RAGLAN FROM ABOVE, MK SEAMLESS SWEATER WITH ROUND NECKLINE

During the knitting process according to my master class, if you have any comments or corrections, please let me know.

Chapter 1. Knitting Density. Size Chart.

Knitting density is a key parameter of knitting. It means the number of stitches and rows in 10 cm, an integer or fraction, that you get, only you and no one else, from the yarn and needles you plan to use.

People knit so differently — some tighter, some looser — that there is no reason to offer the same size needles to everyone.

Before starting a full-sized project, you must knit a gauge swatch to determine your knitting density.

What is a gauge swatch? It is a piece of knitting specifically knitted to calculate knitting density.

The gauge swatch should be knitted from the yarn chosen for the project. It is necessary to, firstly, ensure that this yarn is suitable for the chosen pattern; and secondly, to calculate the knitting density.

I know, I know, you can't stand this, so start a larger swatch and call it a scarf. Then it will be useful and might even become quite popular. You are not obligated to finish this scarf before you start the sweater; 10 centimeters is quite enough for measurements. It's better not to finish this scarf before the sweater — what if you need a bit more of that yarn.

How to calculate knitting density?
Knit a swatch. If what you have produced is to your liking, and the pattern looks appealing, we move on to the second stage — calculating the knitting density.

Before calculating, the swatch should be lightly steamed. You can skip the wet blocking (further referred to as WBT) only if you never plan to wash the result. Otherwise, the swatch should undergo WBT just as you plan to treat the finished product; otherwise, after the first contact with water, it may either increase or decrease in size.

Determine the width — the number of stitches in 10 cm, and the length — the number of rows in 10 cm.

Using a ruler or measuring tape, measure 10 cm horizontally and vertically in the middle of the swatch and pin two pins exactly at the edges. Now count the number of stitches between the pins. One stitch looks like the letter V, two stitches look like two letters VV, and so on. Don’t neglect half or even a third of a stitch if there happen to be any.

So, in my example:

1.      In a width of 10 cm — 14 stitches, therefore in 1 cm — 1.4 stitches.
2.      In a length of 10 cm — 23 rows, therefore in 1 cm — 2.3 rows.
For the sweater, we need the following measurements:

A. Head circumference (52 cm).
B. Chest circumference measured at the fullest points on the chest (62 cm +6 for ease = 68 cm).
C. Hip circumference at the length of the garment.
D. Length of the garment — measured at the back from the highest point of the shoulder (45 cm).
E. Sleeve length — from the highest point of the shoulder through the whole arm, slightly bent at the elbow (47 cm).
F. Bicep circumference (armhole length) (13 cm).

When building the pattern, for each circumference measurement (chest, hips, bicep) you need to add a few centimeters for ease. Usually, this is from 2 to 6 cm depending on the desired fit of the garment. If you want a looser fit — add more, and vice versa.

If it is not possible to take measurements, I suggest a ready-made size option according to the standard size chart.

For sizes: 2 - 3/4 - 5/6 - 7/8 - 9/10 years

Size in cm: 92 - 98/104 - 110/116 - 122/128 - 134/140

Chapter 2. Calculation of raglan stitches.

This is the most important part of the work, as raglan-shaped garments are knitted based on calculations, not from a pattern. Such garments are knitted from the neckline or collar. All raglan details are knitted simultaneously and expanded by adding stitches in certain places, called raglan lines.

The calculation of stitches needed to knit a raglan sweater is done as follows: based on the knitted swatch, the knitting density is determined, which we discussed in Chapter 1.

When knitting raglan from the top, many sources suggest using the neck circumference; I take the child's head circumference, subtract 2-4 cm for fit, as when knitting hats, but at the same time, I also use a smaller needle size for knitting the collar. Don't forget that the collar is often knitted in a 1x1 or 2x2 rib, which visually narrows the neckline. If I use cotton or any other yarn that does not stretch well, then I simply take the head circumference for calculation, so that our garment can be easily put on over the head.

So, in my case, I use LanaGrossa Cashsilk yarn, which stretches a lot, so I make the first calculation: head circumference 52 cm - 2 cm for stretch = 50 cm, which I take for calculation.

Let's proceed with the calculations, draw a similar scheme:

50 cm * 1.4 stitches = 70 stitches. There must be an even number of stitches; also consider which rib you will be using 1x1 or 2x2, if it's 1x1 rib, the total number of stitches is divided by 2, if it's 2x2 rib, then by 4. In my case, it will be 1x1 rib.

2. Raglan lines. The garment has 4 raglan lines in total. For the raglan line, 1, 2, 4, or 8 stitches are used. In my case, we take 2 stitches for each line.

