Steek Peek

For several years now, I have been saying that cutting a steek is the knitting technique I would really like to tackle. In that time, it went from being a sort of curiosity to becoming my knitting Mt. Everest. Every January when knitting-world began to talk about new year’s knitting resolutions, I would tell myself that this would be the year, I would be bold enough to slice up one of my precious sweaters. As I became increasingly drawn to colorwork knitting, the drive got even strong. But when I actually thought about taking scissors to my knitting, I shrank back every time.

Last spring I knit my Hela sweater – intended to be a short cardigan, but according to Ravelry projects, often kept as a pullover. And it looks good that way. So when I began knitting my version, I had a cardigan in mind, but told myself that it would still work as a pullover in case I chickened out. Which of course, I did.

As the weather got colder, I got a lot of wear out of Hela as a pullover, and I still loved it, but in the back of my mind, I knew I would like it more as a cardigan. Had I intended it to be a pullover, I would have knit it a size larger, and added more length to the body. In a nutshell, I could tell that this sweater wanted to be a  cardigan. So not long into January, I went home from work, pulled up Kate Davies’ steek tutorial, tried it out on a practice swatch, drank a little bourbon, and cut my favorite sweater in half.

Here are a few process photos that I took on my phone while I worked – pardon the poor image quality.

Do I get extra points for doing this with a cat on my lap?

Rather than a zipper, I knit vertical ribbed button bands, which I seamed onto the steeked edge. I ordered some black leather buttons online, but was so excited to wear this that I attached some large shell buttons while waiting for the mail to arrive, and I have been wearing this cardigan nonstop. Now that my permanent buttons are here, I’ll sew them on and take real photos of the finished product.

I’ve been fairly ambivalent about a lot of my knitting lately, and it’s really great to finish something that I love with no reservations. Especially as blizzards and freezing temperatures hit, I just couldn’t be happier that I did a scary thing (that now feels laughably un-scary) and turned a sweater I wasn’t crazy about into a sweater I know I will wear nearly daily.

Does everyone else have these certain knitting techniques that intimidate them? (The vast number of Hela pullovers as compared to cardigans suggests that the steek is a common fear.) It was my biggest one, to be sure. Now that I’ve done it, I don’t know why I was so nervous. I’m curious what other knitters are afraid to try.