Would this work for lengthening a sweater?

[Dishrag]

Hi all,

I'm finishing up a simple, flat, stockinette, rolled cuff sweater for my son. I think he grew in the past 2 weeks since I started it (because the shortness just can't be my fault).


I've been thinking about the standard ways to lengthen a sweater from the cast on edge (1. pick up stitches or 2. snip, remove cast on, then knit). Since the sweater has rolled edges, I don't want to do anything that shifts or inverts the stitches. There won't be any ribbing or pattern to hide such a change in movement.

So I got to thinking. Couldn't I just independenty cast on and knit (bottom up) 2 rectangles of length for the front and back, then remove the cast on edges of the sweater, then graft on the new pieces?

Would this work? I'm thinking there must be some problem with this method, since I haven't found references to it during my google searches of sweater lengthening techniques.

When grafting sock toes, the stockinette pattern is smooth and uninterrupted. Am I visualizing this correctly for my sweater? Or would the stitches in my new "swatches" be going in a different direction? It seem like it would work well, but again, since I haven't found any instructions for doing this online, that makes me humbly assume there is a reason why it won't work.

Thank you!

Francy

[suzeeq]

Yes, you could graft on the extra piece, and the sts will go the same direction. I don't think knitting down from what you have will interfere with the rolled edges though, even if off a half stitch. You might try that first, then if you don't like it, do the extra piece and graft it on.

[Dishrag]

Thank you for the fast reply!

Francy