BLC Body Knitting

ETA:  I checked the schedule and I had the wrong number of weeks allotted for knitting the body, so I’ve amended my calculations a bit.

If you are knitting the Beginner Lace Cardigan (BLC) you are probably approaching the BLC Body Knitting phase. If not, don’t worry–you’ll get there! The goal is to finish the cardigan, and each knitter’s path will be a little different; I have just provided a framework for you to use. Don’t worry if you aren’t where the schedule is. If you want to move ahead of the schedule, feel free.  We all have to get to a length from the beginning of between 12″ and 13.75″, so we’ll be doing the body for the next three four weeks.

Create a Schedule for BLC Body Knitting

I find that the best way to get my knitting done is to commit to it on my calendar. I knit every night, and I can choose what I want to knit, but if I really want to get a project finished or to the next stage, Putting together a realistic schedule is the best way to make sure that is the first knitting I pick up. A project like this one becomes too big to throw into my purse pretty quickly, so I always have some small thing that I can grab and go, then my big project has to be the first thing I work on when I sit down to knit in the evening. I need to get as much of my commitment as possible done each day as planned–and if I’m not on track, make adjustments. For me this might mean that I dedicate an hour or two on Saturday or Sunday to catching up to my knitting intentions if other things on my schedule don’t allow as much knitting as I planned.

Figure Out How Long Each BLC Body Knitting Row Takes

I love doing this. I time how long it takes me to knit a RS row, and a WS row (those are often easier) and depending on the differential I might figure this out for a single row or for a pair of rows. If you are working on the BLC Knit Along you will get the Planning Worksheet to get details for figuring this out.

Here is what you need to figure out how long a segment of your knitting will take (this is just a made-up scenario–and for those who haven’t looked at the pattern, each row is a front band, front, back, front, front band–a lot of stitches!):

1. How long to knit one row or pair of rows: 20 minutes per row
2. How many rows need to be to knit in total: 72 rows

At 20 minutes per row, I will get three rows done per hour.  72/3 = 24 hours. That is how much time I would need to knit the body of my BLC. Since I have 3 four weeks, that means I need to get 8 six hours of knitting done each week.

If I knit for 1.5 hours each night Monday through Thursday I will knit six hours (each night I will get 4.5 rows done) and will need to get an additional two hours of any additional knitting in over the weekend. That is within the realm of possibility for me. I would then put that into my calendar so it feels like a real commitment. I can usually get two hours of knitting done on Sundays, but I need to look at what I have scheduled in any week–because if I have other commitments, I may need to shift my knitting time around. Doing this and assessing your progress on a weekly basis will help you to not fall behind on your BLC Body Knitting–or whatever your project may be.