Customized Knitting: Altering Betty's Tee

April 21, 2010

Customized Knitting: Altering Betty's Tee A note from Kathleen: Customizing for your body and wardrobe is one of the great joys of being able to make your own knitted garments. A few weeks ago, Interweave Knits editor Eunny Jang presented a sweater workshop for Betty's Tee (Interweave Knits, Spring 2010). This cute tee is also an exciting knit because of the entrelac technique used throughout the pattern. Eunny's back again to bring us some alternate necklines just in case you don't want the V-neck look. Neckline Alterations for Betty's Tee The last time we talked about Tram Nguyen's Betty's Tee from the Spring issue of Interweave Knits, there were quite a lot of comments about modifying the neckline. Because of the unique construction of the tee, the back neck presents a wide, deep V— very pretty, but sometimes awkward to wear. Figure A Figure B Figure C      Figure D Figure E If you'd like to modify the back (or front!) neckline of Betty's Tee, you've got a few different options. For all of these options, you should begin by picking up stitches along the area of neckline you want to cover. To fill in the entire back neck for a wide boatneck silhouette, pick up from shoulder point to shoulder point, as shown in Figure A. If you'd just like to fill in the center V, pick up from the point of Entrelac Block 1 to the corresponding shoulder block, as shown in Figure E. Make sure to pick up an equal number of stitches on the right and left sides. 1) Short Row Neckline (Figure B) Working along the picked up row of stitches, work back and forth in progressively shorter rows until the back neck is as high as you like. Add a few rows of garter stitch to keep the back neck from curling. 2) Mitered Neckline (Figure C) Beginning with just the center few picked up stitches, work back and forth in progressively longer rows, adding more picked up stitches with every row and working a centered double decrease over the center three stitches of each right side row. 3) Entrelac-ish Neckline (Figure D) This neckline echoes the makeup of the entrelac blocks. With the right side facing, work one right side row from right shoulder tip to the center. Turn, slip the first stitch, and work back. Next row (RS): K2tog. Work to next-to-last stitch from previous row; knit this stitch together with one stitch from left side of neckline. Turn; slip the first stitch; work back. Repeat this row until all stitches have been used up. 4) Modified Entrelac-ish Neckline (Figure E) Work just as for larger Entrelac Neckline, but pick up stitches and work only from the point of Entrelac Block 1 to the point of the corresponding shoulder block. There's always more than one way to approach any knitting challenge. At Interweave Knits, our goal is always to make sure that knitters have the tools and information they need to make every knit perfect for them. Experiment—and see what works for you! Cheers, Eunny

Kathleen Cubley is the editor of Knitting Daily. Kathleen's Knit-Along We're knitting the Minimalist Cardigan and I'm using Cascade Venezia in a beautiful cream. Come knit with us! More Knitting Daily •  Blogs •  Galleries •  Knitting Daily TV •  Free Patterns •  Join Knitting Daily •  Share Your Comments

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