Warning: Seasonally inappropriate knitting content ahead. Bulky sweaters in May — don’t say I didn’t warn you.
I just cut my knitting. On purpose. Almost everyone who hears this has an intense reaction, including my mom, who was quick to tell me that my grandmother (a talented knitter whom, sadly, I never got to knit with) would NOT support this technique. But I did it, and I will do it again. And I thought you might like to see how it all turned out.
The technique is called steeking, and it’s actually a pretty traditional technique used in fair-isle knitting. Basically, you knit in the round and then create seams by cutting your knitting in a certain spot. This way, you can knit a cardigan in the round; create a V-neck on a sweater or vest; or position armholes in a pullover.
Courtesy of Kirsten Kapur/Through the Loops
The project I steeked was a gorgeous colorwork sweater-jacket — the Andokides Jacket by Kirsten Kapur of Through the Loops. (That’s Kirsten’s sample jacket at right, on her beautiful daughter.) Kirsten is an amazing designer; her designs are absolutely beautiful, but also generally really simple, when it comes down to it. And let me pause here to say that Kirsten has agreed to give away a copy of the Andokides pattern to one Knit and Stitcher! So after I show you how easy it is to cut your knitting, you can do it too! (More details at the end of this post.)
The major benefits of steeking in this pattern are: 1. No purling! Maybe this isn’t a big deal to you, but it is a HUGE deal to me. I hate to purl, and am slow at it. I just can’t seem to get into the same rhythm that I have with my knitting. But when you use steeks on a stockinette sweater, you can knit in the round and then cut the front opening of the cardigan. 2. This is sort of related to No. 1: You can do stranded colorwork in the round. It’s certainly possible to do colorwork in flat knitting, but for many people (me!), it’s far simpler to do it in the round.
Before I show you how it all works, a few quick details on this pattern: It’s knit on size 10 needles with chunky yarn. So even though it’s a sizable project (the largest thing I’ve ever knit!), it goes fairly quickly. I used Cascade 128 Superwash, which we sell in the shop in tons of great colors. In fact, choosing the colors was the hardest part of knitting this sweater. The pattern begins at the bottom of the body — you knit a giant tube that starts with a garter-stitch edging, goes through the colorwork pattern, and ends with several inches of plain stockinette in the main color. Then you set aside the body and knit two sleeves, which are knit in the round. (I used Magic Loop, but you could use DPNs.) And then you take the body and the two sleeves and knit them all together to form the yoke. There are a few painful inches where you’re knitting around the entire yoke, but then you get to do more colorwork and lots of fast decreases, and all is well.
The "checkerboard" pattern is the five steek stitches; eventually, I will cut the sweater right down the middle of this section.
While you’re doing all this, you’re knitting a band of “steek stitches” into your garment. The photo at left shows the steek stitches up close. See right in the middle where it looks like a checkerboard? Those are the five steek stitches. (If you’re eagle-eyed, you can also see some pink machine-stitching. Ignore that — I will tell you about it in a minute.) As you can see, the steek stitches interrupt the colorwork pattern. But that’s OK, because I’m going to cut right up the center of that column, and those stitches will eventually disappear into the inside of the garment. Depending on the pattern, there may be more steek stitches — sometimes 7 or 9. This yarn is pretty bulky, so you don’t want to use too many, because those stitches will be folded inside the garment to create a facing. Too many stitches would be bulky and unattractive.
OK, knitting is (basically) finished. I tried it on. It fit, albeit as a very unattractive sweater dress. (Please don’t get me started on sweater dresses — it is a topic that I’m very passionate about.) I blocked it, which was a challenge, considering how gigantic this sweater is. Here’s what it looked like after blocking:
But before you can get out the scissors, there’s one more step. And honestly, this part made me MUCH more nervous than the actual cutting. Before you can cut, you need to reinforce the steeks so that the entire thing doesn’t just unravel into tiny shreds of yarn. (Technically, it is possible to cut steeks without reinforcing. But as I am not a wily Scottish woman, I do not intend to do it that way.) There are a few ways to reinforce steeks, including machine sewing and crochet. I have steeked a few small baby sweaters before, and because I am a crocheter, I always used that method. (For excellent tutorials on all the methods, see Eunny Jang’s Steeking Chronicles.) But when I did that, I was using non-washable, “sticky” wool. That’s the best kind of fiber to use for steeking; the fibers stick to themselves, and even start to felt a bit, so you don’t need to give them quite as much reinforcement.
