OMG.  I've been crocheting my fingers to the bone working on my sweater and loving every minute of it.  I think I've crocheted and frogged and crocheted and frogged and crochet and frogged enough to make 14 sweaters.  I've been learning so much about what I like and don't like.

I've been really bad about taking photos of the actual sweater as I've gone along.  I get so excited when I realize how to adjust to get what I want that I can't stop myself from ripping everything out to start over.  I made some swatches so you can follow along as I learn ...

This is a swatch demonstrating how I started out my first-ish version of the sweater using single crochet in the back loop only (and, just to be as confusing as possible, my swatch is through both loops.  argh.).  Here's the swatch instructions:

(chain one and turn at the end of each row)

Row 1: 8 foundation single crochet (fsc)
Row 2: (right side) 2 single crochet (sc) in each stitch across [16 stitches]
Row 3: 1 sc in each stitch [16 stitches]
Row 4: *2 sc, 1 sc*, repeat between * across row  [24 stitches]
Row 5: 1 sc in each stitch  [24 stitches]
Row 6: *2 sc, 1 sc, 1 sc*, repeat between * across row  [32 stitches]
Row 7: 1 sc in each stitch  [32 stitches]
Row 8: *2 sc, 1 sc, 1 sc, 1 sc*, repeat between * across row  [40 stitches]
Row 9: 1 sc in each stitch  [40 stitches]

Do you see the pattern?  This is how I crochet a circle, when it's all one piece, so that's how I started the thing that is a circle-with-a-split.  The nice thing about this way of stitching a curve is that the increases are sort of staggered, so the shape is more circular than angled (you'll see what I mean by angled later).

BUT, as you can see, it makes for a slanted split.  The right side slants and the left side is flat.  That just will not do for a cardigan.  Will.  Not.  Do.

When this version of the cardigan was wrapped around me, the slanted side was crossing over my center line and overlapping the straight side.  Ugh!

Since I didn't want the two sides of the cardigan opening to start overlapping, I decided to skip the first inc on each row and only make the internal increases.

(chain one and turn at the end of each row)

Row 1: 8 foundation single crochet (fsc)
Row 2: (right side) 2 single crochet (sc) in each stitch across
Row 3: 1 sc in each stitch
Row 4: 1 sc,1 sc, *2 sc, 1 sc*, repeat between * across row
Row 5: 1 sc in each stitch
Row 6: 1 sc,1 sc, *2 sc, 1 sc, 1 sc*, repeat between * across row
Row 7: 1 sc in each stitch
Row 8: 1 sc,1 sc, *2 sc, 1 sc, 1 sc, 1 sc*, repeat between * across row
Row 9: 1 sc in each stitch

This pattern creates a nice rainbow shape with a nice curve.  BUT when this version of the cardigan was wrapped around me, the top row touched, but then the sides slanted away from each other.  Duh.  My torso-front isn't flat.

So, at this point I realized that I needed to have a two-stitch increase in the first and last stitch of the row so I could cover my torso-front.

In addition to deciding on a two-stitch increase in the first and last stitch of the row, I thought I'd organize the increases to line up with each other instead of being staggered.

The I do two sc twice so they are always aligned.  Erg.  How can that be written in words?  Maybe a picture is better (scribble scribble scribble) ...

See what I mean?  By increasing by one stitch twice in a row, I can increase on the next row right between the first two and line them up.

Here is the actual version of this sweater (I thought to snap a picture of this one).  This is pretty much what you'd do if you want to make a raglan-type sweater from the top down.  I only had four sets of increases.

I didn't like the square neck opening.  I was going for a gentle curving neck opening.

FROG IT.

Now, at this point, I put everything together in one big happy melting pot.  (1) The *sc row, dc row* stitch pattern from the original sweater fail, (2) the beginning and end of row increases, (3) the aligned increases, (4) and back loop only (blo) sc and dc.

The brilliance of this mix of techniques is:

  - the increases are in the sc row and are mostly hidden
  - the dc row absorbs/curves the geometry of the aligned increases
  - more increases, closer together (insead of just four)
  - the one dc per sc creates a pleasant repetitive stitch pattern
  - the vertical line created by blo sc and dc

This wouldn't look half as good if there were increases in the dc row (which would create V-looking dc's).  I LOVE repetitive fields of pattern.

Here's a teaser shot of the sweater.  I'm loving it. :)