Shetland Slipover: My first steeking

Steeking had been one of those techniques that I always thought about with a bit of dread and a sense of obligation. Obligation because as a fairly frequent fair isle knitter, it's something I felt I just had to try. I decided this complex fair isle was as good a chance as any, so bit the bullet and had a go at it.

I followed the (very minimal to say the least) instruction of Hillhead Slipover, and cast on additional 12 sts for steeks. At fist it felt as if I was overdoing it, as most instruction for steeking I found online had 5 additional sts, but later on I was very thankful for those generous additional sts.

As for steeking and picking up stitches, I found this instruction by Quince & co easiest to follow. Diagrammes FTW.

It did look quite a mess after I cut the steeks. And this was when I really saw the value of those generous extra sts.

I couldn't find detailed tutorial for finishing steeks. This article has good inventory of all the options, but is rather slim on the actual 'how to do it' part. In the end I chose to finish the seams with blanket stitches. It does the job, but it's not the tidiest finish, so I think I'm going to try my hand at faced finish next.

So what's the verdict?
On the debit side, Reinforcing, cutting, and finishing the edges was a pain. Although cutting the stitches was quite satisfying in a wrong way. And I won't be able to frog and reuse the yarns.
On the credit side, not having to purl the fair isle was a big big plus and it's this that has me convinced that steeking is the way to go.

It was a labour intensive but satisfying project. The pink and yellow yarns were hand-dyed, with avocado and food colouring which made this project even more rewarding.