Trouble Cuffs

The little brown topper - or by it's correct name, Bianca - a Berroco Free Pattern, is almost done.

Construction shaping is very interesting and for those of you so inclined, would easily lend itself to machine knitting. Casting on at the lower front edge, you knit up to the armhole. Then increase over several rows to form the sleeves. Once at the shoulder top, just keep on knitting down the back.

With all knitting finished, except the collar, it looks like this.

When folded, (and of course sewn, which mine isn't yet) it looks like this.

A sweater.

All stockinet stitch, it's an easy knit. Which makes it all the more embarrassing to tell you the trouble I had with the cuffs. How many times did I re-do the cuffs? W-a-a-a-y too many. The instructions say "With WS facing, pick up and K40 sts across end of sleeve." Easy, right?

Well, easy if you put markers in to divide the sleeve into equal parts. Otherwise, you end up, as I did the first time, with 55 stitches. Or you end up, as I did the second time, with 75% of the stitches picked up in 25% of the space. Eventually, I thought of markers. Duh!

The instructions go on to detail reverse stockinet for the cuff. I don't particularly like reverse stockinet, but to use a yarnharlot term, I suffer from 'knitterly denial'. So after finally, correctly picking up the 40 stitches, I proceeded to knit the entire three & a half inches of cuff in reverse stockinet. I cast off, then confirmed - "Yup. I don't like reverse stockinet". Rip-it

How much trouble can one little 40 stitch cuff, knit in stockinet cause? Apparently, for me, a lot. It took five attempts to get it right.