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Okay, tell me if you think this is silly...



 
 
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  #11  
Old June 2nd 07, 07:42 PM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
Aaron Lewis
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Posts: 65
Default Okay, tell me if you think this is silly...

I am a great believer in knitting a sampler of all of the techniques
required for a sweater before actually knitting the sweater. I like
Jacquelyn Fee's book, "The Sweater Workshop", but there are others.

The concept is that you practice all the required skills either as swatches
or in making "teddy bear" sized sweaters first; sort of a 3-dimensional
swatch. There are three advantages to this approach.

1. It is small so you can do it fast. And, you can do it over, and over
until you know that skill cold, and do not have to worry mucking up your
precious sweater. (Working out the details yourself rather than referencing
one of the books on doll clothes ensures that you work out all the details
on your precious sweater. Also, the construction details in the books on
doll clothes are not quite that same as for an adult sweater.

2. You can use "cheap" yarn. Often you can buy an ball or two of yarn for
much less than 1/10th the price of 10 balls of matched dyelot yarn sold in
packs for knitting a sweater. And, you are not going to be wearing this, so
it can be a nice color that does not really suit your complexion, or does
not go with other clothes, or a yarn the might pill, or bleed, or.... I use
whatever is in the stash, and I have yet to hear my Teddy Bears complain
about their new sweaters.

3. You can make mistakes and continute on knitting without worrying about
getting everything perfect. You are not going to be wearing it in public so
a few mistakes do not matter. This saves frogging. I hate frogging. I
would rather knit a few 6"x6" swatches from waste yarn, and get my sweater
right the first time, then have to frog even a few rows of something that I
am intending to be a finished product


Then, your teddy bear sweaters can double as gifts. Maybe not the first,
but there are at least a dozen different ways of constructing a sweater.

Aaron

"The Other Kim" wrote in message
...
Melinda wrote:

Now that you ladies have totally scared me off making a sweater for fear
that I could spend months on making it and then discover it didn't fit, I
discovered from *somewhere* a mailing list where they have a knit-along
for a knitted dishcloth of a different pattern every month. It seems to
me that perhaps I could build my confidence with those small projects for
a few months before I tackle something huge. (then I could put them all
together for lightweight sofa throws or something if I didn't want to use
them all as dishcloths, right?)


Exactly. With this kind of thing you could make some using cotton yarn
for use as dishcloths - my handknit dishcloths last a lot longer than
store-bought ones - and others as sampler squares using whatever yarn you
have lying around.

I am sort of totally self-taught and have never read a pattern, knit
ambidextrously, etc., and learning how to knit conventionally and to
follow a pattern is a big hurdle to cross.

So does it sound st*pid to start with small things like that or not? It
seems to me like it might be the knitting equivalent of telling people
who want to learn to sew to start with tote bags, pillows, etc., because
they are more forgiving.


Sounds like a good idea to me. Since your time is limited, I would think
it would be better to work on smaller things that likely won't lead to
disappointment if they don't turn out as expected. I know I'd be rather
miffed if I spent months working on a sweater that ended up not fitting
the way I expected. Especially when you're building skills and
confidence, it's better to get some good results early on. I know a lot
of people who jumped right into that dream sweater only to give it up when
it wasn't going well.

OTOH, if I want to stay way out on my off-the-beaten-path position, I
also saw knitting pattern software that takes what you can do and gives
you a schematic type of thing to follow in whatever way you are knitting
to do what you want. Seeing as though I have pattern drafting software,
knitting pattern software would only seam a reasonable next step LOL (and
it's cheaper -- I think it was like $50).

Any ideas?


Since the software will customize to your abilities, this sounds okay to
me, too. I would still start with smaller items and work my way up, if
only because you don't have hours a day to spend knitting. I don't have
that kind of time at the moment, either, so most of my knitting time has
been spent with socks. I just started a nice scarf in Classic Elite's
Posh - 70% silk, 30% cashmere, bought at a blow-out sale for 50% off; I
can't afford the regular price on this yarn - and I can pull that out and
do a few rows here and there when I get the time. Anything major, like
another sweater or jacket, would have to wait until I manage to create
those 40-hour days I've been working on for the past few years g

The Other Kim
kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom



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  #13  
Old June 2nd 07, 10:33 PM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply
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Posts: 336
Default Okay, tell me if you think this is silly...

P.S. I have also written down your book suggestions and will check them
out, just so you know.

The "won't fit" issue really is legit, you know. If I buy something RTW
then I have lower expectations of it than if I am going to spend my time
and/or more money to make something nice. E.G., if you were 6 feet 5
inches, you wouldn't just follow regular sweater instructions to make
yourself a sweater and end up with a sweater that looked like it was
made for your kid brother, would you? You would take the time and
figure out how many more rows to add and where to make it so it fits you
right, wouldn't you?

wrote:
Had I realized you've already made up your mind I wouldn't have spent
the time playing devil's advocate to the "too hard, won't fit" crowd.
It is always easy to justify NOT doing something, isn't it?


