Monday, October 08, 2007

Learning from the Best

So I've been having some difficulty working the raglan decreases on my Ariann. The problem was, I was doing decrease after decrease and not decreasing anything. My front panels were staying the same width, decrease though I might.



Sensing my error but not being able to explain it, I cautiously set Ariann down in the time-out basket and sat down at my computer. First I searched Ravelry to see if there were any discussions concerning pattern errors or frustrations... Nope. It's just me, I guess. I searched the ChicKnits website. No errata posted. Really, just me. Okay then. What to do...

... So I did the only thing I could think of: e-mail the designer.

After a day of working stockinette stitch on my Classic "Cashmere" Sweater, I sat down at my e-mail to check for any kind of solution to the Ariann problem.

And I had one. Bonne Marie Burns herself e-mailed me back to explain that when pairing raglan shaping and lace patterns, you have to remove a YO for every decrease you lose in the shaping and vice versa. That was my problem. I was never leaving the YO out, so I always needed the lace decrease, which I was simply replacing with the raglan decrease. Instead, I need to knit a stitch where the YO should be, then when I do the raglan decrease, I'll ACTUALLY decrease. Genius.

I learned a new basic knitting skill today, and I learned it from the designer. That's like learning to play four-square from Michael Jordan or learning to stir from Betty Crocker.

And I LIKE IT!!

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