Friday, September 30, 2011

The Joy Of Knitting

By Marjorie J McDonald


Sweaters have always been a very important part of my wardrobe, so I actually enjoy weather which lets me wear my special item of clothing. However , I do find often in the summer where air conditioning is so cold when going into buildings that sweaters continue to be a vital staple in my wardrobe just about year round.

Since there are so many different types of sweaters, write down a list of the ones that are wanted for your own wardrobe. See if you can find additional new places to wear that same type of sweater. Review fashion magazines, watch for sweaters on your fave reality shows, go off shopping and just observe the people that are around you and how they are wearing their sweaters.

It may give you good ideas when you select your yarn to knit with modifications that will let you to enjoy your best fitting sweater style just knit in a little different way.

There are several sorts of knitted garments. Sweaters, jackets, coats, wraps and capes are simply a few. As a knitwear designer I see many gorgeous knit items but they just do not fit well. There are many things that must be factored in to reach a finished knitted item that will be correctly fitting the individual that will wear the item. Be sure you are selecting your knitting colors so they will be fabulous.

1. Before you begin you want a plan.

2. Select the yarn you'll use and the size needles or the machine settings that match the yarn.

3. Knit a swatch to get the feel for the yarn. For machine knitters I recommend a long scarf so you feel like your work has not been wasted as re-knitting when machine knits are unravelled changes the feel and look of the yarn so you do not want to include it in the real item.

*NOTE: It is really important that you put the swatch through all the processes you'll use to clean the final item. Wash and put thru the dryer on the temperatures you will use or wash and lay flat to dry.

You'll catch a major problem at this part of the preparation so be on the watch to determine if your swatch size changes significantly or stays close to the same. It may need something as simple as changing the wash water or dryer temperatures.

4. From the swatch, see how much the yarn stretches.

5. Measure the pattern template you'll be matching and cross reference the info to be certain you will be close to the finished size you would like prior to going through all the work of knitting the pieces.

6. Starting with this information you can have increased confidence that your finished item will be worth your effort.




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