But the yarn I used for this jacket was superwash, and pretty bulky at that, so it needed some more serious support. Enter the sewing machine. Now, I do know how to use my sewing machine, but under the best circumstances, we are not best friends. So putting a bulky sweater through the machine seemed like a scary proposition. But I had spent a month knitting this sweater, and by gosh, I was going to finish it. So one day, I did it. And you know what? It was fine. The basic idea is to use the machine to stitch on either side of where you will cut the knitting. Remember those five steek stitches? I was going to cut right up the middle of the third stitch. So I machine-stitched TWO lines on either side of that stitch. The photo at left shows the four rows of stitching on the inside of the sweater. I used hot pink thread so I could see what I was doing. (And also because that was what was in my machine and I was too lazy to change it. Just being honest.) If you go back to the photo above where I showed you the steek stitches, you can see that it’s barely visible from the front. And it won’t be visible at all once I cut the steek and turn the facings to the inside. See that space between the two columns of pink stitches? That’s where I’ll cut the steek.
Now honestly, once the machine stitching was done, I was home-free. (This illustrates how much I am not a fan of my sewing machine sometimes.) Cutting the knitting didn’t scare me that much. Maybe that’s crazy, I don’t know.
OK, time to cut. You really need to find the sharpest scissors you have. And the smallest ones, too. Even though it’s a huge sweater, I cut each stitch individually, so you want to have tiny, sharp scissors to make that possible. Many steeking tutorials advise a swig of liquor at this point, but as it was the middle of the morning, I just took a giant gulp of coffee.
And then I cut:
The first cut!
I feel like this is getting a little long-winded, so I am going to leave you with that image for now. What will happen? Will the sweater unravel into a pile of wool on the floor? Will I curse my decision and give up knitting forever? Stay tuned …
And while you’re waiting, let’s do that giveaway. As I said, Kirsten will give away a copy of the Andokides pattern to one reader. She will send you a PDF, so all you have to do is come by Knit and Stitch, buy yourself a big bunch of Cascade 128, and start knitting! (Though I will admit, you probably will only want to knit this sweater with the A/C on full blast if you’re going to do it this summer. But think of how it nice it will be to have a cozy sweater all finished when October rolls around.) To enter, please leave a comment on this post. To give everyone lots of time to enter, let’s choose a winner next Friday, May 13. And I’ll be back soon to show you the rest of my steeking adventure, and to offer some suggestions for much, much smaller patterns that will let you practice steeking.
I love the colors you picked! I am dying to see the finished product, of course. I definitely see the benefits of steeking – namely what you said, that you can knit in the round and avoid purling (hooray!). I think it’s the second “Mason-Dixon Knitting” book that originally showed me just how beneficial it could be. (Am I crazy? Is that the right book?) Anyway, despite that, I STILL haven’t been brave enough to try it. So you get two thumbs up from this lazy knitter!
Keep the great posts coming. I love reading and seeing what you’re up to!
Kim
You just left me hanging………….what happened?
Your sweater is gorgeous! I’m excited to see the finished project
Love this giveaway considering that this sweater has been in my Ravelry queue for months.
Oh my how brave to steek such a beautifully knit sweater. I would probably just wear it as a pullover. I did steek one project- Melody Shawl. I would love to try my hand at this pattern and technique. Thank you for a very helpful blog posting and the opportunity to win the pattern.
I love your color choices and I know the FO will be lovely! Can’t wait for the next blog post!
Great post and I love your color choices as well.
