Steeked ...

Work on the stranded vest continues, it has been knitting up nicely. Ever so satisfying to knit with my own handspun yarn as always. I have noticed some unbalanced yarn slipping through my fingers which leaves me with mixed feelings. I love the look it creates--lots of character, but it makes knitting a little harder because of the extra twist. I think a good hot soak after I'm done knitting will relax the fibers a bit more.

I am employing "steeks" in this vest for my first time ever. I've never done them before. To "steek" means to cut, I believe. When knitting in the round, as I am doing on this vest, 7 extra stitches were cast on across each armhole (after the underarm stitches were placed on a holder for later) and 7 extra stitches were cast on across the v-neck opening. When I am done knitting, I will sew a line of stitches with needle and thread along both sides of the center stitch in each of these steeks. Then I will take a scissors and cut ("to steek") right down the center stitch, opening up the armholes and v-neck. The 3.5 stitch flaps will get turned in and stitched down inside the vest.

Steeks allow the entire vest to be knitted as one tube, whereas without steeks, the back and left- and right- front sides would each have to be knitted back and forth once the underarm has been reached. Knitting in the round is so much easier when doing stranded work. An ingenious idea and I'm thankful to the person who thought of it.

It won't be long before the knitting is finished. In this picture the steeks make the top part look narrower than it really is because the v-neck and arm holes are being pulled in by the steeks.