I worked this swatch to figure out how to widen and flare the cable that I wanted to insert in the back of the coat on page 117. I started the swatch at the narrow end and then, after an interval, increased each strand by one stitch to widen it. I repeated the strand increases one more time.
When you have a distinct, stand-alone motif or pattern element, you can often change its size to shape your fabric. I worked the blocks of this checkerboard-type pattern in two full-size bands at the lower edge of this swatch. Then, to shape the swatch, as I might shape a garment, I decreased 1 stitch in each pattern block over the next two bands.
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6/9/15 10:39 PM