Nearly successful -

I started with this:

If you embiggen you may be able to see a line of sewing-maching thread - the plan with those scary scissors is to cut along the line, pick up stitches, and knit a U-shaped placket.

See the problem is that the V-neck is not centered.  While there are 6 columns of stitches between the raglan decreases and the V-neck on one side, there are 9 columns on the other side.  Ooops.

In an uncharacteristic moment of NOT being anally attentive to detail, note that I did NOT worry about the fact that the lower sewing line (the horizontal part) slants upwards. I figured that once I had cut, if I picked up following a row of knitted stitches, not the sewing line, I'd be fine - and the fabric would be malleable enough to fold back evenly with none the wiser.

That part worked.  See:

It's a little hard to see since the heathery yarn diffuses most detail, but the former V-neck is now a U-neck, with a perfectly reasonable placket.

I was THRILLED with the decreases at each bottom angle of the U.  While I was too lazy to get up and google or check a reference book, I guessed that knitting two together every other row at the corners would do it - and it did.  Perfectly.  I also like the placket garter stitch pattern.  I knit every row and it's purty.

That same laziness however bit me in the proverbial (non-anal) ass since I guessed wrong at the ratio of stitches to pick up.  There are too many - making the placket stretch up on the sides of the U.  It bothers me, so I'll rip tonight and re-do.  I picked up one stitch for every row - and my later checking of references suggest that picking up 3 for every 4 is a better bet.

Now that all the thinking and sewing and cutting is done, it should be a breeze.  I'll pick up a bit of gross-grain ribbon to cover the cut-edge inside and call it a finished-object.

Good thing, because Toby's last day of his intensive PT session this time around is Friday - it'll be a really nice thank-you/happy holidays gift for his wunder-PT Stephanie.

Comments

[Teri]

Yea! Congratulations. You're still braver than I would have been, and it looks great.

[JoVE]

3 or 4 usually is right but you have a big old swatch there (disguised as a sweater) so you could just measure your guage both ways and work out the ration of row gauge to stitch guage. That is what you are going for.

Looks great though. I hope she likes it.

[Justine]

looks great Sara, I am sure that she will be thrilled!