Scared of Steeking

I don't remember how I found her. I was probably surfing my favorite knitting blogs when I stumbled upon the cutest little designer. I just love all of Kate Davies' designs and knew I had to knit at least one of her projects....soon!

I decided on the junior version of the Blaithin sweater for my daughter's Easter sweater. I'm always up for a challenge, but when I read that this sweater is steeked, I definitely paused. Then again, Easter was over a month away, and I would grab a back-up sweater from Target just in case!

What exactly is steeking? I had to do a little research: Steeking is a shortcut used to knit in the round without interruption for openings until the end. After completing a tube, a straight line is cut along the center of a column of stitches, in order to make room for an opening. The steek itself is a bridge of extra stitches, in which the cut is made, and is usually 6-10 stitches wide.

So, wait a minute. I'm going to knit this sweater in the round and then cut my knitting down the center to make the opening of the cardigan??? Yeah, I was scared. And really, I still am. I'm currently knitting away on the sleeves and will soon start the cute flower yoke, but I know the scissors are waiting....just waiting for their chance to dice my stitches. I will keep you updated on the progress. In the meantime, if you want to take a closer look at steeking and its magic, Kate Davies has great tutorials on her blog. I will be pouring over them from now until Easter!

Here are a few of Kate's other designs. They are all available at Wild Purls through Ravelry!