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43 Comments

  1. einisa
    February 6, 2022 @ 10:40 am

    Hi! I’m strugling with flax light short rows. I cannot find detailed instructions for M/L size. Should “Short Row Instructions for Flax and Flax Light” button open some more instructions because for me it is just reloading the page. For example I cannot find the number of short rows I have to make for this size.

  2. Caroline
    November 6, 2021 @ 7:08 am

    Just an FYI, you forgot to bold one of the numbers (43) in the Short Row 2 steps. This almost messed me up because I always look for the third bolded number. I went to purl 52, but was confused as to why the short rows would be going into the garter panel. I double checked and realized 43 should have been bolded, so I only needed to purl 49 instead of 52. The PDF pattern is accurate; it’s just a mistake in this blog.

    • Emily Wessel
      November 8, 2021 @ 4:19 am

      Thanks for the heads-up! I’ve changed that now. Cheers! Em

  3. Elizabeth Cottrell
    September 12, 2021 @ 2:21 pm

    I’m not clear on RS 3- to get to the CB, you need to knit all the way around the sweater. If you do that 5 times total while working rows 3 and 4, you add more than 2 rounds. What am I doing wrong? Thanks.

    • Emily Wessel
      September 13, 2021 @ 5:18 am

      Hello. In Short row 3 (RS), you have the Right Side of the work (RS) facing you, and you’re knitting. At the end of the previous short row (short row 2), you turned the work. So you will be working back from the right shoulder (ish) toward the centre back marker, which is in the middle of the back. Then, when you get to centre back (CB), you slip the marker, and knit past this, to 5 or 7 sts before the ‘doubled stitch’, and then you turn around. So you stop and turn before you go all the way round the sweater.

      • Elizabeth Cottrell
        September 14, 2021 @ 4:57 pm

        Thank you very much!

  4. Lori Thompson
    August 24, 2021 @ 5:36 am

    Thank you for these beautiful instructions! I appreciate the time you took to show all the steps clearly while working the sweater.

  5. Nina
    June 17, 2021 @ 5:51 am

    May I ask why you chose to work short rows that start longer and become shorter? I have only ever seen short rows in sweaters that start shorter and become longer…

    Thanks!

    • Alexa Ludeman
      June 17, 2021 @ 11:30 am

      Hi Nina – It depends on what you are working on, sometimes it’s better the other way

    • Brandi
      January 1, 2022 @ 11:53 am

      I watched a podcast by someone on YouTube and she explained it can be done either way, but like you said this way is less common but usually there isn’t a specific reason just preference.. be nice if she answers and maybe she has a reason!

  6. Leanne
    April 27, 2021 @ 4:11 am

    Hi, I have knitted this once it’s size 6-8 brilliant! First time I have knitted a top down. So now I’m attempting the short rows on a size 4-6, my questions are:
    1. The round you place the center back marker in, do you then finish that round? So short row 1 starts at the BOR?
    2. Do the short rows go into the sleeves right up to the knit panel?
    Thank you.

    • Alexa Ludeman
      April 28, 2021 @ 9:25 am

      Hi Leanne – Nope, you don’t need to finish that round, and yep, they do go onto the sleeves!

  7. Françoise Bouvier
    April 7, 2021 @ 8:13 am

    Hi! I would like to know why we do the ribbing at the end when we do the short rows version.
    Thank you

    • Alexa Ludeman
      April 7, 2021 @ 9:56 am

      Hi Francoise – You don’t need to do the ribbing at the end if you do the short row version. Either method is fine.

  8. Julie
    March 18, 2021 @ 7:34 am

    You guys are so great! So, I always add short rows to my round sweaters, but the back neck still feels too low. Can you add more than six sets of short rows, or does the sweater start to get wonky? Do you have any other collar recommendations for those of us with cold necks?

    • Alexa Ludeman
      March 21, 2021 @ 1:03 pm

      Yep! You can definitely add more. You probably want to move them a couple of stitches closer together, and also make the first 2 a bit longer.

  9. familyrulesbyplainjane
    February 1, 2021 @ 8:47 am

    I realized that a baby sweater is a fantastic way to use up some of my miles of sock yarn leftovers. Just did my first, and I might be hooked because there are so many possible color combos….kinda like a very rewarding swatch!

    I am not great at it yet but here goes! https://www.ravelry.com/projects/cmburesh/flax-light

  10. Liz Alpert
    January 31, 2021 @ 6:18 am

    Thanks so much for the instructions for the flax sweater! I knit it for my 3 year old granddaughter, putting in horizontal stripes from the top to the arm/body connection, then 6 llamas around the body. How can I do patterns, stripes and such with the wedge located where it is. Could it be higher up next to the neck ribbing?

    • Emily Wessel
      January 31, 2021 @ 10:46 pm

      Hi Liz – Your granddaughter’s sweater sounds cute!

      If you want, you could make a wedge of short rows higher up, near the neckline of the sweater, but it’s a bit more complex, as you probably would want to span across the raglan increase lines. That’s why, for this design, we located short rows where we did, at the bottom of the yoke. But if you are ambitious, perhaps you could ‘wing it’ or figure out the math for short-rows placed at the top of the yoke.

      However, you can still place patterning before and then again after the wedge of the short rows. Also, short rows are not in any way required, they simply improve the fit slightly.

