Gramps Cardigan: How to Begin a Knitting Project (2/6)

Knitting a garment requires a relatively large commitment of time, money and energy.  How do you begin?

This tutorial is part 2 of a 6-part tutorial covering sweater knitting techniques for the Gramps cardigan. To view the other parts of the tutorial click on the links below.

• 1/6 An Introduction: to start at the beginning look here!
• 2/6 Beginning your Sweater: Yarn and needle selection, knitting a gauge swatch, Understanding knitting pattern schematics.
• 3/6 Top-Down Sweater Construction: Yoke: Pattern Reading, and Increasing & Decreasing stitches to form Yoke
• 4/6 Top-Down Sweater Construction: Body & Arms: Separating sweater at the Underarm, casting-on stitches using backward loop method, and knitting in the round
• 5/6 Shawl Collar and Button Band: Picking Up Stitches along an edge, Short-Row Shaping, Buttonholes, Binding off in Pattern
• 6/6 Finishing Touches: Working Patch Pockets – Picking up stitches in the middle of knitted fabric, seaming, elbow patches

STEP 1 : CHOOSE A PATTERN

The first step in knitting a sweater is choosing a pattern you like! In this tutorial we’re using Gramps; a perfect sweater for your little and big alike.  You can shop for knitting patterns in person at your LYS (Local Yarn Store), or online.  There are many free and paid patterns available on ravelry.com, our favorite knitting community!

STEP 2: DETERMINE THE SIZE YOU WANT TO KNIT

FIRST, if the pattern you have chosen includes a schematic diagram, take a look at it.  The schematic for Gramps looks like this:

The schematic gives you several pieces of information.  It shows the basic shape of the finished piece, and indicates the finished measurements for each of the sizes. The Gramps schematic indicates where to measure finished chest, arms, and sleeve measurements. It is best to choose the size you will knit based on these measurements, rather than paying too much attention to the age or size ranges given; as babies and grown ups come in all sizes! For a more in depth look at choosing sweater sizes check out our tutorial ‘Avoiding the Sweater Curse‘.

The Gramps pattern gives further information in table format:

For this tutorial, I will be knitting the 1-2 year size (the second size in brackets); which will have a finished chest measurement of 23″, an upper arm of 8″, a sleeve length of 7″ and a hem to underarm length of 7″; ASSUMING I knit to the gauge specified in the pattern (more on gauge below)

Step 3: CHOOSE THE YARN YOU WILL WORK WITH

Choosing yarn can be tricky for a newbie, where possible we recommend taking your pattern down to your LYS for a little help. When we worked at yarn shops most of our days were spent helping customers choose yarn, often looking for a suitable substitution for the yarn suggested in the pattern.

Once you have chosen the size you would like to knit, look at the yarn requirements section of the pattern:

Yarn: worsted weight yarn
Main Colour: 240 (260, 320, 420, 480, 560, 650, 650, 750, 850, 900, 1100, 1200, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1800) yards
Contrast Colour:   110 (140, 180, 200, 200, 220, 250, 300, 350, 375, 400, 425, 425, 450, 450, 475) yds
(for our pattern samples we used Madelinetosh Vintage in ‘twig’ and ‘grove’, ‘robin red breast’ and ‘whiskey barrel’, ‘well water’ and ‘whiskey barrel’ and ‘smoke’ and ‘charcoal’)

This tells us that we need to use a worsted weight yarn (more on what that is below), in 2 colours, and that for the size we have chosen we will require 320 yds of the main colour  (we are using ‘rainwater’), and 180 yards of the contrast colour (we are using ‘twig’).

It also makes a note that the sample project as photographed in the book was knit in a yarn called Madelinetosh Vintage and the names of the various colours the samples were knit in.  We can look up this yarn on ravelry, and learn some information about it:

Madelinetosh Vintage :

suggested gauge of 18.0 to 20.0 sts = 4 inches

suggested needle sizes US #6-7 (4.0-4.5mm), is 200 yards / 110 gram skein

100% machine washable merino wool, and is a plied yarn.

