The Birthday61 sweater is a one-color pullover that is knit in half-fisherman’s rib. The yarn suggestion is fine fingering. My swatch is done and I have begun the project.
I sometimes get questions from readers related to a pattern. So I want to supply as much information now as possible NOW when the pattern is fresh in my mind. Five years from now (or even 5 months), I will have forgotten what I did.
Buy the Birthday61 Pattern Here
Answering Your Questions About the Pattern
First I want to emphasize that Ankestrick has a forum at Ravelry that is especially for help knitting her patterns. That is where you should ask pattern questions! Begin on this page (sign into Ravelry to view) and search for your pattern alphabetically. Every pattern, by Ankestrick, is listed, so find the one you are working on, and ask the question there. I had a question about knitting the swatch, and I received a fast reply.
I am writing this blog post to help you knit this project. However, by the time you read this, I may have completed this sweater long ago. I will most likely not remember how to answer your question. Use the Ravelry forum for best results.
Also, Anke has a list of Special Techniques for her patterns. I watched her video for casting on and followed it without much of a problem. Although, the knits and purls tend to curl up and look bad, I managed to get through it.
Beginning the Pattern, the Cast On
I did Anke’s cast-on and row 1, which is the set up row, using a size 0 needle. (See her techniques link above.)
On Row 2, I switched to my main size 1 needle (16″ circular). I’m not sure this is necessary, and the designer does not suggest it. But the cast-on is like the Italian tubular where a smaller needle is used first. *Also, be sure that join looks good. It will be prominent in the middle front of the sweater neck.
Yoke markers and short rows could be confusing for some knitters. The directions are excellent. The designer provides a diagram for the placement of the stitch markers. This is very helpful for knitting the short rows.
To help keep things straight, I used various colored stitch markers. The colors designate a different section. The front (pink) and back (black) and sleeves (green-blue) – will get the increases. All of those sections are separated by a raglan section which will not be increased.
The color coding helped me a lot to visualize which part of the sweater I was knitting. Be sure the BOR marker is easy to see – make it different (I used a seahorse).
To begin with, the beginning of the round is in the front. Then, later we move it to the back.
Dealing With Knitting Mistakes
I picked up the project to get a new picture for this post and found a BIG FAT MISTAKE! It was staring me in the face, and is very obvious. It is a few rows back and I will not be trying to fix it. It is in a raglan section and I knit the whole section incorrectly. But I occasionally have small mistakes to fix.
I can’t believe I already have a mistake, but it won’t be the last. I only hope that my goofs won’t be too noticeable once the sweater is complete.
Missed the Increase? Here’s what to do.
This brings me to another issue I had. How do I fix, or rip back, a half-fisherman’s rib stitch? It’s tricky. It is helpful to use a tiny crochet hook. When you un-knit the stitch, it will leave 2 strands on your needle. One must be pulled through under the other and put back onto the left needle.
Pay attention to the increase rows. It is easy to forget to make an increase, and then you must rip back to add the increase, or ignore it and add the increase later. I had to do this for a sleeve. Added 2 stitches later.
This happens to me when I am on an increase round and I forget to do the increase at the beginning, or end, of the section. I’ve already begun a new section when I remember I should have made the increase. I will only rip back a few stitches at most. If I am far ahead, I simply make up the increase later.
1. Ripping back Fisherman’s Rib – I’m not sure why she has 3 strands to deal with except that it’s not “half” fisherman’s rib. She is knitting the same rib on both sides of her work. We are knitting into the loop below on every other round for this sweater, which is called half fisherman’s rib. To fix a stitch we still have to pull a stitch under the other one.
2. Here is a video about fixing a mistake in half fisherman’s rib when the mistake is many rows back. It’s a little intimidating to me. Some of you may find it helpful.
*Be sure to count your stitches in each front, back and sleeve section and make sure they match up to the pattern. This helps point out missed increases.
Where I’m at on this Project Today
After many hours of knitting, I am still finishing the yoke. I have not separated for the sleeves yet. I’m measuring lengths to be sure the yoke does not get too long. For my size, the yoke length should be 9 inches and I’m nearly there.
And then this…
It is mid January and I have separated the body and sleeves. I added waste yarn the same way I always do – with two strands. It went fine.
I’ll have to add a few increases as I begin the body because my counts were off. The yoke was getting long and I skipped a few rounds before the separation. I have 115 for back and front. It should be 123 for my size. I need to add 8 stitches to each – front and back. I’m not worried about the missing 2 stitches for each sleeve.
I am loving the yarn. The light color makes knitting easy.
New England's Narrow Road 