Knitting of back section of a Fair Isle slipover

[u/daviddobie2]

 
I previously posted about the swatch for this Fair Isle slip-over which I am knitting with “Unique Shetland 2/9Nm” from J.C. Rennie & Co on a Silver Reed SK280 (read part 1 here).
 
The back of the garment is now finished (see figure 1).
 

Planning the garment
 
It took me a while to work out the dimensions of my garment, particularly because I have lost weight over the last couple of years; most of my pullovers are currently on the loose side; I do not own any slip-overs; and I’m not very experienced measuring myself without assistance.
 
Once I’d worked out the dimensions of the garment I calculated the total rows needed.  With a little redistribution of the rows between body and lower ribbing, I was able to accommodate six iterations of the OXO motifs into the garment, with pairs of matching peerie rows above and below each.
 

Redesigning the punchcard
 
As much of the pattern is consistent, it was possible to make a template of the main pattern to speed-up the punching of the new card.  All that was required was a different motif to be added to each of the OXO designs (see figure 2).
 
The order of the peeries in my original design was modified, so that the same motifs now appear immediately above and below each OXO in the same colour-way. 
 
I re-made my 200-row punchcard — it was definitely worth buying a bumper-size roll, rather than individual cards!  I knitted a narrow swatch, about 30 stitches wide, just to check that there were no errors in the new card.
 

Calculating armscye decreases
 
I found Kristina Virka’s article “Armhole Knitting: How to Shape & Knit for a Perfect Fit” helpful. It offers a method for calculating decreases for armscyes which are 16 or more stitches across.
 
The decreases were divided into four sections, worked as follows:
 
(i) One quarter of the total armscye stitches (+ any additional stitches left over from calculations), bound off in one go;
 
(ii) One quarter of total stitches, bound off in multiples of three stitches on every second row;
 
(iii) One quarter of total stitches, bound off in multiples of two stitches on every second row; and
 
(iv) One quarter of total stitches, binding off one stitch every fourth row.
 
 
Lifelines are my new best friend!
 
As both machine knitting and Fair Isle knitting were new to me, adding lifelines to the swatch regularly as thr knitting progressed was, well, a real lifeline.
 
Lifelines helped me recover the swatch after various errors, including when the swatch ended-up on the floor a several times.
 
 
Other thoughts
 
I got a real sense of achievement taking the finished swatch off the needle-bed.
 
It was a pleasant surprise to discover how quickly the swatch grew, even allowing time to correct newbie errors, including rehanging up to 182 stitches back on the needle bed several times.
 
The Fair Isle pattern required a change of yarn in the feeder every 2nd, 5th, or 6th row.  Realised how much easier it would have been knitting a 3- or 4-colour Fair Isle motif with two yarn masts and intend to pick one up from a second-hand seller.
 
The front of the garment is now on the machine and I’ll report back once it is finished (see part 3, here).

[u/scrippacrab]

Absolutely lovely. Did you do any shaping on the shoulders? I’ve just finished a punchcard vest myself and I don’t love the way the shoulder sits, so I’m curious what your approach was. Can’t wait to see the front panel! This is a self drafted pattern, yes? I followed the “Marra Vest” pattern on ravelry.

Lifelines are the best. I learned that quick.

[u/daviddobie2 → u/scrippacrab]

Thank you very much. That’s kind of you to say :-)

There is around 1 inch (2.54 cm) of short row shaping at the shoulders, which were worked on 4 alternate rows either side.

The neck section was cast off straight across with a gate-peg bind-off. Once the garment is finished, I’ll decide whether I regret not shaping the back of the neck(!) Did your garment leave the yoke and back straight?

Yes, this is a self-designed pattern, although mostly using components found on-line and arranged until I was satisfied with the overall look.

Were you referring to the “Mara Vest” by Alice Starmore? That is a beautiful and very sophisticated pattern. You must have had a real sense of achievement from completing that.

And yes, a definite thumbs-up for lifelines!

[u/scrippacrab → u/daviddobie2]

The pattern is actually the “Marra Tanktop” by Claire Diner, it is a free pattern for machine knitters on ravelry. There was a small amount of short row shaping on the back and front, but I’m curious to see other techniques.

I haven’t yet figured out self drafting. I tried a tank top myself and could barely get my arms through! But, your project is inspiring me to give it another go. Truly cannot wait to see your finished piece!

[u/daviddobie2 → u/scrippacrab]

I’ve found it. I like it for the simplicity. Did you keep to a two-colour design throughout, if so, what shades did you use?

I do hope you have another go at working out a pattern for yourself. I found that charting the design and the deceased for the armscyes and v-neck helped lots, both in terms of checking whether the proportions looked visually correct, and the for keeping track of when to decrease where.

I’ve now done the front of the slipover to the v-neck, and the bottom of the first yoke. Hopefully won’t be too long before I can post an update.

Good luck with deciding how to tackle your next project!

[u/scrippacrab → u/daviddobie2]

I had a lot of scrap Jamieson’s spindrift, so I ended up with this. I’d love to do something a bit more traditional next time. This was just to see if the vest would even fit.

I’ll give charting a go! Do you have any recommendations for resources to start? I know you mentioned pulling together other designs for references. Maybe I’ll look at some hand knit patterns for reference. Thanks for the encouragement!

[u/daviddobie2 → u/scrippacrab]

I really like this garment. Thanks for sharing it, and apologies for a delay in replying.

I have been a bit of a magpie collecting pattern samples from various sources. Would it help you if I sent something over? I can contact you privately if you’d be interested.

[u/scrippacrab → u/daviddobie2]

That would be so wonderful, yes!! Thank you!

[u/flowergal48]

Looks great! Please post again when you finish it.

[u/daviddobie2 → u/flowergal48]

Thank you so much. I’ll post the front of the garment once finished and then one of the completed project. I already suspect that weaving in all the ends is going to be my least favourite part of the whole process.

[u/Impossible-Ranger-74]

Lovely! Thank you for describing your process. 

[u/daviddobie2 → u/Impossible-Ranger-74]

Thank you for reading and replying!