Lengthy Matters

I spent a while pondering how I might determine the correct sleeve length for Ed’s sweater, and my sewing training kicked in again.  When I was a new sewer, I was as eager as any new sewer to make something I could wear quickly.  Compounding this urgency was the need to generate a work wardrobe that I couldn’t afford to buy on my entry-level salary.  I think a lot of those early garments left something to be desired in the way of fit, but this was the era of simple A-line mini-dresses, and so I did well enough to keep going.

Eventually, when I did study sewing with an amazingly gifted teacher, I learned to delay my gratification.  He insisted that we baste everything, fit the garment (which we made from our own patterns), re-baste if there was any major change, re-fit, and then sew on the machine (and, of course, fit again—but things rarely needed any change at this point).  This may seem like an incredibly tedious process, but the machine sewing takes no time, and it assures a proper fit.  This is what the famous London bespoke tailors do when they’re making men’s suits, and in addition to their skill, this is the only way to be sure the garment will fit the client.

So I decided to modify this process for Ed’s sleeve.  I took the sleeve off my needle and threaded waste yarn though the stitches (white yarn).  I knew the sleeve would be short, but I wanted to figure out how short.  Then I backstitched the sleeve to the armhole.  In some bygone era, I purchased a couple of skeins of Knit-Cro-Sheen in a five-and-ten (that alone should give you an idea of how long ago this was—are there any five-and-ten stores left?).  I have no idea what I intended to make from this stuff, but it makes the best basting yarn.  I think you can get it at places like A.C. Moore nowadays.  That orange stuff is my basting thread.

And then I asked Ed to try it on (not without some cajoling).  I can now see that the sleeve is about 2 ½ inches short. 

This process is not quite as failsafe as it is in sewing because the sleeve is not blocked.  When it is, it will expand, but primarily in the horizontal direction (I know this from blocking the fronts).  Green Mountain Spinnery says that its Mountain Mohair will bloom, and indeed it does.  The sweater I made for my son now has a beautiful hazy aura around the stitches.  This accompanies some softening of the stitches, and so I won’t really know how the sleeve looks until the sweater is blocked, worn, and washed a few times.  But the new measure for the cuff is definitely going to work, particularly since I made it tight enough to hug Ed’s wrist (another way to ensure this sweater is very warm).  Any extra fabric will just billow out a little over the cuff.

In fact, I wish I had basted the sleeves on Liv before I assembled that sweater.  If I did, I wouldn’t have to take the sleeves out of the armhole and adjust their length—something I’ve yet to do. 

Ed asked if the sweater would be done before I leave for Stitches East next Wednesday.  Hmm…I guess it is possible.

Comments

[Judy G.]

Ed's sweater is going to be quite nice! I love the cabling; maybe I should do something with cables next. Too much wool, not enough time...

8 days and counting! Have you started packing yet? I'm a little jealous.

[Sourire11]

Following your progress on this sweater has been fascinating! I'm to the point on the sweater I've been working on for my husband where I have to figure out the sleeve joins and I just kindof got stuck and gave up. I'm totally going to use this technique of sewing on the live stitches to figure out what I need to do. Thank you for sharing!

[robin]

Hmm - interesting idea about utilizing basting in knitting! The trial nature of it is what I like about top-down knitting designs as well. I will use the basting idea though next time I have to make a sleeve for myself, as they never come out exactly right.

I definitely should have basted the other day before I serged those pants. I think "basting" is the word of the week!

[tiennie]

I'm always happy to visit your site to learn new techniques and tricks - although I don't know if I have the patience that you have to create things that fit perfectly!