Ribbing dilemma...help please!

[jienee]

Hello All!

I have a pattern that's giving me grief. Any and all help/advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

The ribbing is K3, P3, K3 for 2"

PROBLEM ROW: Rep last row (K3, P3, K3) increasing 5 sts evenly across.

QUESTIONS:
 
1.) Do I just continue the K3, P3, K3 pattern and add in the extra stitches to correspond with the pattern?

- i.e. K3, P3, K3, Add St (P1), P2, K3...

OR

2.) Do I just add YO's in random spots but continue following the K3, P3, K3 pat from the previous row?

3.) With the extra sts the ribbing won't match up...is that ok?
- The pat continues into a ribbing and cable layout so it's not going to be a straightforward ribbed garment.

4.) Should the incs be made in the same spot when completing the Left & Right fronts of the sweater?   

[Rava]

These are a couple of bookmarks that might help you out

http://www.thedietdiary.com/knittingfiend/tools/IncreaseEvenlySpace.html

http://www.knitabit.net/wisdom/increaseevenly.htm

Cheers, Rava

[soozeq]

What happens on the next row, more ribbing or do you switch to stockinette st? If you do st st, I'd just do the incs on that row.

[redwitch]

My instinct would be to leave the ribbing intact, but it depends on what is happening next. I would position the increases so as not to disrupt the ribbing, which in a cable pattern would usually mean I made the increases purls. How many stitches total in the row, and what are the ribs doing next? Can you link to the pattern?
I would certainly continue so that I always knit the knits and purled the purls to get continuous ribbing.

Don't do random spots - divide the row into 6 parts, and do the increases every that number of rows. Say you had 30 stitches: divide by 6 (=5) so increase every 5 stitches so at st 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 stitches (that's what 'evenly across row' means, but as I say, when there is ribbing->cables involved I'd fiddle a bit).

The front and back should be similar. So if you increased all at once on one side, you'd get a poky little bubble: you distribute the stitches across the row to make the widening gradual.
If you have widened gradually across the row, of course you need to do the same for the other side, but being exactly the same is not necessary.

Can you post a pic of the area where the ribbing turns into cables? What's the stitch count?

[soozeq]

Oh, you mentioned YOs for the inc st. Unless the pattern specifically says to, that will make a hole. You need to use another increase, either knit front and back or make 1.

[redwitch]

It will usually make a hole regardless of pattern directions unless you twist it on the next row... this is the same as a M1 just slightly looser.

[soozeq]

Yes, it is. I think I left out a couple words. I meant that unless the pattern says to make a YO, another type of increase should be used.

[jienee]

Thank you so much for all of the replies.    I'm learning a lot from all of your responses so please keep posting. Can't thank you all enough! I printed out the pattern a while ago and I can't find the website I got it from but here's some more info. Problem spots have been bolded in red.

Sorry if it's confusing. I'm having trouble being articulate especially since it's 3 am and hours of staring at this pattern and knitting then ripping out, then knitting & ripping out again (you get the picture) has driven me a little bonkers. 


St count: 55 sts plus 5 st incs = 60 total sts

Rows 1-11: K1. P3. K3. ribbing.

Next Row: K1. P3. K3. Inc 5 sts evenly across row. 

Proceed in Cable Pat:
1st Row: *K3. P3. K3 - this part doesn't match up with the established ribbing because of the 5 added sts...throws the count off & the ribs are no longer lining up. Rep from * to last 6 sts (K3. P3)

2nd to 4th Rows: K all K sts and P all P sts.

5th Row: *K3. P3. C6B. P3. K3. Rep from * to last 6 (K3. P3)

6th to 12th Rows: As 2nd row.

- The P3 after the C6B never lines up with the bottom ribbing.

- When I get to the 5th Row I get K3. P3. C6B. K3 instead of the necessary P3.

- I end up P3 over the K3 in the previous row which causes a checkboard effect.

Cable pat should be K3. P3. C6B. K6. P3. C6B. P3. K6...etc ending with K3. P3.

[redwitch]

It sounds like a badly written pattern. For starters it looks like they would have you doing a 6-stitch cable over 3 k and 3 p stitches which would be very odd.
Did you print or save a photo at the same time?
Honesdtly I would bin it, find a better pattern, or work out how to fix it.
I guess I would start with 60 stitches originally, work the ribbing on small needles so it is still small, and then change to larger needles after the ribbing were finished.
I would probably change the ribbing also so it will line up properly with the cables.
So to match what you have in row 5, my ribbing would be k3, p3, k6, p3, k3. Then later on with the cables you are keeping the stitches the same, just starting to cable the 6 k stitches and also making the stitches a touch bigger than with ribbing.

Row 5 should be able to be repeated 3 times altogether and then there will be 6 stitches left. It looks like they might expect you to do a last k3, p3 on those 6 stitches?
But that would give you and unbalanced motif, why is there no cable toward that end? Is it deliberately left plain?

We need a bit more info on the pattern. What is it supposed to be? Is it a jumper starting from the lower body edge? Please scan in the picture of what it is supposed to look like.

Doing the p3 over the k3 is a bit odd in a cable pattern, I can't imagine why they have you doing this. I think there are big problems here. Have you tried Googling important words to see whether you can find the site again? You don't know what it's called?

Is this an unusual cable (like parts of cables disappearing into the background and then appearing again out of nowhere, ribs not lining up) motif or did it look fairly standard?

Sarah

[flaky]

I am making the assumption you are knitting flat & not in the round, correct?  If you are knitting in the round - don't make increases - you are right you will have a funky checkerboard mess.  You have to just start with 60 on smaller needles. 

Assuming you are knitting flat -I wholly agree with redwitch to just start with 60 in the first place on smaller needles.  Another option is to do an increase at the beginning of your row 5 times - maybe skipping a row in between increases - and keeping the whole thing in pattern.  The problem with this solution is that the edge(s) will wind up with a slight stair-step shape to them. you are only increasing 5 stitches so it shouldn't be that bad unless you are using really chunky yarn.  The stair-step shape could make it a little challenging to seam up when you are finished.

I've never used a pattern that wasn't riddled with mistakes!!!!