shoulder workout...

finished

On that ivory Two-Faced, with the hand-transferred lace vees, Back and Front, I had one shoulder joined, did the armhole band and seamed one side at home, planning to make the neckband at the seminar. At the show, I got the neckband done just fine, using the same method I had used on the armband, an 8-row stockinette hem with graded tension, see below. Got that done, it looked beautiful and it was time for lunch. There were a few questions and I promised to show seaming the other shoulder and the neckband, but some how got on to other things and didn’t get back to it.

The perfect stockinette band, Sample in Wool Crepe Deluxe, stockinette T6, 34 sts and 50 rows to 10 cm/4 in. To determine number of needles required, for this weight of yarn, hold edge up to needle bed and stretch slightly to add 10-15% extra. Add extra stitch at each end for seaming if necessary or joining. For neck band/open stitches, take number of sts and reduce by 5/6.

hang second shoulder

1.  Cast on WY. Knit 10 rows.

2.  Ravel cord, knit 1 row, ending Carriage At Left.

3.  RC000. T7, MC, K1R. Hang clip on yarn tails at ends to add a bit of weight so they don’t knit too tightly.

4.  Tighten tension by 2 dots, K1R, 3X.

5.  Tighten tension by 1 dot, K1R, 3X to T4 at RC008.

6.  T8, K1R.

7.  T4, reverse back up to RC017.

unravel last row

8.  Hang hem starting from right end. Pick up second stitch and put on second needle - this makes it easier to find first stitch. At left side take beginning tail of yarn and loop oven end needle to hold the end together and puts the yarn tail at the right place to begin seaming end of band.

9.  T8, K1R.

10.  Remove on WY or garter bar.

Leaving end ns empty, hang garment, picking up whole outside edge stitch, gathering slightly as necessary. Turn band and rehang, open sts in hooks. Pull through. Manually knit loose row and chain cast off. Basically, start hem at one or two numbers number higher than main tension and grade down by one or two dots to the fold row, reverse on other side of fold row. After completion, thread Double Eye Transfer Tool through band, hold on fold and stretch band out to set stitches, passing tool along inside band as
necessary.

manually knit loose row

Anyway, one of the questions was, double end stitches of neckline when hanging and I’d said no, because the method I use for seaming the shoulder (on the machine – see below) and seaming the neckband (see below) …

Take first shoulder, hang knit/right side facing, remove waste. Hang second shoulder, putting right sides together, leaving all stitches in hooks. Remove waste yarn and carefully rip out
last row of stockinette of main yarn – I always knit a plain row at the top of the shoulder to get rid of any wraps from shortrowing and it’s easier to rehang/pick up a plain row after pattern stitches. Separate the two sets of sts and pull the front sts through the back set. That ripped out row should give you enough yarn to make that manually-knit loose row to cast off and it eliminates another couple of extra ends to darn in. Shoulder looks better because you don’t get a stacked couple of plain rows and there is nothing to double up for the neckband!

pin curled-in edges

Pin out the curled-in edges of the neckband and steam. This steaming defines the edge stitches, making the whole thing easier to handle and see. Then, using the longest tail available from the inside edge, hand stitch from the top/outside, through bar of half outside edge stitch from one side, across to corresponding bar of half stitch of adjoining piece, to next bar, etc. (going into each half stitch or bar only once) to end and thread the tail in the inside of the band. This makes a nice, flat, almost invisible, no bulk join/seam, when done neatly, blends right into the band, making it continuous, both inside and out!