I know I’ve mentioned doing this many times and it’s a fairly common practice, but it’s worth including in Hot Tips for those who might not be aware of it. That is, if you’re knitting a bottom-up sweater, start with a sleeve. I sometimes let the sleeve be my swatch — cast on as directed and knit several inches of the sleeve, then block and measure for gauge. You can transfer it onto waste yarn, or just leave it on the cord if you’re using interchangeable circs. If you’re way off, no harm done — it’s essentially the same as having knitted a swatch, except you’ve also swatched for the edging (another bonus). Whereas if you’re on track, you’re already making progress!
But there’s another way of looking at it, too. If you’ve knitted a sweater before, and you are a devout swatcher, you’ve likely had the experience of your sweater gauge turning out to be slightly different than your swatch gauge. So if you have swatched and measured, and then you knit and block and sleeve, it’s a chance to confirm you’re still on track. (Of course, if you’re knitting sleeves in the round and the body flat, or vice versa, you might find a difference in your gauge between the two. So there’s always that to keep in mind, no matter what.)
Plus getting the sleeves done first will make you feel like you’re ahead of the game! Win/win.
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PREVIOUSLY in Hot Tips: Count your cable crosses correctly
