Why it do what it do

Howdy everybody. My apologizes if my WWE style copyright smackdown came off a little intense. PMS and a sighting of a new "Jems-like" pattern on the internets made me a little touchy.

Nevertheless, on to good things. Glimmer made her debut just in time for 6am sunrise church service. Her is a pic just before I steam blocked and added the buttons Saturday night.



To recap:
* Summer Tweed - yum!
* Short rows - big pain in my arse!
* Kim Hargreaves - still love her designs.




Wendy and Nik both posed the question of why the Schachenmayr tank bulges due to the chevron. I figured I should try to explore the subject since I plan to use chevrons in the design of my dress. I frogged that shirt so I'll have to reuse the previous pics for examples. I like to call this segment....

Why it do what it do*

The essence of any chevron is the use of a double decrease. This would be a sk2p (slip 1, knit 2 together, pass slipped over), or a k3tog. This type of decrease pulls in the fabric from both sides creating the slanted rows, and in turn, the downward point. You can see this in the infamous Jaywalker socks.




If you look at this picture, this pattern uses a combination of a k3tog and sk2p. That is 2 more decreases than the standard chevron and creates a steeper chevron. The few inches of stockinette before the start of chevron is what causes the fabric to buckle and bulge. Without it the chevron would at least lay flat. After a couple test swatches I've come to conclusion there is no way to eliminate this problem.



As for the armhole bulges, this can be fixed. Originally after the end of the chevron pattern, the top is worked straight before armhole decreases begin. Working straight allows the fabric to follow the v-angle set by the chevron. Instead, side decreases should done to offset this and draw the side back inward.

I'm not sure how this relates directly the VK pattern. I'd have to really read it and see. I may tackle that another day but this study of the chevron has proven useful in my dress pattern. More on that tomorrow.

* You can thank Ray Charles and Jamie Foxx for that.