Sweater Pattern in Bite Sized Pieces

Good Morning,

Another great day!  Hope where you are you are enjoying this slightly cooler weather.

Spent some time with my photographer, Matt, this morning.  He was taking some pictures of a sweater I knit in late winter for one of my students and the Scribble Lace Cowl.  The Scribble Lace Cowl will be ready in a few days if anyone is would like to try it.  I had mentioned in an earlier blog that I will share it with any who are interested. 

Back to the sweater.  This design was in Interweave Knits Fall 2009 issue.  It is called Farmer's Market Cardigan by Connie Chang Chinchio.  Sandy, my student,  had put the sweater on her "to knit" list soon after purchasing the magazine.  I think it remained on her "to knit" list due to the fact that she wasn't sure about knitting the pattern.

Anyway, months later, she was shopping at one of her LYSs and found a great sale on a couple of bags of yarn.  When she came to the next knitting class, Sandy brought the magazine and a ball of the yarn with her.  I told her that she would most likely get a good result with this yarn, but a gauge swatch was a must.  She was still quite nervous about knitting this sweater, not feeling quite up to the task. 

The following week, she came back to class with a gauge swatch, and a perfectly matching gauge, but still very nervous.  I'm sure it had to do with the fact that there was a great deal of shaping in the form of vertical darts both front and back plus the usual shaping that a fitted cardigan has.  There were several "at the same times" in the pattern and it was that, I felt, that made her hesitate, as well as a more intricate collar and top of pocket.

I offered to rewrite the pattern out for her to follow easily.   The pattern was broken down into manageable bite sized pieces with all of the shaping mapped out, numbered and bulleted for repeats and rows. All Sandy had to do was just check off the rows and repeats as she knit them.

Some weeks later, she brought the sweater back to class and asked me to finish it for her.  I felt badly that she didn't want to finish it herself, but knowing her as I do, it would just sit there, unfinished and doomed to the eternal closet.  On closer inspection, I noticed some gauge changes, probably due to her anxiety levels at the time, and I was fearful of being unable to match her gauge.

Without telling her right away, I began the sweater from scratch.  Fortunately, she had plenty of yarn to do this with.  Within a  month, I had finished and blocked her new sweater.  I had done a little tweaking, as I do with all patterns that I knit, just can't help myself, and the sweater looked as if it might have been designed for her.  The fit was beautiful, and she has received many compliments.  Connie's sweater design was a hit with all of Sandy's friends. 

The point of my story is, don't be afraid of what looks to be a complicated pattern.  Take the time to pull it apart.  Rewrite by hand, or copy the page and pull it apart, enlarge it, do whatever it takes to work through whatever areas in a pattern are causing you stress.  The first step is just to check your gauge and then cast on.  So many times it is just getting started that is so daunting.  I'm sure Sandy might have been able to finish, if she was able to sit with me the whole time, but she does a fair amount of traveling preventing that.

So, take a deep breath, a little attention to details, and cast on those stitches.  Take your time.  You have no race to win.  If it takes you a month, two months, no matter, just whittle away at those stitches and rows.  I will share the photo with you as soon as Matt does the editing.  Since it is an Interweave Pattern, I will also submit it to Knitting Daily.  I will let you know if it is accepted and posted on their website.

Happy Knitting!

New Book to be Released

Good Morning!

Hot again!  Makes me wonder what the Dog Days of August will bring?

Yesterday in my email I received a wonderful surprise from Knitting Daily, knittingdaily.com.  There is a new book out that will be released for sale in August.  It is one of a collection of works that I have already pre-ordered. 

OK, that said, let me ask you this.  Do you like to do sweater finishing?  Maybe those are the UFOs lurking in the back of the closet or under the bed.  Well, the solution has arrived.  Well, two solutions really. 

1. New Book:  The Knitter's Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters by Ann Budd!
2. I do sweater finishing, and quite well.  I will provide a list of very satisfied knitters upon request.

Now, #1. is very true.  I was so excited when I read the news, I did pre-order.  There are many wonderful designs including seamless yoke, raglan, set-in sleeve (yes, you did read that correctly), and saddle-shoulder.  If you remember, Ann Budd also authored The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns and The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns both books are multi sized and are based on gauge.  That means that you have kids to adult sizes for every pattern in her books.  Her new book will be formated the same way.

I am sure you are all familiar with Elizabeth Zimmermann and her "EPS" system.  If you are not, well read up, here is a link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Zimmermann that will give you some information on this "Grandmother" of knitting.  It was in EZ's books that I learned seamless knitting using her "EPS" system and the seamless yoke style.

Knitting Pure and Simple patterns by Diane Soucy is a great source for top down knitting, seamlessly.  The patterns are most notably raglan shaped and so uncomplicated that I have taught beginning knitters to use these patterns.

The style of sweater in Ann Budd's new book that I am most  interested is the set-in sleeve design.  The sleeve caps are shaped using short rows and the sweater is begun from the neck down at the shoulders.  "The set-in style is particularly well suited for close-fitting variations, which can be enhanced through hourglass waist shaping."

My book is ordered and now the wait begins.  In the mean time, we can work on finishing those garments that need to be completed.  Pull them out, pass the word, it's time to get the finishing work completed.  First the mattress stitched seams, then the collars, hoods, and then the button bands.  I can teach you how to do this, or I can finish it for you.  My rates are very reasonable.

Put a comment in the box below if you like what you are reading, request a knitting topic, or would like to discuss a particular technique.  Or, you may email me at dee@youandmeknit.com to set up an appointment for me to help you with a knitting dilemma. 

Have a great day and Happy Knitting!