t knit around the back to the right shoulder. (see the link below for the tutorial)
Instead you’ll pick up sts at the shoulder seam. It’s #5 in this figure…
The figure is taken from here (also the reference to the Insta video):
https://www.asatricosa.com/ziggurat/
I often find it helpful to read the comments of people who have made the item. From the pattern page in Ravelry, click on Projects. Sometimes there’s helpful advice there, plus you can see the item in different colors. The one on Åsa Tricosa’s pattern page being done in charcoal doesn’l help see any details.
Side note: Åsa Tricosa rhymes! It’s pronounced OH-sah Trih-COH-sah.
Great pic.
I still think the line of travel goes across from front to back along the back and around to the right front where the stitches are picked up.
The bright red yarn starts at nunber 4 passes B then A thrn C then D then the pick ups, and (I think) needs to be a right side row. That’s my take anyway.
A pic with the line of travel marked up, but follows the bright red yarn from 4 through to 5
Yes, you’re right. The video is really quite clear on this.
I understand the needle was somehow looped, but I’m not sure in what way or which direction.
I’m assuming you need these stitches back on the needle and not on waste yarn.
Can you put them back on from the red arrow and towards the button band?
Where is your working yarn currently? At the red arrow? At the pink marker? Somewhere else?
I think you may be able to turn your work and slip the stitches until you get to your working yarn and may then be back in position to proceed with the direction of travel.