I love this pattern because it has an allover texture similar to seed stitch. And the raglan increases are so innovative and attractive. I haven’t had as much time to knit, so it took me two years and a half years to complete! But I think it will be a favorite.
It’s been a few days since I finished my Stevie tee. I had picked this pattern out and had the yarn for it, had wound a hank to get started and was basically ready to go. However, I calculated the upper arm circumference based on the stitches and gauge, and it was 19 inches for my size! I’ve had problems with many of my raglan sweaters having absurdly large arms (my biceps are pretty big, and these sweaters still billow). Except for the Stevie, which is a compound raglan and fits great with a 15-inch upper arm circumference. So I want to modify the Dahlia pattern to keep the sleeves tighter. After a lot of studying of resources on compound raglan construction, I’ve determined some mods, as follows:
Dahlia T-Shirt
Cast on 128
Short rows as written
Yoke, pt 1 - 18 rounds, increase both body and sleeves every other round
Yoke, pt 2 - 44 rounds, increase only body every other while inc. sleeves every 4th round
Armed with this plan, I feel ready to start!
So today I cast on!
Used the “How to Knit the Crochet Provisional Cast On” video from New Stitch a Day. I’ve wondered about provisional cast-ons and am glad to get the chance to learn and use it.
https://youtu.be/UeExgbgTOgs
07-19-2022
Remember that you end the short row section on row 2 of the seed stitch pattern, so the first row transitioning out of the back and forth short rows into Row 1 of knitting in the round is row 3 of the seed stitch pattern. So Row 2 of the yoke section is row 4 of the seed stitch. Or just always look at the fabric to know where you are.
11-15-2022
It’s been awhile. Figured out where I left off and did another four rows.
04-17-2024
This is turning into a two-year project. But I’m determined to finish it. I added a couple more inches to the body yesterday and today. Body length currently 17”.
04-25-2024
Body at 19 inches.
07-16-2024
The never ending project. 6 rows today brought the body to 22 inches, which I think will be a good length (1.25 inches of ribbing to go).
11-25-2024
2 or 3 rows yesterday on the ribbing (which I had already started) and 3 more today brings me to 8 rows, which seems to be how many rows I knit for the neck ribbing. I’m not sure it’s a full 1.25 inches, but it seems like a good place to stop. I’m skeptical of knitting one round at the end of the ribbing. I did it for the neck, but doesn’t that negate the stretchiness of the ribbing? I think I’m going to skip it at the bottom, but keep it on the sleeves. Which means I’m ready to bind off! Then on to sleeves.
11-26-2024
Sleeve 1. Transferred 74 st from waste yarn to needles. Followed Chili dog video for closing the gap. https://youtu.be/cmaIYuHHlt8?si=XjgdwLmV_7c42Rg3
Picked up 7 stitches under the arms.
Knit around. Started pattern when I got back to the picked up stitches.
I ended up with 81 total stitches. So when I closed the gap for the last stitch after knitting around, which is a knit 2 tog through the back loop, I then purled two tog to get back down to 80 st (I need a multiple of 4 I believe for the pattern). Remember, I did a compound raglan of my own design to decrease the total sleeve stitches. I thought I was going to end up with the right number of stitches for a smaller size of the pattern, but that’s not what I have. So I calculated something wrong somewhere. Anyway, I think this will work. Let’s just try it and see.
I knit 16 rounds on the sleeve for the 2 inches, then 8 rounds ribbing, and finished per the pattern instructions.
Finished the sleeve. Everything worked well and the sleeve fits nicely.
12-03-2024
Complete! It’s blocking now. I’ll get photos when it’s dry. It looks good and fits well.
12-04-2024
I hand washed the top and machine dried it. The bust measurement is 48” and the length is 23”. I like the length. The neck seems to have stretched out quite a bit. Not sure why. The top is quite baggy (I had knit size 45), but on the other hand is comfortable with a nice drape, so overall I’m happy. Perhaps another wash and drying on a higher temp will shrink it back to what I wanted.
One note about the pattern. I didn’t understand why the ribbing was finished with a round of knitting and the BO was in a knit stitch. I’m used to BO loosely in a larger size needle, in pattern. That’s what I did with the hem. I don’t remember what I did with the neck, since I did that early on. So for the sleeves, I used the larger size needle (size 5) for the knit round and bind off, binding off loosely as usual. But based on how the sleeves are a little lettuce-y, I think I did that wrong. I probably should have finished them with the same size needle as the ribbing (size 3) and at my normal tension.
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