More.

So, did a quick test run for making the back panel of my Rinoa jacket.  Here's what I did:

CO 16 sts each from two different balls of yarn.  to start with it's gonna be two seperate pieces, doing it like this makes sure they're the same length.

k2, p2 across for about three inches.  so you'll have two completely independent pieces just hanging off the same needle.

kfb/pfb depending on what's needed on the last two sts of the first piece on the needle and the first two sts of the second piece.  so towards the inside, increasing the pieces towards eachother.  keep doing this every row until the pieces together measure about 11"-12" across.  that's about the comfortable length to go across my shoulders.
                                      with the thicker yarn I was using to practice, I increased from 16 to 42 sts.  If you think about it, that makes sense, since my front panel increased from 16 to 44.

to join the pieces, do one more row of increases, except after knitting across the first piece, instead of using the working yarn from the second piece to knit it, carry the yarn over from the first piece.  pull it tight so there's no gap.  after knitting once more just straight across the two joined pieces just to solidify that join, they were about 4 3/4" long, about 11 ish" wide.  width was harder to measure because of the ribbing, and my needles are only so long to allow stretching.  I forsee that becoming a problem as I increase to full width.

now, I'm not gonna lie, the yarn I was using SUCKED. made my hands itch and was stiff and unfriendly, didn't like to slide over the needles or anything.  so I stopped at this point when I really ought to have gone on to make sure of the rate of increases to get it to full size.  I did not.  I could not knit with that yarn anymore.  I threw it all out when I was done.  uhg.  that crap is garbage.  it was just some random stuff my mom had. Anyways, here's what I know. 

Measuring myself across my back from sideseam to side seam is about 18".  and I know from my current front panel that I need to be done increasing by 10" long for them to match up.  I made nearly 5" of length with the back straps and neckline.  I believe at this point I want to start a real gradual increase.  now, normally I increase two stitches at a time, maybe I ought to think about just one at a time?  I don't know what that would do to the ribbing.  it'd probably be fine.  I don't want it to increase as rapidly as I did on the front, the back is shaped a little different.

I believe, based on gauge math, I'm going to need to get from about 80 sts to about 126 in 5 inches.  it's 10 rows to an inch, so that gives me 50 rows to increase 46 sts.  and I'll be doing them two to a row, since I have to increase both sides.  SO, if I just increase one sts, and alternate each row with a row without increases, and maybe throw in three or four rows without increasing to begin with, that ought to get me there perfectly.

the problem with this is this is all very specific math.  so it's all subject to recalculation as I go along.  but now that I've math-ed this a bit, it should be easy enough to plug in new numbers when I get there.  but it ought to be right, since I'm basing these numbers off my gauge of my actual yarn.  the only thing I'm taking from the practice yarn is the length before I start.  and that'll be the same regardless.  probably.

incidentally, I've decided this back panel is going to be the hardest part, since it's more than twice as wide as the front panels. (almost three times... but the front panels are allowing for a gap in the front) it's gonna go a lot more slowly.  so I think I will start on that as soon as I'm done with this front panel, because that'll leave another front panel for last, to give me something a little quicker to work on at the end when I'm surely going to be getting tired.  oh, and the armwarmers, of course, but after these big tedious pieces, the armwarmers are gonna feel like nothing.

just thinking...

might need to save some increases for there at the end of the increasing section, you know, the part that goes under my arm.  it can't really be a straight line, it needs to curve.  gah.


LATER THAT NIGHT...
I'm thinking about this, and it helps if I type as I think, then I can organize my thoughts and go back.  so.  we need the increases to pick it up sharply at the bottom without getting too wide.  so, lets say we still start increasing at 5", but do two plain rows instead of one between increasing.  for like... four inches.

so math.

inc
plain
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one inch

plain
plain
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plain
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plain
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plain

two inch

plain
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plain
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plain
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plain
plain

three inch

inc
plain
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plain
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four inches

14 increase rows: 28 sts increased. still neet to inc 18 sts. which means 9 rows of increases.  only have 10 left. too abrupt.  but what if I do two sts for the last inch?  which means 4 sts on each inc row.  and just alternate one row.  so,

plain
inc
plain
inc
plain
inc
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inc

that increases 20 sts.  but that might be okay.  it's only two more.

break for food!