I’ve finished the body ribbing. I ended up doing closer to 4 inches of ribbing just so the body would end exactly where I wanted it to end.
Sunday night I picked up stitches around the cowl — 208 (yay! divisible by four!) — and promptly went to bed. That’s more stitches than what was on the body.
I now have a couple of inches of cowl ribbing done, and I’ve made another notable mod. I decreased the ribbing along the back neck as well as the center portion (where you cast on extra stitches to join the two fronts). I decreased approximately 10 stitches in each area, and I did it by changing a purl 2 to a purl 1 in all those places. Click on the left pic below–see how the ribs look like they’re getting closer together? That’s because they are.
Why did I do this? Well, I’ve seen a few of the SCs out there that have looked a little floppy, and I was concerned that mine might do that too. So, decreasing the cowl and then increasing it back will give it more support and help the under layer to stay close to my body.
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See that pic on the right? That’s to show you what a 9.5 inch raglan depth looks like on me. There’s still plenty of room. I did cast on about 8 stitches at each underarm to merge the front with the back, but still — that length is plenty long.
Now, I’m only 5’2″ so I’m sure some of you will need longer. My point in showing you this is to realize you don’t need that long of a raglan. In fact, raglans that are too long are ill-fitting because they restrict your arm movement (and pull up your sweater more as you raise your arm), and bunch up under your arm when your arm is down because there’s extra fabric where you don’t need it.
So, if you’re doing a raglan try it on often! This is one of the easiest shapes to fit to your own body–just give it a try.
Lookin’ good. The raglan depth looks perfect.
Love the expression on your face in the first picture!
It looks fabulous, way to alter the pattern to your body. You rock!
I love when knitters share their modifications Although I probably won’t make that sweater, it’s good information to have.
love the sweater! i can’t wait to see it finished
Ooooh…oooh ooh! I love your hair! And the sweater looks great too.
mine in my essential stripe is 9 inches and its just right!
Oh, I love it, I love the color even more now that I see it on you (cute hair, btw!).
I wish I could so confidently madify patterns – the neckline looks beautiful, I really love it.
Thanks for the observations about raglans – I hadn’t really thought about modifying…
it’s going to look soo cute! Especially with your cute, flippy hair! The color is nice, too. Thanks for sharing your process, this is so very helpful for readers to learn from.
That is a great technical mod.
Hello. It came out really nice. Im going to refer back to your blog when I get to the point of the raglan opening. Thank you so much for sharing your progress and notes.
That sweater is already great, but it will be pretty spectacular when it’s finished. It looks very cute with your hair too. Happy knitting.
Whoa, hottie! It looks great and it fits you like a glove.
You’re so good at making modifications; it just blows my mind away.
Thanks for all that advice. I do like raglans and you’re right on the money about the pulling when you lift your arms.
Great sweater Jody! I love you’re willingness to jump in and make it right for you! Your hair looks very cute too
I look forward to the day when your modifications make more sense to me. As I am shorter than you by 2 inches, your notes would probably help the pattern (which I may make one day) fit me, so I will be in contact, in oh about 2010). Looks great.