If we choose to substitute another yarn for the yarn used in the sample, we will always achieve a slightly different effect. Of course, many yarns are quite similar to one another. If you want to achieve a similar effect to the design with a different yarn, choose a yarn that:

• is worsted weight that knits to the same gauge as the suggested yarn (18-20) Note: What is worsted weight yarn? Great question. Worsted weight is a yarn that knits to approximately 18-20 sts per 4 inches. 
• has the same or similar fibre content as the suggested yarn (100% Superwash Merino)
• has the same or similar yardage / weight as the suggested yarn (200 yards per 110 grams)
• has a similar structure as the suggested yarn (ie. is it plied or single-ply)

You will refer to the ball band to of the yarn you are considering to determine all of this information. For more information on yarn and substitutions you can check out our yarn tutorial here.

Still not sure? Head down to your LYS, pattern in hand, and they will know just what to do!

For this tutorial, I have chosen to use Madelinetosh Vintage in ‘rainwater’ and ‘twig’, the same yarn recommended in the pattern.

Step 4: KNIT A GAUGE SWATCH

To determine which needles you will need for the project, and test if the yarn you have chosen is suitable, it is necessary to knit a gauge swatch. When knitting garments, achieving the gauge specified in the pattern is CRUCIAL if you want to end up with a garment of the dimensions specified by the schematic and pattern notes.  You may spend weeks knitting the sweater; it is worthwhile to invest a few minutes knitting a swatch (or 3) to ensure that the finished product is the right size, and that you like the density & texture of the fabric.

Unless you know that you are a tight or loose knitter, begin by swatching with the suggested needle size. In the Gramps pattern, 4.5mm needles are suggested for the body of the cardigan; and these are the needles you will use to prepare your swatch.

Gauge:     20 sts / 4” in stockinette stitch (using larger needles)
Needles:   US #7 / 4.5mm and US #6 / 4.0 mm (or as required to meet gauge);

I like to knit my swatches as follows: Cast on at least as many stitches as called for in 4″ (in this case 20).  I cast on 24 for good measure.  Knit 6 or more rows to create a garter border.  Work for about 3 or 4 inches with a garter border of 2-4 sts on either edge (k on RS and WS), and stockinette stitch (k on RS, purl on WS) in the middle.  Then work a few more rows in garter stitch then bind off.  This creates a relatively flat little swatch that is big enough to measure.  It took me 25 minutes to knit.

It is important to always treat your swatch the same way you will be treating your garment. If you intend to block your sweater (and we REALLY recommend that you do) you should block your swatch (more information on gauge in knitting as well as how to block your swatch here).

I measure the gauge on my swatches using my ruler and needle gauger which is one of the best tools in my kit. You can also just use a ruler. In this case, there are 10 stitches in 2″, which works out to 20 sts / 4″ – exactly the gauge I was aiming for. If you achieve less stitches in 4″, (ie. 18), you need to make another swatch with a smaller needle.  If you achieve more stitches in 4″ (ie. 22), you need to make another swatch using larger needles.

NEXT STEPS

So now you have your pattern, yarn, and needles and a little swatch to pin to your bulletin board, inspiring you to continue on with your sweater. It’s amazing how many details we covered, and all we knit was a swatch! In the blog posts to follow, I will take you through all of the steps required to knit the Gramps cardigan!

The next post will be:

• 3/6 Top-Down Sweater Construction: Yoke: Pattern Reading, and Increasing & Decreasing stitches to form Yoke

Is there anything I covered that is unclear?  Did I miss any important points?  Please let me know what you think of these tutorials, and make suggestions for other tutorial topics by posting comments, or contact me directly.

For Knitting Instructors

This material is also intended to be useful to those who teach knitting. If you are a shop owner who runs knitting classes, and would like to use this tutorial for instruction, you are welcome to do so. Tin Can Knits wholesales books and single leaflet patterns to knitting shops in Canada, the USA and the UK, if you are interested in carrying our products, please contact us.

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