Nikol here. I’m down to the torso. I still have another ball to knit on the torso before I have to commit to a sleeve, but I have no idea which way I want to go.
Tip: If you haven’t picked out a button yet, you can use a mini pinback button as a placeholder so you can still try on you WIP. I’m using a My Paper Crane sad toast pinback button.
I’ve been using the waste yarn holding the sleeve stitches to manipulate the shape of the sleeves and play with different options. I think both the cap sleeve and the flutter sleeve look really good with the collarless version.
We got a great question about larger sizing on the flickr group from 2girlsnaboy. I thought other people might be interested, so I’m including the question and my answer, plus some extra info on sizing in the other direction.
Q: I am not quite a medium anymore (!), but a large. I am wondering if anyone has made this in a size a bit bigger than provided in the pattern, and if so, the suggested increases?
A: It’s knit to size, so you’ll make the changes automatically. The wide neckline (~21 inches) is suitable for a wide range of sizes, and you’ll just keep going with the raglan increases until the sweater reaches below your armpits. If you’re bigger, this will be farther along, which will result in more increases overall, and thus more stitches overall.
If you want to add a bit of extra ease beyond that, you can also cast on more stitches over the armpits–this will give you some more fabric in the body and more fabric in the arms. 5 extra stitches will give you a little over an inch of extra fabric.
For a L, I’d stick with the pattern as written.
For an XL or 2XL, if you want the neckline to be a bit wider from the start, you can cast on an extra stitches from the beginning, then divide them among the sections. For 2 extra inches, figure about 10 extra stitches. I’d put an extra stitch on each sleeve, 2 on each front panel, and 4 in the back. For 4 extra inches, add an extra 20 st and put 4 on each front panel, 2 on each sleeve, and 8 in the back.
On the other hand, if you wish to make a smaller model, cut back on your intital CO stitches, and everything will fall into place. Top-down raglans are conveniently auto-sizing, so as long as you start with the neckline you want and divvy up the stiches with the same percentages, you’ll be able to generate any size you want.
For a very small frame or a child’s size, you’d cast on fewer stitches. Use the larger sizes as a guideline, but work backwards. So for 2 fewer inches of neckline, subtract 10 extra stitches. When you place the markers, take an extra stitch off each sleeve, 2 off each front panel, and 4 off the back, and CO 4 stitches over the armpits instead of 6.
For 4 fewer inches of collar, drop an extra 20 st and take 4 off each front panel, 2 off each sleeve, and 8 off the back. You’ll also want to start the puffs 1/2 inch sooner, and CO either 2 or 4 stitches over the armpits instead of the regular 6.
Whether you’re going up or down in sizes, you can check our size before you get going. After working a couple rows of collar, drape it around your neck to approximate the jacket’s neckline. If the size looks good, proceed.
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