Meme Cardigan, Part Two

Now that you've met the Meme Cardigan, let's tackle this project!

All of the following steps are explained in the pattern, but we have the added benefit of more visuals here.

The very first (and useful!) step of this knitting project is to make a swatch. "What's different from other patterns in that regard, Jen?" you might ask. Well, the swatch is also the first real step of the project. You don't need to make a swatch that you later rip out to use the yarn. You use this swatch, because it's the first of your saddle shoulder pieces. Once you get gauge by either getting lucky on the first try or by changing needle size and trying again, you just make another one exactly the same as the first. The pattern tells you how many rows to make the saddle once you have achieved gauge. 

Lay your two saddle shoulder pieces out on a surface with the cast-on edges facing inward and the stitches on holders facing outward. The edges on scrap yarn will be picked up for your sleeves later.

We're starting with the upper back section, so you pick up your given number of stitches along one long edge of the left saddle piece. It's the left one as you would wear the sweater, not as you are looking at it from an opposite position. Then you will cast on the given number of stitches across from the left saddle to the right saddle and pick up the same number of stitches along the long edge of the right saddle as on the left one. This joins the shoulders and sets up the back section.

Here is how it will look after working one pattern repeat, which is fully charted and written out in the pattern.

And here is our back section placed on scrap yarn so that we can do the same thing on the front section. As you can see, I have picked up the required stitches along the right saddle's long edge and with a second ball of yarn I have picked up the other as well. That's because they must be worked separately. You may choose to work one of the front pieces at a time so that you won't need to juggle the two balls. It's such a small part of the project that I chose to juggle.

The front pieces are worked, the neck shaping (also fully charted and written in the pattern) complete, and the front is ready to join to the back. 

Let's save that step for the next post.

See ya soon!

Yarn in these photos is Cascade Sierra, color 03