Knitting -- cardigan

At last!  Why didn't I talk about cardigans sooner?
Because pullovers are so much easier.
With a cardigan, you need to know how to keep your bottom edge from curling up -- that's ribbing.
You can work faster if you don't do seams -- that's circular needles.
You can also work faster if you do steeking at the armholes and put the neck on as one piece with the body.
And you get a neater result if you knit off the shoulder seams which combines shaping and binding.
The problem with cardigans is those stupid buttonholes.
I don't think I know anybody who likes doing buttonholes, knitted or sewn.
So this cardigan doesn't use buttonholes.  Instead, you're going to knit a ribbed edging for the front opening, and you're going to use a purchased frog at the top to close it.

So cast on or knit on or cable on 334 stitches for Perly Perle or fingering weight Palette Peruvian wool.
Now do 10 rows of k2/p2 rib BUT don't worry about joining the round of the stitches.
You will find that you have knit rib on both ends; there's a reason for that.
The side of the knitting that shows knit ribs at the ends is the KNIT side of the fabric. 
The side of the knitting that shows PURL ribs at both ends is the PURL side of the fabric.
When you do the first KNIT side of the fabric, you will:
      Do k2/p2 rib twice.
      Knit 78 stitches and put your marker yarn for the underarm.
      Knit 162 stitches and put your marker yarn for the other underarm.
      Knit 78 stitches and do p2/k2/p2/k2 rib before you finish that row.
      NOTICE that you do the 2 purl stitches as stitches 8 and 7 from the end of the row, then
you do k2/p2/k2.  That's the only way it comes out correctly.
Then you come back, doing p2/k2 twice for the rib, PURLING the row, and finishing with what?
       k2 as stitches 8 and 7 before the edge, then p2/k2/p2.
Read that again and realize that knitting one row and purling the next is the classic stockinette stitch.

Do this for 140 rows, which will give you a nice rib edge for the front of the cardigan.
When you get to the underarms, work the 90 rows of steeking as on other patterns.
When you get to the shoulders, knit off as in other patterns.
You will notice that you can't work the neck as before.
When you knit off the other shoulder,  work down to the front opening and then work the neck rib.  Make sure it comes out identical with the rib at the open edge. 
When you bind it off you will have a neat neck edge.
Now cut the steeking and pick up the 194 stitches around the armhole, and work your short or mid-length or long sleeves as desired.
And put a frog at the top to close it.
Or, and this will feed into the next Knitting post, you could get a sweater chain/guard/clip.  This you can remove from any sweater and use it with another one.  That's a pretty good buy.
© Patricia Jo Heil, 2013-2018 All Rights  Reserved