Awesome of Kirsten to do this giveaway!
oh my gosh, steeking sounds so scary! and my sewing machine and i do not have the best of relationships, but i digress. I’m a big fan of Kirsten’s patterns so if I’m gonna dive in then I know it will go well knowing its with one of her patterns. Plus, I absolutely LOVE this coat. I think I’d do it in Malabrigo Twist or Chunky. Thanks for hosting this giveaway! and for helping me overcome my fear of steeking!
yay, i love looking at steeking pictures! great looking sweater!
Your sweater looks beautiful. I’ve knitted for over 10 years now and still haven’t managed to do any steeking. It’s a scary prospect. Thanks for sharing your process.
Wow, I’m not sure if I could do that! You have to be very confident… I want to see the finished project, too! It will give me courage to try cutting a lovely handknitted garment!
Steeking is so scary and exciting and fun all at the same time, I think I was giddy the first time I did it.
Your sweater is gorgeous, the colors are wonderful!
I have never steeked before, but your step by step instructions make it seem not quite so intimidating. I love Kirsten’s patterns – I just finished Ida’s Kitchen Sink hat and am planning on making several more. I have been eyeing this sweater – it is just gorgeous and would be well worth the time to make.
In your next posting please include the amount of liquor I should consume prior to cutting…yikes!!!
[...] so much for all the nice comments on my last post. It’s so much fun to share a process like this with other knitters. You’re the only ones [...]
Steeking scares me, it is on my list of things to do for 2011!
Absolutely beautiful! And a great explanation of steeking-I haven’t done it before and now it doesn’t seem quite so scary. Also rock on Kirsten for the pattern donation!
Your article is well written, and confidence boosting. And of course, we should knit the heavy sweaters in the summer so they will be ready for winter wear. And vice versa.
Your blog is giving me courage to do my first steek…. the photos were excellent– and the jacket is gorgeous.
Many thanks for the contest, too.
Love this sweater! You are very brave!
What a wonderful color composition and terrific execution on the whole knitting and steeking processes. Ditto on your sentiment toward Kirsten’s designwork. I have been a fan of hers since I test knitted a pair of socks for her in 2008. Thanks for sharing!
What a beautiful sweater. You certainly have lessened my fears of steaking with your clear directions. I would love to be entered in the drawing for the pattern. thanks so much.
Steeking is one of the things I would love to do but I am soooo afraid. Your sweater/jacket is lovely. I guess if I had this pattern I would have to finally STEEK EEK!!!!! Even at the knitting camp I was at this past fall I took steeking but was too afraid to knit a sample to steek so the gal teaching knew this. She I knit me my swatching and at the end of the class I took the scissors and nipped it a tad with sweat pouring out of me. AND it was only a swatch.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Your jacket is so lovely!
Using the sewing machine and cutting your work – you’re a brave knitter.
No matter what you say, steeking still looks scary! But the finished result is beautiful! (Although I probably would have taken a little trip to visit my Mum before cutting anything at all!)
Ooooh, steeking scares me! It is kind of like my last great hurdle in knitting. I finally learned how to read a chart, steeking comes next! What a great pattern!
Your sweater is gorgeous! Love the colors you chose.
oooo the first time i did a steek i about fainted. to this day i am still impressed those stitches have not run away! once getting over the initial shock it sure is a lot of fun! i love everythign kristen does and this new piece is no exception. yours is lovely
teri
This is a gorgeous cardigan, I would learn so many new techniques, and would love to try it!
Thank you!
Great post and love all the details you provided on making this.
You are so brave to be cutting your knitting! I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Oops! Wrong email on my last comment. This one is correct.
I’ve never done steeking so you had me on the edge of my chair! I’ve been wanting to try this technique but like you said, a lot of people (including me!!) are scared to try it. This pattern is absolutly beautiful and I L-O-V-E all of Kristen Kapur’s Patterns. I’d definatly give steeking a try if i had this pattern in my hands!:)
I would love to have an excuse to steek! This is a beautiful pattern.
I just love this sweater and your colors are fantastic.
Wow. I love this sweater! Beautiful
Such a great post, and your jacket is looking beautiful!
Your sweater is beautiful. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
[...] “Steeks” More about steeks can be found at See Euny Knit blog. Photo of steeks is courtesy of Knit and Stitch blog. [...]