FLAK Part 4 - Back

Over the weekend I completed my FLAK back and am now ready to move on to Part 5 - the front! However, I do need to take a little break to let my fingers rest as cables can sometimes make my hands ache.

After much contemplation and studying other sweaters in my wardrobe, I decided to go with a sleeve depth of 9" so I knit my upper back 9" long. I know I can always rip back a few rows if it ends up too long or add a few rows if it is too short. Once the top front is done, I will try it on over my head to see if the front and back pieces are the right length to the underarm. I don't like snug arms.

The Follow-the-Leader-Aran-Knitalong (FLAK) message board is great! I have learned so many things from these wonderful knitters as I've read through their messages. This morning I was able to try "laddering down" to fix a cable that was twisted in the wrong direction. Someone on the board had explained how to do this and I followed her directions. My heart was pounding as I ripped out the troubled section but then I finally relaxed for, after all, if it didn't work I could always rip those rows outcompletely. And guess what? It worked like a charm! No more using crochet hooks to fix wrong stitches, this method is far more efficient.

There are a few other mistakes in my FLAK back that I will leave as is. I'm not quite brave enough to rip back 12 rows. The mistake I fixed was only 6 rows back. But, now I have added confidence! Huzzah!

Another thing I learned from the FLAK group was very elementary - how to "read" my cables. I don't know why I have never figured out that when a cable crosses to the right the resting stitches will be in the "back" and when the cable needs to cross to the left the resting stitches will be in the "front". I'm learning to "read" my knitting so that I am not glued to the charts all the time. After I read this explanation on the board a lightbulb went on in my head!