Easy Knitting

Here's how the front and back panels begin:



Please ignore the T-pins; if I didn't pin the piece down, it would curl into a tight roll.

Begin by casting on 3 stitches. On the knit rows, increase 1 stitch at both the beginning and end of each row. On the purl rows, increase 1 stitch at the beginning of the row only. Continue until the long edge is one-half your body measurement (hip or bust, whichever is larger) with some ease added. I plan to wear this over a turtleneck sweater, so I'm adding several inches of ease to both panels.

Then start to decrease 1 stitch at both the beginning and end of each knit row, and 1 stitch at the end of each purl row. You'll end up with a rectangular panel, the long side of which is the top or bottom edge, and the short side is going to be a side seam.

Make the second panel exactly the same as the first.

The pattern says to seam the two panels together at the sides and shoulders, then add ribbing at neck, armholes, and bottom edge. I don't like that shape of neck opening, so I'm going to add extensions at the shoulder, using short rows to make the shoulders slant like real people's shoulders. I should end up with a rounded neck opening. If I'm brave, I might add a few rows to the back neck to make it higher than the front.

I'm also going to add narrow gussets at the sides, from the armhole down to the bottom edge, since my armpits aren't shaped like a "V" and the gusset should allow me to round the armhole a little.

That's the plan, anyway. So far, I've blocked the first panel and begun knitting the second. So you won't see any more of the project for a while, until I begin adding extensions and assembling the pieces.