Sleeve: So Close and Yet

You knew this one was coming.

See those wristers?  Nice, aren't they?  They are padding the length of that sleeve, I have decided.  The only place in the book where such "accessories" show up, and it's with my sweater.

And I don't care how tall those Nordic girls are reputed to be: that one serving as Solveig's model in the book must be, well, average. 

I say this because I reached the designated end of the sleeve this morning as I predicted, and also as I predicted, it was a smidge too short.

How short?

Well, this is how it looks at the wrist when the whole thing is smoothed out (simulating blockage) and held up to the dropped shoulder seam.

Once I sewed down that facing, I would need a lot of wrister to cover up those bones.  And this is how it looks when I pull the sleeve down to cover those bones.

The sweater body isn't in exactly the correct place, but it should give you an idea of how far from the destination we are in this journey yet.  It could certainly use another inch, (or two).  I don't begrudge the knitting (too much), I just worry about the "where" the pattern leaves off at the shoulder seam.  The instructions end the pattern off at the top of the charming pink colour stripe, giving the sleeve-to-shoulder transition a nice soft colour landing: pink next to beige? Very un-controversial.

Another inch of knitting (or two) will bring the colour rotation round about again to the poppy red, and then (should I persist) the persimmon orange, which will look like a dark stripe seamed up against the beige-on-ivory of the body pattern.  I am a bit in a muddle about it.  And no, I won't just knit on with the pink.  It would look funny too.

This is why knitting from the shoulder down would have been a good idea.  Oh frak how being tall is a nuisance sometimes.

Comments

[Suzanne V. (Yarnhog)]

Aaargh. I have that problem every time. Now, I adjust all the patterns up front to be at least two inches longer in the body and one inch longer in the sleeves--more if it looks short on the model, who has got to be shorter than I am (I'm 5' 11" and lanky--i.e. size small, which makes for even shorter garments). That would drive me crazy with a sweater where the size and the pattern are interconnected like that. I still love that sweater, though, and I can't wait to see it finished.

[Annie Driscoll]

I have the exact same problem with Starmore patterns, too. I suspect European models of having preternaturally short arms.

[liz]

I have the same problem in reverse. I'm short plus even accounting for that, I have short arms. So, I'm always having to cut out huge swathes of arm which throws off the stitch count. There is alot of invention on my sleeves. God only know what I'd do if confronted with actual stranded knitting.

[kate]

would you do better to pick out the wrist, knit what you need and graft it at the wrist?

[loribird]

Well, I admire your tenacity and determination. The sweater shall surely turn out well.
I wonder if you could do the sleeve "cap" in the same pattern as the body, adding that beige pattern to the top of the sleeve in such a way that it mimics the transition from the hem up? (if that makes any sense at all - I seem to be fumbling with words today.) It would be a change from the pattern, but would get rid of the color-next-to issues.

[michelle]

Ouch! It is still the most beautiful sleeve ever :).

I have the same problem although I'm not tall - but I have long legs, which in turn gives me long monkey-like arms.

[Tonia]

Crap I hate it when that happens. Is there any way you could put in another repeat bringing you back to the pink? Not sure if that would be way too long or not.

[cyn]

Um. Perhaps knit to the red section, then if you need more length, pick out the wrist and knit a ribbed section down? or something? I know you'll figure something out and it'll look stunning.

[Kim]

I know it will be hard for you to believe that me, being the short person that I am, actually begat a tall daughter who has those same long arms and legs.

Today we went school shopping, with a new school dress code in hand....agghh! It is not easy covering those long arms and legs, so I do truly feel your pain!

[Caroline M]

Don't you feel a bit cheated? It's not as if it fitted the model and didn't fit you - it is too short on her too.

[Susanne]

My sis made that sweater for my niece when it appeared in IK some years ago. She knit from the shoulder down, as my niece has quite long arms and she is glad she did...so is my niece. Either way, that sweater is a beauty, sometimes I think it should be framed and hung for display like the art it really is! Congrats on a great job.

[Kathy]

Urgh! This is a study in perseverance, for sure.

[Marcy]

AAAAaaarrrrggghhh!

[sara]

For what it's worth, which is not too much since this is wayyyyy beyond my knitting abilities, and well, i'm really in awe of it.
Can you pull out some extra poppy red& persimmon, fudge if you will, so there is more poppy red and persimmon on the extended part, but then transition into the pink just as you approach the top, so it looks like the same transitions as the rest of the sleeve, except the darker parts are extended a bit more.
If you follow with the same "fudging" on the other sleeve, then it will be symmetric. we can pretend it's the dye job on the yarn that has extended it.
good luck!
:)
S

[Marianne]

I would finish as per pattern then work a piece and graft it to the end of the sleeve. That way, that extra piece could be any design!

[Mary K. IN Rockport]

My sympathies. I think sometimes that knitting time is spent thinking through these tricky issues as much as it is spent actually making stitches.

[Manise]

My sympathies! Definitely add something to the bottom part of the sleeve and not muck with the upper bit.

[Shannah]

Maybe you should just finish the sleeve and knit some nice wristers... We like wristers, don't we? Nice and warm? Interesting underneath sleeves?

Oh maybe not. I was trying to be positive.

[Linda]

I also vote for messing with the wrist. Or, add some of the beige body design to the top of the sleeve. I'd be afraid that half a flower up there would look awkward.

[Madge]

Or you could wear some nice chunky bakelite bracelets. Yeah, yeah, I know. Regardless of the pattern's shortcomings, I bow to your knitting mojo. It's beautiful!

[Kathleen]

I would just knit the sleeves the length that you need them to be. It would never occur to me that the design was *wrong* if the colors at the top of the sleeve didn't match the main colors of the sleeve opening.

That said, reknitting the wrist would work too, with less yarn and time- or tear the entire wrist out, and work a plain section at the bottom directly below the patterning, and then reknit knit the wrist as the pattern shows.

[Claudia]

I feel your long sleeve pain. I absolutely always - without fail - have to add at least two inches to sweater sleeves. Always. I try to be positive about it (even when I'm so sick of my dpns I want to scream), reminding myself that for once I will have a sweater whose sleeves actually cover my wrists.

[Beth S.]

You'd still be in the same boat if you were knitting from the shoulder down, I think, but the pattern ending in a weird spot right above the cuff would be much stranger! ;-)

You'll figure something out, and it will be beautiful. :-) I think I'd just keep going in pattern myself, and not worry about it. That would look more natural than inserting stripes or peeries or whatnot.

[Jayme]

Assuming that those are 7" DPNs it looks like you may need more than 1-2" and longer is better than shorter so maybe keep going until you hit pink again?

[Christie]

It must be the full moon or something. There are way too many knits acting up...