January I was in a spend nothing / feeling frugal phase. All that traveling and inevitable gift-buying had taken its toll on our budget. Thank goodness for Christmas gift vouchers! My sweet sister-in-law gave me one from Knit Picks, they had a book sale and I obviously I had to add yarn to bring my order up to get free shipping. Free shipping is such a motivator for me!
The book focuses on top down seamless construction. Top down sweaters appeal to me for the same reason as toe up socks - you can try on your item as you go. And I'm just not fond of sewing seams. I know I'm not alone in feeling this way.
Part 1, pages 10 to 55, covers technique and was an absolute revelation. I hadn't really thought about patterns I've previously made as having raglan or circular yokes or given a lot of attention to the calculations. The book explains the principles of sweater design in a very simple and comprehensive language. It's been incredibly helpful for clarifying different aspects of sweater design in my mind such as: neckline and yoke shaping, underarm adjustments, stitch count fixes, meeting gauge, blocking, measurement and alterations. I'm not sure if I'll go so far as to design a sweater from scratch. I have a great respect for designers and the huge amount of time they spend creating patterns but I feel far more comfortable now about modifying an existing pattern for a better fit.
And of course I just love the expert tips such as to only use fingering to DK weight yarns for sweaters. (That's 2ply to DK weight if you're in the UK reading this.) Lighter weight yarn moves more fluidly over your body. Of course it does!
The second part includes fourteen original patterns (see them on Ravelry here) with seven different yoke concepts of varying difficulty. The garment pairs differ by yarn choice, gauge and other details. Now I just need to finish some of my current WIPs, choose a pattern and get going! Can't wait!
Part 1, pages 10 to 55, covers technique and was an absolute revelation. I hadn't really thought about patterns I've previously made as having raglan or circular yokes or given a lot of attention to the calculations. The book explains the principles of sweater design in a very simple and comprehensive language. It's been incredibly helpful for clarifying different aspects of sweater design in my mind such as: neckline and yoke shaping, underarm adjustments, stitch count fixes, meeting gauge, blocking, measurement and alterations. I'm not sure if I'll go so far as to design a sweater from scratch. I have a great respect for designers and the huge amount of time they spend creating patterns but I feel far more comfortable now about modifying an existing pattern for a better fit.
And of course I just love the expert tips such as to only use fingering to DK weight yarns for sweaters. (That's 2ply to DK weight if you're in the UK reading this.) Lighter weight yarn moves more fluidly over your body. Of course it does!
The second part includes fourteen original patterns (see them on Ravelry here) with seven different yoke concepts of varying difficulty. The garment pairs differ by yarn choice, gauge and other details. Now I just need to finish some of my current WIPs, choose a pattern and get going! Can't wait!
