How The Cable-Join Poncho Sweater Idea Began

So I saw a picture and it inspired me!  That happens a lot.  My attention is easily distracted, but when I focus on something, O look out world! And I do love a good challenge!  A picture of a sweater showed up on my Facebook feed, I loved the shape and the details, but I don’t hand knit.  I do, however, machine knit, and a Cable-Join Poncho Sweater was born.  I didn’t actually document the pattern, but here’s how I approached it.  Perhaps I’ll inspire you to try too. 

I’m teaching a fantastic group of machine knitters how to create their own machine knitting patterns in Omemee next week, and I hope this sample inspires them, too.

Here’s the link to the pattern, it free!

What details do I love?

• The loose fit 
• a longer front (and back)
• wide ribbed bands
• cable front (and back)

Fortunately the pattern has a schematic, and I have a calculator!  The original is knit from the top down, and increased along the cables at center front.  That just doesn’t happen on a knitting machine.  

HOW I DID IT

But…… I could divide the body into 3 parts, a left and right, then join them while I knit the center panel.  That way the shaping CAN be done at the center front.  Well, sort of.  The join I chose to use looks a bit like a cable, and I like it.  I cast on with waste yarn, then after changing to my main yarn, I short-rowed to create the point, decreased every other row, made eyelets every 4th row, and worked up to the armhole.  After casting off for that armhole, I continued the front decreasing, and started to decrease for the raglan sleeve.  Concentrate Yvette!

The fronts and backs are slightly different, with the back longer.  The joining strip was knit over 11 needles, and I chose an eyelet lace design which was transferred every 2 rows, and the side pieces were added to that strip every 4 rows.  More concentration!

The raglan sleeves were the same shape as the original pattern, with some neck shaping to make the back longer than the front. I waste yarn knit the tops of a;; the pieces.  I wasn’t sure yet how I was going to handle the ribbing, so the sleeves were started with waste yarn too.

When all the pieces were knit, I joined 3 of the raglan seams, leaving one back one unsewn.  I counted the open stitches at the neck, taking into account the double stitches for seaming.  There didn’t seem as though there were enough.  !!!  It HAD to pull over my head!!!  A 2 x 1 rib saved the day!  18 rows of it made a dandy turtle neck.

A regular 2 x 2 rib finished the sleeves.  The sweater bottom was finished the same way, but I did it in 4 parts so I could shape the ribbing at center front and back.

The sewing took a while, I had feline help, and the knitted pieces had feline approval all through the process.  

I took the challenge and am really glad I did.  I LOVE how this sweater turned out and will take it with me to my next class to show my students that “yes, you can”.