Hello again Winter of Colorwork KAL friends! We're approaching the end of the first month of 2019 — can you believe it? — and have been making ample progress on our Pascal sweaters. Last week, we talked about the importance of swatching, things to keep in mind when casting on, and knitting up the sleeves for your Pascal. Once both of your sleeves are complete, it's time to knit the sweater body.

Pascal's body begins with a garter stitch welt hem. Although the body of the sweater is knit in the round, the hem is knit flat to eliminate the need to cut through any additional stitches, and reduces any bulk that would be created at the hem when tacking down the cut edge of your cardigan. Once the hem is complete, steek stitches are cast on before joining the work in the round. The Backward Loop Cast On is often used for the purpose of casting on stitches for steeks because it's an easy way to add stitches to fabric that is already established, and it is a loose cast on that is easy to cut through. Follow the instructions in the pattern (or below) to cast on the stitches called for in the pattern.

Make a slip knot on R needle to begin, now holding the needle with the slip knot in your right hand, *use the working yarn to make a loop around your left thumb, then place this loop onto the R needle; repeat from * until you have the required number of stitches on your needle. If using this method to cast on stitches to a piece in progress, omit slip knot and begin at *.

Note: Alternating colors in the steek stitches, as called for in the pattern, will make it easier to identify which stitch will be the center of your steek when it comes time to secure and cut through the fabric.

Once you have your steek stitches established and begin to knit the sweater body in the round, continue working the pattern as written for your desired fit. Please note, the body and sleeves must end on the same chart round so that the pattern will be aligned correctly on the yoke. Keep this in mind as you complete the body of the sweater.

Next week we'll be joining the sleeves and the body together to knit the yoke. This bottom-to-top method of construction is often used in colorwork patterns that are knit seamlessly in the round, and we think you'll find our tutorial useful if you haven't experienced this method of construction before. Share your progress with us in the comments below or in the KAL forum on Ravelry, and do let us know if you have any questions about colorwork knitting or helpful tips you'd like to share.