Well, now, happy Wednesday everyone! Here is a shot of my Georgetown—
My post’s title is a bit of a misnomer . . . I don’t knit my sleeve caps at the same time, as some folks do with socks. But, I do knit them *both* before I knit the rest of the sleeves.
Here are my reasons:
- It’s easier to keep track and get into the rhythm of the short rows.
- It’s easier to remember all of the techniques needed for the German short rows I’m using here. Yes, yes, I know Hannah Fettig does not use the German short rows–hers are more w&t–but I love them! And use them whenever I can. I learned about and used them on the Aileas cardigans and I think they are neat (both meanings). Plus, the knitter doesn’t have to locate those pesky wraps.
- The knitting feels like it’s going faster: once I finish one sleeve and want to move on to the next, all of the technical bits are finished, so I can just go onward to the decreases and roll down the sleeve.
- It gives me a chance to truly try on the sweater before going any further–I have wide shoulders and it’s a good moment to check that these caps and the width of the back of the sweater will cut it.
How about you? Are you a two-at-a-timer? Do you like short-row sleeve caps? What kinds of short rows do you prefer to knit?
Knitting the Stash! 
German short rows *are* neat! I usually knit things 2 at a time and pause that for short rows, like when turning the heal of a sock. The sweater looks great so far! Also, what a coincidence – I have broad shoulders also, broad enough that I often have to go up a size when I make sweaters or buy tops.
LikeLike
Ah ha! Another lady with broad shoulders! The world was not designed for us . . . but at least we can design a little bit of it around us! And hooray for German short rows–they have quickly become my favorite 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
German short rows look easier to do that “normal” short rows. I’ve also done Carol Sunday’s wrapless short rows; you might want to check that technique out too, it makes for very neat short rows that really blend in with the surrounding fabric. https://www.sundayknits.com/techniques/shortrows.html
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes I will always try to get the sleeves out of the way fast and easy. In this case I do think is critical for the fit and it is a great idea to do them first.
(I wrote a blog post recently about my sleeve code if you want to check it out 😉 https://thesweaterknitter.com/2017/08/15/the-sleeve-code/ )
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Virginia! I love your blog–such great info and this post in particular is interesting to me. I like the plans you have for sleeve knitting. Looking forward to following your sweater adventures!
LikeLiked by 1 person
If I knit a sweater in pieces, I usually work both sleeves at the same time, but when working in the round, I do tend to focus on sleeves one at a time, but I like this idea, should definitely try it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Alina! So nice to hear about your process! I’m knitting a sweater in pieces for my husband (next on the needles) and I think I’ll try your two-at-a-time method for the sleeves. Thanks!
LikeLike