I have figured out why one side of my short rows look wonky all the time!! And it turns out I could have corrected this problem months ago by simply re-reading the directions in the glossary of any number of the knitting books on my shelf.
The problem was...drumroll...I inserted the needle from front to back instead of back to front when hiding the wrap on the purl side.
AFTER I figured this out on my own by fiddling with my knitting for an hour, out of pure spite I looked up the little short row instructions at the back of Interweave Knits, Spring 2009 that I had used to learn how to do purl-side short rows just to say "Ha! You told me how to do it WRONG!!" and I found this little gem: "Purl stitch: On wrong side, work to just before wrapped stitch. Insert needle from back, under wrap from bottom up, and put on left needle. Purl them together" (p.108). *Blush*
So, all is right in the world. Interweave Knits knows what it's talking about, I know how to do the purl side short rows now, and I'm almost done with my Delancey Cardigan (this short row revelation happened while knitting the second sleeve cap).
Incidentally, this brought up an interesting knitting question. I am not a frogger. I know that the first three short rows on the second sleeve aren't perfect, and I also know that the entire back side of the short rows on the first sleeve aren't perfect, but this does not bother me one iota. I always read Ravelry notes about ripping back sleeve caps or shawl collars or cable sections three, four, or five times to get it right...and I always think "Why?" Fellow knitters, do you keep ripping until it's perfect, or just figure it's good enough?
PS I almost entitled this post "I'm still alive!" because I have noticed that any knitting blogger worth her salt has at least one post with that title. *giggle* Anyway, I am still alive and knitting, and although I've been busier than usual lately I do have some things that are just about ready to share!
Post PS I've started again with the DVD sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer while knitting in the evenings. Bring on the witty banter and handsome, non-sparkly vampires!
I'll rip and redo for things like actual stitch errors (of the missing-stitch type error) or when redoing will give me a better fit. If the error or the fit are bad enough that I won't want to wear the item, then ripping is worth it to me. A mis-crossed cable always is a subject for internal debate: will anyone else notice? (That may be why I don't knit much cabled stuff.) For your sleeves, I probably wouldn't rip. I think I'd be inclined to do the second sleeve "wrong" in the same way as the first sleeve, just so they'd match. Any other "error"--like bumps on short rows--is just a design element. ;)
ReplyDeleteI really try to avoid ripping if the error isn't that one sleeve is four inches shorter than the other or something that would be terribly obvious to even non knitters. But for a purl on a knit side or a mis-crossed cable, I'll just do my best to fix it without pulling it out or I'll leave it.
ReplyDeleteTiny errors don't bother me, unless they make the fit wonky. But I figure that, just because it doesn't look like I expected doesn't mean it's wrong. Some very important discoveries were made that way. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll have to go back and check all my short rows now too - I'm pretty sure I've been doing the same thing. haha!
I have nevah evah seen Buffy. I think I should rectify that. Immediately. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're still alive.
And it is amazing what actually reading the instructions will do for your knitting. I did *exactly* the same thing with short rows. Right down to looking in the back of IK to check their "bad" instructions.
Uh oh, looks like I'll have to learn how to do purl side short rows. I am a ripper, but only for things that are really going to drive me crazy later like sizing issues or big ugliness.
ReplyDeleteWoohoo for Buffy! Season four has to be my favorite.