[purplemama]

Okay, now that I've finished one sweater, I've started another and I'm already stuck!<br><br>
The sweater is another Debbie Bliss pattern and the sleeves and body are worked in one piece (never done that before). Here's what the pattern reads:<br><br><i>back, fronts and sleeves (worked in one piece): With size 8 needles, cast on 76 sts. Beg with a k row, work 24 rows in St st. Change to size 8 circular needles.<br><br>
Shapes sleeves<br>
Cast on 9 sts at beg of next 8 rows. 148 sts. Work 32 rows in St st. Mark each end of last row with a colored thread to mark shoulder line.</i><br><br>
I've done the 24 rows in stockinette, now I'm ready to shape the sleeves, but I don't understand casting on 9 sts at the beg of next 8 rows? Do I leave my other work alone and start anew on the sleeves, and how do I keep casting on at the beg of each row? I'm confused... HELP!<br><br>
Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[amey]

You can cast on at the beginning of the row with a backwards loop cast on.<br><br><a href="http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting/basic_techniques/" target="_blank">http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting/basic_techniques/</a>

 

[purplemama]

So, I cast on 9 stitches, then work back down the whole row (including the 76 stitches), then cast on 9 again and I'll have 85 stitches to work back down from, etc? And each time I cast on 9, I'll be working uneven rows? Do I always cast on the same end? Sorry for all the questions, I'm still confused. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/img/vbsmilies/smilies/dizzy.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Dizzy">:

 

[xanandali]

Yep! You're right, you CO those extra then work back and forth adding to each side for the X number of time until you get to the total needed. I'm doing the same pattern right now!!! Can't wait to compare our FOs!

 

[purplemama]

Thanks, Brandi!<br><br>
I think you'll be done with yours way before I'm done with mine. It takes me forever to knit anything up because I can only do a few rows here and there. Can't wait to see pics of yours, though! Are you using the same yarn the pattern uses, or are you substituting yours? I'm using the cashmerino aran in the light purple color. It's a gift for my niece (her favorite color is purple, like mine) and her birthday is in June, so I hope to be done by then!

 

[xanandali]

I'm just using white cotton ease. I know its a pretty cheap yarn for putting work into it, but I know its going to be used a lot this spring/summer so I wanted something I could throw in the washer without being scared... anything with wool or cashmere (even if superwash) I like to wash by hand. I'll be bleaching it regularly I'm sure <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol">

 

[purplemama]

How's is working with the cotton-ease? I just bought a bunch online and I plan on making the same shrug (only smaller) for my dd, too. I was going to use cotton-ease or cotton-plus with this one, but she didn't like the shades of purple, so I went with the Debbie Bliss. And, I figured her younger sister would be able to use the shrug after she outgrew it, so it would be getting more use. I'd love to see how yours looks after you're done... when I got the cotton-ease in the mail, I noticed the yarn is much thinner, so I was wondering how the substitution would work out.

 

[purplemama]

Okay, I did the backward loop, but now my question is do I need to do a different backward loop for each side? Cause one side is purl, the other is knit. Would casting on for the purl side be the backward loop, too, or do I use a different cast-on method? Thanks a bunch!

 

[amey]

I saw someone do this on DIY, and to make the bumps be on the correct side, she just turned the knitting around, and casted them on the "wrong" side.<br><br>
Another choice would be to knit them on?<br><br>
~amey

 

[xanandali]

Sorry I'm not going to be of much help this time... I only know one cast on type and its the thumb cast on so thats what I do no matter what LOL.<br><br>
I just got done with the next section for sleeve shaping for the first arm and I'm not sure if I did it right at all. I don't really know what this should look like while working on it (as in, did I do the dec on the correct side?!) I'm having a hard time visualizing the final product since this is all done in one piece. Just praying I did it right, otherwise it'll go straight to the garbage because its not worth frogging for the price of the yarn.<br><br>
And so far it looks fine, I have no idea how much thicker the other yarn is as I've never used it before, but my guage was spot on so I'm sure it'll be ok, just probably a little more airy which is fine because I'm mainly wanting her to wear this over all the sleeveless dresses she'll wear this summer.