  #14  
Old June 3rd 07, 12:41 AM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
Vintage Purls
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Posts: 294
Default Okay, tell me if you think this is silly...

Melinda I feel you adopt a very pesimistic attitude to the advice you
are given, I find it very frustrating. It seems to me that you don't
want to "try it and see what happens", you don't want to spend much
time knitting, and you don't want to make any mistakes. It's very hard
for me not to interpret that as "I don't really want to knit". Now, I
know that statement might annoy you but, I'm sorry, it's *how I feel*.

To polish you knitting skills you have to put in the practice, in all
honesty it took me years to become a proficient knitter (I'm a slow
learner). I dabbled as a child, made small bits and pieces and didn't
execute much discipline. It wasn't till I was in my late teens that I
learnt to commit, prepare well (tension is everything) and knit
regularly so I developed a flow and increased my speed. To really
develop your skills you have to find challenges and conquer them, you
can't fret that "they may go wrong", you have to get stuck in and be
prepared to undo some of your work when you don't get it right. I've
knitted maybe three scarves in my life, only a handful of hats. I
really learnt on socks, sweaters, gloves and babies clothing. I don't
have oodles of time to knit, I work full-time and have all the usual
commitments in life. You knit when you can - the beauty of the craft
is you can stuff a project in your bag and snatch little bits of time
when you get them.

Now baby outfits are a fantastic learning tool - a baby sweater
contains all the elements of a adult sweater except because it's in
minature it takes a lot less time. Plus parents think you are the most
fantastic person in the world when you handcraft a garment for their
precious child. Why not try a pair of booties? If you would like a
pattern, please ask, I'll gladly email you something.

Go and knit something - do a dishcloth first if you like, do whatever
takes your fancy really.

Just do it.

Ask us questions if you get stuck, take photos if you can so we can
see your progress (you will be very well rewarded by this group, they
are very generous with praise for pictures of knitting).

Go right now, cast on and knit.

  #15  
Old June 3rd 07, 01:04 AM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 336
Default Okay, tell me if you think this is silly...

Vintage Purls wrote:
Melinda I feel you adopt a very pesimistic attitude to the advice you
are given, I find it very frustrating. It seems to me that you don't


I'm sorry. It may sound that way, but it's actually halfway between
paranoid and terrified (combined with a perennial difficulty in making
decisions). I come from a long lime of obsessive-compulsive
perfectionists and I feel like to at least half, if not most, of them I
never quite measure up, and I'm afraid it has colored my life a bit.
And with knitting right now I am a burned child (the failed sock that it
took me two months to complete and it didn't fit) determined to get over
my fear but needing some baby steps first.

Actually, a baby sweater sounds like an EXCELLENT idea, because my
neighbor is pregnant with her first child and if it turns out well, I
would have a nice baby gift -- and if it didn't, I might still be able
to make a second one before the baby is born LOL.

I'd rather make a mistake on a dishcloth or a baby sweater and only have
10 or 20 not-that-wide rows to rip out than make a sweater in my SSBBW
size and have oodles and oodles of frog-stitching to do. I wouldn't
mind making a poncho or a shawl, because I would wear them at home, but
most of the patterns I see are for fancy stitches and I don't know if I
want to do that yet.

I am taking your advice to heart and thank you for it.
  #16  
Old June 3rd 07, 01:39 AM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
Vintage Purls
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 294
Default Okay, tell me if you think this is silly...

On Jun 3, 12:04 pm, Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply
wrote:
I'm sorry. It may sound that way, but it's actually halfway between
paranoid and terrified (combined with a perennial difficulty in making
decisions).


This is knitting, what is the absolute worst thing that could happen
if you make a mistake?

I've been guilty of quietly disposing of a botched project in the bin.
I've ripped entirely knit garments out. Time did not stop. I did not
explode. It's okay to screw up your knitting. And though it's a
possibility that you'll make a horrendous mistake, there is a much
better chance that everything will go well and you' ll get that great
buzz of satisfaction when you finish a garment.

So, let's examine the possibilites:
Slim chance that you'll end up with a unreacognisable lump of yarn.
Great chance you'll experience the joy of knitting a work of art.

In both instances no innocents are harmed and the world still turns.
At worst you may have "wasted" some time (I personally don't subscribe
to the "wasted" time notion, it was a great learning experience
despite the outcome).

If you produce a unreacognisable lump of yarn we can probably devise
something for you to do with it all the same. We will also agree that
it wasn't your fault it went astray and that next time you try all
will be well.

Actually, a baby sweater sounds like an EXCELLENT idea, because my
neighbor is pregnant with her first child and if it turns out well, I
would have a nice baby gift -- and if it didn't, I might still be able
to make a second one before the baby is born LOL.


Great! Do you need us to point you toward an easy pattern?

VP

  #17  
Old June 3rd 07, 01:59 AM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 8
Default Okay, tell me if you think this is silly...

On Jun 2, 4:33 pm, Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply
wrote:
P.S. I have also written down your book suggestions and will check them
out, just so you know.


Ok good. Leave _Sweater Design_ for last, start with an EPS sweater.