  11. Joe
    January 30, 2021 @ 7:28 am

    When you talk about the method for resolving German short rows without holes, I Am a little confused. Is it only half of the double stitches that create holes that you would need to use Emily’s method, and the other half doesn’t create holes so you just knit the loop together with the stitch?

    • Emily Wessel
      January 31, 2021 @ 10:47 pm

      Hi (this is Emily). I find that the first set of stitches to be resolved are easy to close up with a k2tog stitch which looks nice and tidy. It’s the second set of stitches to be resolved that are a little trickier, and for which I use my second method described in the post.

  12. Judith Labrin
    January 27, 2021 @ 12:27 pm

    Im working on the flax light and placing the CB. I don’t understand (knit to marker, SM) 3 times. Knit to which marker?
    k 52 place CB marker (52 for my size) What do i knit 3 times? Completely lost. Thank you for your help.

    • Alexa Ludeman
      January 28, 2021 @ 6:56 pm

      Hi Judith – pattern support is best done via email, can you drop us a line at tincanknits@gmail.com

    • Sue Leddy
      March 6, 2021 @ 11:03 am

      I am stuck in the same instruction
      Don’t understand

  13. Anna
    January 7, 2021 @ 10:45 am

    Thank you for this pattern, I’m really enjoying knitting it. I have a question about setting up the CB stitch marker and resolving the doubled stitches at the end:

    1) It sounds like to place the CB we knit most of a Round 1(from the main pattern)?
    2) To resolve the stitches at the end (and to make sure the garter panel is set up correctly for the sleeves) we knit a Round 2?
    3) Will this not make the yoke longer than we want it to be?

    • Alexa Ludeman
      January 8, 2021 @ 12:22 pm

      Hi Anna – you have it just right! The short rows do add 2 rounds, but the yoke shouldn’t be too long.

  14. Dee
    December 22, 2020 @ 3:42 am

    Sorry, I read the instructions wrong! No need to answer my last question. I should have knitted the yoke completely before doing the short rows.

  15. Dee
    December 22, 2020 @ 3:22 am

    After completing the short rows, and moving back to the pattern, where do I measure the yoke from before separating the sleeves? Centre front?

    Thanks for the brilliant pattern, I’ve knitted three and am just attempting my 4th but this one has short rows :)

  16. sierrakiloecho
    November 13, 2020 @ 10:06 am

    Ditto the gratitude for sharing these tutorials so generously! I have a question about the very last step to resolve the doubled stitches. Where it says “knit to BOR, purling the garter panels and knitting the 2 loops of the doubled sts together as one stitch” – but the first time I get to the BOR marker I will have only resolved a few of the doubled stitches and wouldn’t have passed the garter panels. I’m assuming this means I need to knit another full round past the BOR marker, i.e. adding a new row to the front of the sweater as well, in order to fully resolve all the doubled stitches, is that right? Thank you!

    • Alexa Ludeman
      November 13, 2020 @ 10:21 am

      Hi – If you haven’t resolved all of the doubled stitches work one more round, keeping the garter panel in tact.

      • sierrakiloecho
        November 13, 2020 @ 10:27 am

        Awesome, thank you so much for the speedy response!

  17. Vicki
    November 2, 2020 @ 11:30 pm

    Hello! Thank you for giving so much so freely :) I am knitting my first ever sweater and I would not have dared without you! Can I please ask about the stitch count for Short Row 1 in size S/M? In the PDF the third bold number is 50, but here on the blog its 53. I can’t seem to wrap my ahead around that bit! Many thanks, Vicki

    • Alexa Ludeman
      November 4, 2020 @ 10:46 am

      Hi Vicki – All fixed, just a bolding error

  18. Elizabeth Kushner
    October 8, 2020 @ 3:53 pm

    After working short rows 3+4, it says to repeat short rows 3+4 5 more times for size m/l. Does the 5 times include the first time short rows 3+4 were worked so it would be 6 times total or does the 5 include the first time? Thanks!

    • Emily Wessel
      October 12, 2020 @ 1:48 am

      The pattern states to work rows 3-4 a total of 5 times, so you will have already worked rows 3-4 once, and you will need to work them 4 more times.

      • Nicole L
        February 4, 2021 @ 9:57 pm

        The PDF says to work them a *total* of 5 times though?

      • Alexa Ludeman
        February 4, 2021 @ 11:58 pm

        Hi Nicole – You’re right, it does say total, I’ve fixed the above answer. Thanks!

      • Nicole L
        February 5, 2021 @ 12:46 am

        Thanks Alexa!

  19. barbstuppyahoocom
    October 4, 2020 @ 12:13 pm

    Hi! I cannot seem to find the instruction that indicates how many times to repeat short rows 3&4 for my size? Also my short row 4 is not the same as short row 2? Any help you can give would be very appreciated! :)

    • Emily Wessel
      October 4, 2020 @ 11:31 pm

      First, you’ll find this instruction below the description of Short Row 4.

      Work short rows 3-4 a total of 1 (1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6) times.

      Second, short row 4 is similar to short row 2 in that it’s worked with the WS of the work facing. But after working the turn, you work to 5 sts before the ‘doubled’ stitch, and that’s where you turn once more.