3. Next, we need to subtract the stitches for the raglan lines from the total number of stitches. 70 stitches - 8 raglan stitches = 62 remaining stitches.

4. Divide the remaining stitches into 3 approximately equal parts, so that the number of stitches in each part is an integer.

In my example, this looks like this: 62 stitches: into 3 parts = 20.6 stitches.

Since our number does not divide evenly, we distribute the stitches as follows: 20 stitches + 20 stitches + 22 stitches.

5. Now we need to distribute these three parts across the details: 20 stitches for the front, 20 stitches for the back, and 22 stitches for 2 sleeves (11 stitches for each sleeve).

To ensure the garment fits well, 2 adjustments need to be made in the calculation.

Adjustment 1. To ensure the sleeve does not end up too wide at the end of the raglan line, it is necessary to narrow each sleeve by 1.5-2 cm, increasing the front and back in compensation. In my example, we narrow by 1.5 cm.

1.5 cm * 1.4 stitches = 2.1 stitches, round to 2 stitches.

Now we need to subtract 2 stitches from the total number of stitches for the sleeves, resulting in:

11 stitches - 2 stitches = 9 stitches for sleeves,

Since we have a total of 70 stitches in the work, we must distribute these 4 stitches to the front and back stitches, meaning we need to add 2 of these stitches, resulting in:

20 + 2 = 22 stitches for the back and front.

This is what we get after the first adjustment.

Adjustment 2. To ensure the garment does not pull back, the back neckline needs to be raised by 1-2 cm and the neck opening deepened by 2-4 cm, this is called a "growth line". The growth line is knitted depending on the size, its total height is 2-6 cm accordingly for sizes, meaning for the smallest ones we take 2-3 cm, for larger ones 5-6 cm. In my example, I take the height of the growth line as 5 cm, meaning I will raise by 2 cm at the back and the front will have a depth of 3 cm.

To raise the back, we need 2 cm * 2.3 rows = 5.6 rows, round to 6 rows. There must be an even number of stitches. The even number arises because we knit the growth line with short rows. 1 knit row and 1 purl row (there and back), therefore we divide by 2. We get 3 parts. For this number of parts, we need to divide the sleeve stitches approximately into equal parts, marked with red lines.

Here we will knit short rows, I will explain visually in Chapter 3.

Since the rows will be short, we will not make increases everywhere along the front raglan lines, because we will not reach them everywhere. That is, the short row will not reach them. Hence, due to increases along the raglan lines, the number of stitches on the back will increase, while on the front it will decrease. Therefore, we recount the distribution of stitches on the raglan.

By the time we knit all the stitches for the sleeve, the number of stitches on the front and back should be the same, so we need to take into account the stitches that are added along the raglan lines of the back. So if the stitches for each sleeve will be knitted in 3 passes (9/3 = 3 + 3 + 2 (+1) (1 stitch remains before the raglan (I always recommend leaving this one or several stitches)), then each raglan line on the back will have 3 stitches added, and by the time all sleeve stitches are fully knitted, the number of stitches on the back will increase by 6 stitches, on each sleeve — by 3 stitches.

Clearly illustrated in the picture below. Increases are marked with orange circles.

In our example, if we were knitting now, the number of stitches on the back would be equal to 22 stitches + 6 increase stitches = 28 stitches, while the front would still have the calculated number of stitches, that is, 22 stitches. Thus, the front would be 6 stitches larger than the back. These stitches need to be accounted for before starting to knit.

Therefore, from the number of stitches on the back, we need to subtract 3 stitches (22 - 3 = 19 stitches) and add 3 stitches to the front (22 + 3 = 25 stitches), meaning the difference between the front and back should be 6 stitches. (25 stitches - 19 stitches). Then after knitting all the sleeve stitches, the back and front will be the same.

Now we move on to calculating the curve of the neck opening. I determined that it would be 3 cm.

3 cm * 2.3 rows = 6.9, round up to the nearest even number, totaling 8 rows. I remind you that we will continue knitting short rows accordingly 8 / 2 = 4 parts. Why do we divide by 2 again? Because the rounding of the neckline occurs from 2 sides towards the center.

When calculating the curve, we need to leave a straight horizontal line at the front with a length of 4 cm, 4 cm * 1.4 stitches = 5.6 stitches, round to whole numbers up or down. Since I have 25 stitches at the front, I will round to 5 stitches, since in the next calculation I need the remaining stitches to be divisible by 2. From the 25 stitches of the front, we need to subtract 5 stitches for the horizontal line (25 - 5 = 20 stitches).

Divide into 2 parts of 10 stitches each. We need to divide these 10 stitches into 4 equal parts, getting 2.5 stitches, resulting in 3 + 2 + 2 + 2 (+1) stitch.

After all the calculations, we should get a scheme like this.