Although last week I didn't feel like I got a lot accomplished I realized that I actually had. On Saturday I woke up with a whole plan for a class I'm teaching on Jan.31 (see
http://www.downtownknitcollective.ca/dkc_events.html) called Top Down Scatter. I'm doing a workshop on moving the increases around to see what we can make happen between the neck and the Divide Row at the underarm. Within a couple of minutes I had a page of ideas.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDw22pBC-AoqEUfCCu1A3-DzlZkbVN0sAo20-1yXbDdwBeCRukkkDdAsGhBcIAf-80e49AXxDf6MV-nzTHbJmGCWZ5rkWjACcXR2RrHSsBim6i7-AhJTh6D8z_V_3So4KKa83VC2ydQnEF/s320/002.JPG)
This is a standard raglan configuration. Pairs of increases worked at 4 points (on either side of the sleeves) for an increase of 8 stitches per Increase Round.
The diagonal shapelines give you a divide line between the sleeve and the Body sections. So what would happen if we moved them around. I've jumped ahead here to some more interesting set-ups.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OCPF1KBHubcal7ejKCs_XVbFPDHJkO_x7wAAPJ9KaFmbnT8NkKA6xGNDXBEE5XwcXdsk7Gk5P93WyTG0Hij1v0f71wMoW1Pn-eBHNEgS1YtDTlm84uzD_Fr5Csf-DzoJmuHjo2s0q1GA/s320/005.JPG)
What if we moved one set of paired increases to sit on the top of each shoulder and left one line of single increases along the sleeve/body raglan divide line. Two stitches are increased on each shoulder (4 sts) and 1 increase on the outside edge of each Front (2 more sts) and 1 increase worked at the outsides of the Back (2 sts). All that adds up to 8 sts added on each Increase Round. It has a different look although the diagonal raglan line is still there.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1caGl8vqHvkDhcToNxpzJ9kie97gJ8pUCanWmvH-gri6yJzImCIjxSW3cyZv5UkrBHNcP5MN87X8pWt1gzOKJWtIVgWEy1VhkD3WcRffcs-g3D3ByfziiMSUwbi3VmGHbXWyK5PAErD81/s320/003.JPG)
Let's turn it 90 degrees again.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTfF1gx4jomt1QJZuALPFpuKJ5O6N6DF_81Jpy4zQWgPUlsagD3nHd4LfNetSPJeNNqY-Qxfc1EOKAxQcjcJyS7u9SXbjtMn5MVSLfZhsBmHusjNyGVxlxIGfCejjsBrI6xaucCgLVPgN/s320/006.JPG)
This time the shapelines with the paired increases are running down the centre of the Front and Back (the front increases straddle the buttonband). I also separated the pair of increases running along the shoulder so it looks like a saddle (think of it with closed increases instead of the YO used here). This is similar to the pair of increases along the shoulder in the blue sample but I separated the pair of increases with 10 sts.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhruBOrJ7krD1xjnHNzPA_ZQkIRCSl-Hm0Oly5SsbGKjhxVh15jMaTRaSqwcfGur74z8WbWKbolJrQmUNQG8JQN70dP6QOn8qbtG0_pimKLJWkUiJfeYnDVjcI_2gtbIgTO_HDdB0sPRMnJ/s320/007.JPG)
This makes a wonderful V in the Front and also in the Back as you can see. The Back V could be filled in when working the collar.
All of these samples start with the same number of stitches and end with the same number at the underarm. With a standard raglan Top Down pattern you can play with where you set up the increases and as long as you increase 8 sts every Increase Round you're golden. Is this fun or what?!
-Deb
Wow! What a difference moving the increases makes! I think I'm going to have to try some tiny sample myself just to see how it works! I quite like the v in the front and back. It would be very pretty! The first one would have lots of room in the armscye, I think, with the shoulders kinda straight out like that. This is a very interesting experiment! Thanks for sharing it. :) samm
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