The "won't fit" issue really is legit, you know. if you were 6 feet 5
inches, you wouldn't just follow regular sweater instructions to make
yourself a sweater and end up with a sweater that looked like it was
made for your kid brother, would you? You would take the time and
figure out how many more rows to add and where to make it so it fits you
right, wouldn't you?


Which is exactly what I've suggested you do. Nothing ventured,
nothing gained. As VP said, a baby sweater, or even a teddy sweater
is a small thing soon done and you'll learn from it how a full-sized
sweater goes together.

  #18  
Old June 3rd 07, 02:55 AM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
Aaron Lewis
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 65
Default Okay, tell me if you think this is silly...

The worst that could happen? A sneering comment from one's significant other
to the effect that their mother never wasted yarn like that. Wasting yarn
can be made to sound as bad as wasting food. Think about all those kids
without socks, and you are wasting yarn!


Aaron


"Vintage Purls" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Jun 3, 12:04 pm, Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply
wrote:
I'm sorry. It may sound that way, but it's actually halfway between
paranoid and terrified (combined with a perennial difficulty in making
decisions).


This is knitting, what is the absolute worst thing that could happen
if you make a mistake?

I've been guilty of quietly disposing of a botched project in the bin.
I've ripped entirely knit garments out. Time did not stop. I did not
explode. It's okay to screw up your knitting. And though it's a
possibility that you'll make a horrendous mistake, there is a much
better chance that everything will go well and you' ll get that great
buzz of satisfaction when you finish a garment.

So, let's examine the possibilites:
Slim chance that you'll end up with a unreacognisable lump of yarn.
Great chance you'll experience the joy of knitting a work of art.

In both instances no innocents are harmed and the world still turns.
At worst you may have "wasted" some time (I personally don't subscribe
to the "wasted" time notion, it was a great learning experience
despite the outcome).

If you produce a unreacognisable lump of yarn we can probably devise
something for you to do with it all the same. We will also agree that
it wasn't your fault it went astray and that next time you try all
will be well.

Actually, a baby sweater sounds like an EXCELLENT idea, because my
neighbor is pregnant with her first child and if it turns out well, I
would have a nice baby gift -- and if it didn't, I might still be able
to make a second one before the baby is born LOL.


Great! Do you need us to point you toward an easy pattern?

VP



  #19  
Old June 3rd 07, 02:59 AM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
Katherine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 899
Default Okay, tell me if you think this is silly...

On Jun 2, 9:55 pm, "Aaron Lewis" wrote:
The worst that could happen? A sneering comment from one's significant other
to the effect that their mother never wasted yarn like that. Wasting yarn
can be made to sound as bad as wasting food. Think about all those kids
without socks, and you are wasting yarn!


Oh, dear, Aaron, it sounds as though you were subjected to a sneering
comment or two in your time!

Higs,
Katherine

  #20  
Old June 3rd 07, 04:02 AM posted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,592
Default Okay, tell me if you think this is silly...

Melinda i donb`t know who scared you ,,,, i am all for makiing
guaguing samplers but after this , i should advice you to cast on a
BIG project ,,,, FOR YOU ,,,, You can always `rest` between knitting
the sweater hours anf make some squares ,,, but intially that sweater
will be there for you to enjoy ,,, and once you made the BIG sweater ,
you wo`nt hesitate anymore to make all the other things ,,,, if you
put off making the sweater ,, WHO knows when you will make it ??????
It is like years ago when i made my Husband and son a father+ son
vests ,,,,, i foolishly started with the son`s vest ,,, WRONG idea ,,
i should have started with the Bigger item ,,,,,
If the problem is with following instructions MAKE YOUR OWN ,,,
Find a sweater /shirt whose size fits you well ,,,
Measure it and draw it on a paper ,,,, now GUAGUGE 20 stich over 10
rows ,,,, now translate cm or inches to stitch numbers and WORK on it
,,, mirjam

Now that you ladies have totally scared me off making a sweater for fear
that I could spend months on making it and then discover it didn't fit,
I discovered from *somewhere* a mailing list where they have a
knit-along for a knitted dishcloth of a different pattern every month.
It seems to me that perhaps I could build my confidence with those small
projects for a few months before I tackle something huge. (then I could
put them all together for lightweight sofa throws or something if I
didn't want to use them all as dishcloths, right?)

I am sort of totally self-taught and have never read a pattern, knit
ambidextrously, etc., and learning how to knit conventionally and to
follow a pattern is a big hurdle to cross.

So does it sound st*pid to start with small things like that or not? It
seems to me like it might be the knitting equivalent of telling people
who want to learn to sew to start with tote bags, pillows, etc.,
because they are more forgiving.

OTOH, if I want to stay way out on my off-the-beaten-path position, I
also saw knitting pattern software that takes what you can do and gives
you a schematic type of thing to follow in whatever way you are knitting
to do what you want. Seeing as though I have pattern drafting software,
knitting pattern software would only seam a reasonable next step LOL
(and it's cheaper -- I think it was like $50).

Any ideas?


 




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