Today is the official start date for the Hitofude KAL.
Hitofude
This cardigan is put together like no other . . it’s unique, fun and . . scary!
Last night, or should I say . . into the wee hours of the morning . . I got past the area where I was concerned about doing it correctly. Over 4,600 people have knitted, or started knitting this pattern, so I knew I could do it but but even after finishing that part on Hitofude #2, I’m still not sure I know exactly how I did it.
The best advice I can give you: Make sure you have some stitch markers that are totally different from your other markers. Especially, beginning at the top of Page 3, “Under Arm Seams”, use “special/different” markers everywhere the pattern says PM. Then, if you wish, place the regular markers to divide the repeats.
Hitofude
It is the back side of the sweater where you want the repeats to line up.
Look at “Lower Body” (middle of page 3). Step 1, under Set Up Rounds . . you will Kfb however many for your size, PM . . then K48(60, 60, 72 . .). Whatever this number is, divide by 12 . . so it would be 4, 5, 5, 6 . . That’s how many repeats you should have lining up on the back. See the picture above . . that’s the size L and I knitted 72, so I should have 6 repeats that line up. See them? 6!
Hitofude
The front (everything other than those 6 in the back) do not line up. That’s because of the stitch count and the addition of stitches.
I promise you . . it all sounds harder, and reading through the pattern seems a bit confusing, but once you start knitting, and once you allow yourself to trust the designer and follow the instructions, step by step, without trying to figure out where you’re going, you’ll love this project.
I’m already thinking about making a third one! It’s not only fun to knit but it’s fun to wear.
Margie says
Thank You for helping me with the swatch thing. Last evening I cast on for the 3rd time and will see where we go from there. Is there a place where we can go to post our progress? Thank you for doing this I really do want this cardigan so maybe the 3rd time is a charm.
JudyL says
We will include our project photos in the Friday On the Needles report but . . I would love it if some of you would email me photos (judy.blog@gmail.com) and tell me which yarn you’re using, anything you want to me to say about your project, and I’ll do a blog post with just YOUR project! Thanks!
Joyce says
I decided to cast on last night, because our monthly knit night is tonight. I didn’t think it was a great idea to try and do the cast on while in a group…(too much chatting going on!) I will get going on it while enjoying knit night, though. At least it is an easy chart! I can’t wait to see progress on it. I added two extra chart repeats to make the sleeves longer. The sleeve length shown in the sample is not my favorite. If I like the sweater overall, I may do a second one and truly calculate how many repeats I need to make it long-sleeved (which is my preference).
Ava says
I have been so looking forward to the KAL, but we’ve had a health crisis. My husband had a blood clot and we’ve been in the hospital for 20 days – just got home yesterday. So I’m trying to remember the basics. Plus, there’s a lot of nursing duties that require a whole new set of skills for me. I’m sure knitting will help me feel more calm, when I can work it in.
floribunda says
I think the worst part of this sweater is going to be the provisional cast-on! I tried following several videos about crocheting onto a knitting needle, but I couldn’t ever get the crochet to “unzip” correctly. Maybe because I crochet left-handed and knit right-handed, and couldn’t figure out the instructions… so now I’m trying the “crochet a chain and knit into the back loops” version. Very very tedious!
Using Miss Bab’s Katahdin yarn — lovely to work with.