Ugg... the shaping of a set-in sleeve

[mamaBlue]

So I'm finished (well, non-expertly blocked but not seamed yet) with the 'Classic Cardigan' from Debbie Bliss' The Baby Knits Book.

http://www.geocities.com/scrapsfor3/3947.jpg

The sweater has a set in sleeve. I've never seamed a set-in sleeve before, and now that I'm about to, I wonder if there is a better way to do the shoulder shaping. The pattern says (for the final steps of each sleeve):

Shape Top-
Bind off 3 sts at beg of next 2 rows
Dec on st at each of next and 1 foll alt rows (34 sts)
Work 1 row. Bind off.

Easy. Knit that looks like this:
(BTW, I knit this combined method, not that it really matters. Also, my decreases are done 1 stitch in from the edge - I prefer to do 2 sts in but I forgot and it doesn't really matter. I think.)

http://www.geocities.com/scrapsfor3/131-3168_IMG.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/scrapsfor3/131-3170_IMG.jpg

Anyhoo, isn't there a way that I can use short rows to do the shaping instead of BO and decreases? Can anybody link me or explain to me how to do this? I don't mind frogging a few rows to make my life easier and my sweater look better. :)

[IrishBaby]

If you did short rows, you would really notice them. You wouldn't have a nice, perfect looking sleeve, you'd see the extra stitches because they are right at eye level. I agree, set in sleeves stink, but the goal of that kind of shaping is that it can be hidden in the seams.

[IrishBaby]

P.S. The last time I did a sweater that called for set in sleeves, I did an underarm gusset, picked up the stitches, and knit the sleeve in the round. I like picking up stitches better than sewing in sleeves.

[mommy2maya]

I've made several of those sweaters. Now, I don't know if I seamed them wrong, but here's what I did. First, I seamed the sleeve, since the sewing mama in me would do that, lol. Then I just pinned the sleeve in place, kinda stretching the shaped part to fit. Then, just sew in. It might not be perfect, but it's not a huge bulky seam & it's not funky looking from the outside, so I am perfectly happy with it!

I think that pattern has to be one of the easiest & fastest baby sweaters ever, and comes out looking SO nice!!

[mamaBlue]

Good ideas, ladies. I think next time I will pickup stitches and knit it from the shoulder down. I need to think about the dynamics of the underarm gusset a bit, too. I can't quite wrap my head around that, but I know I can do it. (I tend to be a visual learner.) :)

and, Mary, thanks for the seaming tip. I think I'm going to seam-then-sew-in on one sleeve, and then sew-in-then-seam on the other. THat way I see which I like better.

[littleturtlemama]

I like to sew the sleeve in and then seam up from the bottom hem to the underarm, then down the arm to the wrist. I like sewing in first because it's easier to get the ease at the top of the sleeve cap correct when you're working with a flat plane and you can lay it down instead of when the sleeve is seamed it's 3 dimensional ;)

[Jester]

Ditto, Theresa. I think it is MUCH easier to put the sleeve in first then seam from cuff to hem (or the other direction). This comes from 20 yrs sewing experience, as well. :two

[mommy2maya]

This pattern is knit in one piece for the body, which makes is impossible for the seam from hem to cuff. So, all you have to do is seam the shoulder, then sew in the sleeve.

[mamaBlue]

This pattern is knit in one piece for the body, which makes is impossible for the seam from hem to cuff. So, all you have to do is seam the shoulder, then sew in the sleeve.

Yep, thats why its weird. Otherwise, I'd sew in the sleeve, and then seam from the bottom hem up to the wrist.

[littleturtlemama]

This pattern is knit in one piece for the body, which makes is impossible for the seam from hem to cuff. So, all you have to do is seam the shoulder, then sew in the sleeve.

well that's annoying, LOL :p

In that case, I'd probably seam the underarm first, then sew it in, cause it's 3 dimensional no matter how you work it since the body's already together in one piece. I'd pin the underarm seam to the bottom center of the armhole, then pin the center top of sleeve to center top of armhole, then pin again (with ease towards the top, so that the closer you get to the underarm to more flat the seam is) at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions. (And my tip of the day, when I say "pin" I actually mean paper clip, cause I don't use pins for things like this, I use small paper clips, with the arm of the clip slide through both pieces and then twisted around so that they hang together on the loop of the clip - it's easier to take them off than safety pins and the knit doesn't get snagged in the stupid cap of the safety pin this way!)

[pageta]

I'm one who is obsessed with math so I actually calculate how many rows I have on the body and how many sts I have on the sleeve. Then I know what the ratio is and I sew it that way. It'll be odd combinations of like 1 st:1 row for 3 sts/rows and then 1.5sts to 1 row for 1 row - weird stuff like that. Theoretically there should be about three sts for every 4 rows; when you look at the st to row gauge on patterns, it usually comes out to about something like that.

That sleeve doesn't have much of a cap. You probably have similar decreases on the body, so the parts where the decreases are go together and then the rest is just sts to rows. I did one set of sleeves recently where the cap of the sleeve decreased 2 sts at the beginning of every row and went from 111 sts to 41 sts. I have yet to figure out on the decreased part of the sleeves if you're supposed to sew that as though it is sts or if it is rows. In that particular case it didn't matter, because it was 2 of each. You run into the same math problem if you're picking up sts because you have to decide how many sts to pick up, and they never say if you should go by sts or rows on the curve. Someday I'd like to know...