Progress on River Grass Gansey

Last night I got to the point on the sleeve that I can start the cuff. I am having some issues.

(This is someone else's picture of the finished sweater {it's from the book}, I'm using it to illustrate what is going on.)

The sleeve is supposed to be 16 inches from where it meets the shoulder (which is actually a little way down the upper arm) to the cuff -- by this point, according to the pattern, I am to have decreased to 79 stitches. I am just over 16 inches and have decreased to 83 stitches. I can live with having extra stitches: I need to decrease a bunch of stitches when starting the cuff and can throw in a few more. The big problem I am having is that there are two rates of decrease: on the upper part of the sleeve (where all of the patterning is), I was to decrease two stitches every 8 rows, in the lower part (where there is just the braid), I was to decrease two stitches every 3 rows. This creates a very steep angle at the lower part of the arm and makes a very sudden transition between the two halves.

What I am thinking is that I will finish the cuff and then have Dad try it on. It may be that the rates of decrease just look stupid when lying flat and will actually be fine when on (I could find a photo that shows the inside of the sleeve, so I have no way of knowing). I'm not really counting on it. If it does look bad, I will figure out a more evenly distributed rate of decrease and test it on the second sleeve, before... ripping out the first one and re-knitting it.

Why yes, that does mean I'll be knitting three sleeves. And trying to recall High School Geometry (a sleeve is a modified triangle of some sort after all).

Oh well. This sweater seems to exist to be ripped. Last winter I ripped it back to the ribbing after I'd gotten halfway up the body (I either screwed up the cable crossing and tried to maintain the mistake, then screwed that up. Or I just thought I did and then freaked out and ripped it out. Whichever.)