Slip, Slip, Knittin' Away

November 27, 2018 9:21 AM

When knitting in the round, is it possible to change the starting point of the round mid-project?

I'm working on a top-down sweater (my first!) with a lace yoke and straight stockinette body. The pattern had the yoke knitted flat with a button placket. I did not want said placket, so just started in the round. Great. Yoke is almost finished and now I'm at the point where I'm switching to the body and dividing for armholes. Oops. I placed my markers in reverse following the flat placement instructions in the pattern rather than adjusting for in-the-round. So instead of BOR sleeve, back, sleeve, front, I have BOR front, sleeve, back, sleeve. What would happen if I just slipped/moved the current BOR stitches/the front section over to the non-working needle, replaced the beginning of round marker/started the round in the proper place and then knitted around and knit the previously-slipped stitches at the end of the round? It seems intuitive in my head, but I'm getting conflicting information. If this is a horrible idea, is there a better way to switch the starting point of the round so I'm putting the right stitches in the right place on hold for sleeve?

posted by HonoriaGlossop to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (5 answers total)

This sounds ok. You would just work a partial round from the BOR front to the first sleeve marker. I don't understand what slipping the front stitches would do -- are they already knitted for this round? If they aren't, I would worry about the yarn being stranded behind the front stitches.
posted by Stephanie Duy at 9:31 AM on November 27, 2018

If I'm understanding your project right, I think you want to remove the BOR marker, knit the front stitches, and then replace the BOR marker at the new position. If you slip the front stitches for a whole round, then the front will be one row shorter than the back and sleeves, and you'll either have a very long float or have to join new yarn on the other side.

You could also ask this question on the Ravelry forums if you haven't yet.
posted by henuani at 9:33 AM on November 27, 2018

Best answer: For the tiny amount of extra fabric in that spot, I wouldn't even bother slipping the stitches and re-attaching the yarn. If you've gotten past the pattern and there's nothing else there to draw the eye (color transition or pattern), I'd just knit to the spot I wanted to call the start of the round, put a marker there, and never think of it again.
posted by tchemgrrl at 9:49 AM on November 27, 2018 [7 favorites]

Yeah I think you can just move your markers without slipping stitches. If you imagine a sweater knit in the round, who cares where the little bump for the first stitch is relative to the front of the sweater?
posted by ottereroticist at 9:51 AM on November 27, 2018

Response by poster: Thanks, all! I like the shrug, knit, and move on approach. No more overthinking (this time).
posted by HonoriaGlossop at 11:46 AM on November 27, 2018 [3 favorites]