On my last posts I talked about the benefits of knitting your hem band flat.  I also briefly talked about the placement of steek stitches, but only briefly.  If this is your first steeked colorwork sweater I want to give you a little bit of a run down on how this process works and what you are trying to achieve.

The Steek is the section of knitting that is made for the exclusive purpose of cutting.  Typically 6 stitches wide, you will work this section, this column of stitches the length of the garment where you intend to make the incision.  The stitches are cut in between stitch 3 and 4 of the steek. In the case of the Spark Cardigan at the beginning of the round.You may want to place a marker not only at the beginning of the round but also after the first 3 stitches of the round and before the last 3 stitches of the round.  This will allow you to clearly see the continuation of the columns up the front of the sweater.it these stitches just as you would any other in the pattern, the charted color. Nothing else special happens to the steek until the sleeves of the sweater are joined the body of the sweater is complete.