Can you believe it? It's time for clue 2 of the Torc cardigan knit-along.
Right now you have joined the front and back of your cardigan together with underarm stitches, so it is time to begin working on the body of your cardigan.
The body of Torc is worked flat in one piece, with no side shaping.
The stripes of Gansey stitches are worked as repeats all the way across the row. There are a few extra stitches outside the pattern at the start and end of the row. These are worked as ‘ED’ stitches and are primarily in stockinette stitch with reverse stockinette stitch welts worked to match the dividing rows in the Gansey stitch pattern.
The body of your cardigan is where you can really relax into those Gansey inspired stitches. You end up working a pleasant rhythm that's great for listening to an audiobook or podcast as you work!
Tips and Modifications
If you're wondering about modifying parts of the cardigan to make it unique to you here are areas where you can adapt the pattern:
Adding Length
If you want to increase the length of the pattern, you can work repeats of the Gansey stripes. You will want to ensure that you work a complete pattern ‘stripe’ so that it looks intentional. One of our test knitters divided one of the stitch patterns in half and added extra, smaller gansey pattern stripes.
Note: You will need to make sure that you adjust the number of stitches that you pick up around the edge for your edging at the very end if you adjust your length.
Changing Stitch Count
You’ve got two options if you change the stitch count:
- Make the adjustment in multiples of 12 so that you can work an entire extra repeat of the stitch pattern.
- Add extra stitches evenly at each end as ‘ED’ pattern. Just make sure you add the same number on each end so the pattern remains centred.
Waist Shaping
There is no waist shaping on the cardigan as written. If you want to add waste shaping, you could omit stitch panels at each side and work increases and decreases in those stitches. I’d suggest working the stitches as ED stitches so that you keep all welt rows worked continuously.
And if you have questions on any of the above or have more of your own, don't forget to drop into the live chat for clue 2 👇
Live on YouTube
If you have any questions or you'd like to join us for a Torc clue 2 chat, pop over to YouTube May 23rd at 3.30pm (GMT) or tap the link to catch the replay too!
Don't forget to drop into Knithub to join the chat!
And if you'd like to join us for the 2024 Torc Knit-along just click here.
Wishing you all the best for clue 2 of the KAL!
