Metro

Ask any knitter what the most challenging part of seaming up a sweater is and they will almost always answer "setting in the sleeves." Getting a set in sleeve into the armscye properly takes time, patience, and a little bit of juggling. It's the same in sewing. If set in sleeves weren't so flattering and comfortable to wear, we could just ignore them (and some people do), but not everyone can wear raglan sleeves and most of us occasionally prefer a better fit than what we get from dropped sleeves.

Metro has a unique approach to the problem - set in sleeves that are worked in as you go! I first saw this technique in Custom Knits. (I think there are some cute patterns in this book, but even if none of them appeal to you, it's worth having in your library just for the construction details and design techniques.) I thought it looked interesting, but I had never tried it out. Metro uses this technique, or a similar one, to knit the sleeves and attach them to the body of the sweater in a single step. I haven't gotten very far yet, but it seems like something someone should get an award for. I already have the top of the sleeve cap area finished and it's sitting properly in the armscye! I'm so excited about this, I can't wait to see what the whole sleeve looks like! My only problem is that with Metro, I can only knit things-I-have-to-pay-attention-to during the day since it's black yarn. Kind of limits the knitting time.