How to knit saddle sleeve construction on shoulders?
My new knitting pattern Kelo-cardigan has a saddle sleeve construction on shoulders. In this post I give you easy instructions how to knit armhole shaping and saddle sleeve as seen in Kelo. Read on, this is really a nice way to give your cardigan that little bit of extra.
Knitting sleeves
The easiest way to make sleeves in knitting, is to knit a straight piece and seam it into the sides of the body. This method is handy when your fabric is very stretchy and the garment has loose fit. When your garment has more fitting shape, the sleeve needs a cap. The cap is shaped on top of the sleeve. The top has a curved, bell kind of shape. The bell curve gives the shoulder space and allows narrow sleeves without too tight armholes. This kind of sleeve is called set in sleeve. Set in sleeve needs armholes. Read here below how to shape armholes easy way.
Saddle sleeve
Saddle sleeve is almost like a set in sleeve. The only difference is that you keep on knitting with the last stitches on top of the sleeve. This rectangular part is called the saddle. Narrow saddle is placed on shoulder between the front and the back. This way the shoulder has two shoulder seams instead of just one. The bound of edge of the saddle edges to neck band. Sometimes saddle is made so wide, that half of it continues from neckline all the way to center back. It is also possible to knit saddle sleeve construction in a seamless top-down cardigan. This is a bit more complicated method, and I will not go deeper into that this time.
Armhole shaping
Make armhole shaping as follows. You can use this method in set in sleeve construction as well. But note that the armhole needs to be then a bit higher.
- Bind off 3 sts (or the amount of sts your patters calls for, usually 2 to 7 sts), knit to end of row. Turn. Bind off 3 sts purlwise and purl to end of row. Now your armhole starts the left side one row higher. This is ok, since the front panels have the same difference the other way around.
- Bind off the same way further 2 sts on both sides and repeat this as many times as your pattern calls for. (Kelo-cardigan has not this part).
- Now decrease on both sides 1 st on every alternate row like this: K3, ssk, knit to last 5 sts, k2tog, k3. This way you will have 3 knit stitches edging the armholes, and the decrease stitches are next to them. Repeat the decrease row on every right side row. On purl side nothing happens, just purl. Repeat this until you have reached the shoulder width needed.
- Work straight on until you have reached the correct height of the armhole.
Kelo
Kelo-cardigan
Kelo is Finnish and it means a dead pine tree. These trees are dry, grey, and coiled and they usually stand in windy places in wilderness. In Finnish language they stand as a symbol for ancient forests. They are like the single ply yarn I chose for this cardigan project. The natural colors of alpaca fibers are shading from light grey to dark brown. Undyed and chemical free, this yarn is like a gift from Nature.
This yarn is special to me for a good reason: I have made it myself! Well, half of the truth… This yarn is made by a small spinnery in Southern-Finland, Ruukinkehräämö. They make yarn of the wool of their own alpacas and blend it with wild silk collected from Kalahari Desert. I was there in the spinnery when this yarn was made, and I had a chance to learn the whole process. How awesome is that!?
Kelo is a classic cardigan pattern. It is worked flat in stockinette stitch and it has knit 1, purl 1 ribbing on edges. This easy pattern is perfect for beginners. If you can knit and purl, you can do this. You only need to learn few basic techniques like increasing, decreasing, and picking up stitches. See tutorials for these on my blog.
The pattern has loose fit and saddle sleeves. These sleeves add a nice visual detail on shoulders. Gradient yarn makes this basic cardigan special, but single color will also work just fine.
Wish you happy knitting,
Piia Maria
