Frowsery

Another Rusted Root modification I was considering was subbing out the lace panel for a cable panel. Don’t get me wrong, I love the detailing and the asymmetry on the front, but I’m also aware that I’m unlikely to wear Rusted Root without wearing a tank underneath with the lacework.

I have a couple of the Barbara Walker Treasuries and would feel totally comfortable substituting any cable that struck my fancy, but if you’re looking to modify Rusted Root so that there are no pesky lace holes and still want to keep the leafy feel of the lace, you should check out Cyn’s banana leaf modification. She used the Banana Tree cable chart from Knitty’s Starsky. You could use anything, or nothing! I think Rusted Root would be really cute as a staple sweater with a solid front and cap sleeves.

For those of you who are particular about keeping the puffy sleeve caps, she’s also done some analysis on why some sizes don’t have as much puff as others. It’s pretty trivial to manipulate the increases to your heart’s content, once you recognize the ratio of regular stitches to the poof increases.

If you’re looking to get rid of the puff on the sleeve caps entirely, that’s even simpler; just don’t do the special puff increases or decreases. Keep doing the raglan increases as written until you can join the sleeve around your upper arm. At that point you can separate the sleeves from the body and knit your sleeves in the round until they’re the length you want them. You may want to pick up a couple of extra stitches at the armpit to avoid a hole, or do a bit of grafting later, but this is much less work than knitting the sleeves separately.