23: Working the Neck
Band of a Sweater (cont.)
Shaping rows are different because they have a
diagonally slanted edge and this elongates the edge stitches (see
here). Usually, three stitches are picked up to every four rows
on a right angle edge, but the slope of the edge of shaping rows
changes the height of the rows. The stitch to row ratio changes to
four stitches to five rows when the slope is not very pronounced,
and five stitches to six rows or even one stitch for every row if
the slope has made the edge stitches longer [pic 11].
11: The slant of a shaping edge will
dictate the ratio of stitches to rows when picking up stitches.
On a high round neck there are only a few
shaping rows, so skip or miss a row or two, evenly placed along the
shaping edge, as there aren’t enough rows or stitches here to have
much influence on the curve. The back of the neck also may have a
little shaping at each side, so skip one row to allow for the small
slant of the shaping edge. By contrast, a wide rounded front neck or
wide, low back will have a long slanted edge at each side. Adjust
the stitch to row ratio to keep the shape of the curve correct [pic
12].
12: The shaping rows at the edge of
the neck are close together. This elongates the edge stitches, and
so the neck has been picked up matching one stitch to every row.
It’s all a bit tricky, but it is also
logical. You may have to do a bit of experimenting to get it just
right, but it is the only way to avoid wavy bands or oddly shaped
curves [pic 13,14].
13: (left) Too many stitches on the
right angle edges make a floppy neckband.
14: (right) The neck sits well when the correct amount
of stitches have been picked up on each side of the neck.
If the needle size for the band is smaller
than that used for the garment, pick up a stitch for every row along
each side of the neck and also the shaping rows. There’s no need to
skip any rows. You need these extra stitches to make the neck band
sit properly at each side, as the stitches on a smaller needle will
be tighter. The size of the stitches also means that the stitches
picked up along a straight row are smaller than those on the base,
but that will be balanced out by the extra stitches on each right
angle side of the front neck, where stitches have been picked up for
every row [pic 15].
15: When a smaller needle has been
used for the neck, the stitches are smaller and so you don’t need to
skip rows to make the neck sit flat.
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