The Newbee Knitters recently completed a steeking class with Ann Weaver. Boy howdy, what a great time! For those who don’t know, steeking is the art of cutting a sweater up the middle in order to transform it into a cardigan.
What a huge and satisfying rabbit hole THIS is! the teacher was excellent, super patient and very clear in her instructions. We highly recommend looking her up for live sessions.
Here is our favorite steeking tutorial. But to sum up steeking in a nutshell, the process goes like this:
Step 1: Find a sacrifice. When steeking, choose carefully. Choose wool, sticky is better. If you want fast results, go chunky and stockinette. (I chose cables for my first and it was a little like learning to drive on a stick shift.)
Step 2: Get a crapton of pins. Steeking requires one to find two parallel, vertical rows up the front of the garment, about 2-4 inches apart. Once you identify the “runs” you secure and mark the stitches vertically upward. EZ. But consider doing this with a glass of (white) wine.
Step 3: Grab your crochet hook. Runways marked, and using a slippery yarn, hook into every stitch along the runways. Single crochets lock the stitches.
Step 4: Cut. The most satisfying moment is the cutting. Set your scissor midway between the crochet-locked runways and cut.
Step 5: Pick up & knit. Once cut, fold the runways under themselves, pick up the outermost stitches along the vertical and knit them. This is where fun colorways can happen — Weaver’s sample was a vintage tan cashmere cardi with a picked-up orange band.
PS: Ann is super, so look her up and experience steeking at a LYS or event near you!