Orkney – the first cut is the deepest.

It has taken me a little while to get up the courage to cut the steek on my Orkney cardigan.  I had put so much work into knitting the body that I was way too terrified of getting it wrong.  Just like DIY, the preparation is incredibly important when you begin.  More experienced steekers cut and pick up without a ‘safety net’ but I’m not that good.

There are many ways to secure your steek before cutting such as hand sewing or machine sewing but I prefer the crochet method which is so brilliantly described on Kate Davies’ blog.

What it does is create a similar effect to an overlocker for those of you familiar with a  sewing machine.  BUT you MUST sew in any ends first – I didn’t and narrowly avoided disaster with strands coming loose. 

I  found by crocheting in a contrasting colour you can see what you are doing when  you cut.  Carol Feller also gave me a top tip to avoid the slight flaring that you can see in this picture and that is to crochet quite tightly in a thinner yarn.

Now no more procrastinating, lets get the blades to this little baby. The only way to show you this is in pictures.  Imagine me mouthing a silent scream, tehe!