My Journey Into Simple Knitwear Design

OK, so I see something I like. Or I have an idea for something. Or (and this is the most common reason!) I’m sick of looking for patterns that don’t fit, or use techniques that I’m not good at, or aren’t quite right...you get the idea!

I like to knit something small using the yarns that I stock at YarnSoft. A hat, scarf or other small item is the perfect way to test my products so I can better advise customers.

So, how do I get an idea from inside my often muddled head to a finished garment?

I do a bit of a sketch. I’m not much of an artist but if I’m looking at doing a patterned fabric I find it helps to draw out a basic pic, even if it looks like a 2 year old did it!

A really dodgy sketch for another hat design!

 

Step 1 – Knit a gauge/tension swatch. Unless you know exactly what gauge works for you, it really is necessary to do this step. I’ve just made a hat using Naturally Aran Tweed and I find that knitting to the recommended gauge creates too firm a fabric and is uncomfortable for me, seeing as my hands are getting a bit creaky with age. I went up a needle size and am pretty happy with the result. To be absolutely sure you should also wash and block your sample to make sure that using a larger/smaller needle isn’t going to make the fabric go out of shape.

Sketch and gauge swatch.

3 recent hat designs.  I did an Excel graph for the tweedy hat (see below)

Excel graph for tweedy fairisle hat

Step 2 – Find the right size pattern. I like making hats but more often than not I can’t get the size right. Once I found the "Hat Wizard" here there was no turning back! It cost a few dollars but has been a godsend for this mathematically challenged knitter! It has a range of basic styles and sizes, and once I have tested my preferred size I know that it will work with any type of yarn. 

Before starting on my preferred design, I made a plain hat using the yarn that I wanted to use in the finished piece. This way I knew if it was going to be a good basic fit and could adjust the sizing to make sure the pattern wasn’t going to change the sizing too much. Cables will pull the knitting in a bit, and could make the hat too tight. Lace patterns are quite open and might make the body of the hat too loose. 

Some people like a snug fitting hat, others like it longer, slouchier etc. It’s much easier to adjust the fit to suit if you have a live example to work with. I’ve noticed that most of the hats that I make for myself could be a few rows longer so they cover my ears properly. Once I have the basic dimensions I can add the rows and work the pattern panel into the adjusted size.

Once I have the right number of stitches I have to make sure that my chosen stitch pattern will fit. In the case of the lace pattern I used for the Kid Cowl and Beanie, the original pattern was a motif worked over 11 stitches. Multiplying it was easy as the hat pattern has 80 stitches at cast on. It was just a matter of increasing by 8 stitches after the ribbing to accommodate the pattern. If I couldn’t make the repeats fit I could leave a stitch or 2 between each motif but in this case I was able to make it an all over pattern, which I preferred.

Sketching can be useful here, especially if a pattern starts and ends with half a repeat. You do need to make sure each half meets up at the seam (or beginning of the round if working as a seamless hat).

Step 3 – Get knitting!

The basic makeup of the beanie is –

• Rib or garter band;
• Main pattern panel;
• Decrease for top of hat.

I find the decreasing part the hardest one to manage, especially with a lace or cable panel to work around. There are a couple of ways that I get around this.

1 Stop the patterning at the decrease and work the rest of the hat in stocking stitch (or garter if that is the main stitch used).

2 Work at least the first couple of decrease rows into the pattern. With the lace I was able to k2tog a few times evenly across the pattern and it did’nt affect the rest of the motif.

Once I had the basics calculated, it was time to start knitting! My first attempt was pretty good if I do say so myself! 

Here it is modelled on Liam who is about 21mths old. It is a comfortable fit and would do a child from his age to around 3, depending on the individual head size. I haven’t done this one in other sizes yet, but I’m pretty sure it won’t be too hard using the hat software and a bit of fiddling on graph paper. I really want a beret style hat for myself, with a short-ish cowl to match. I would love one that wraps around a couple of times, but I’m way too impatient to be knitting something that big!

The cowl was a bit easier, as there are no decreases. You can pretty much make it whatever size you like, and with this pattern, all I would have to do is add or subtract one motif repeat of 11 stitches. 

And here is the pattern for the Kid Cowl and Hat – this will be published in an Australian Knitting Magazine later this year...yay me!

Kid Cowl – cos skivvies are sooo not cool!

This cowl will fit a toddler aged approx 1 – 3 years.

Cowl measures 17 inches around unstretched 

Materials – Peter Pan DK 1 ball

Tools – 3.25mm circular needle 40cm

4.00mm circular needle 40cm.

You can also divide the stitches across 2 longer circs or dpns.

Terminology

K – knit

P – purl

Sl – slip next stitch onto 2nd needle instead of knitting/purling it

Psso – pass slipped stitch over the stitch just knitted

Yf – yarn forward. Move yarn to front of needle just before doing a knit stitch. The yarn makes a loop that will show up when you knit it on the next row

K2tog – knit 2 stitches at once

Pattern

Cast on 108 stitches.

Work 5 rows 2 x 2 rib.

Work 1 row 2 x 2 rib and increase 3 stitches evenly – 111 stitches.

Change to 4.00mm needles

Start pattern – repeat once for a total of 31 rows.

Row 1 – k1 yf sl1 k1 psso k5 k2tog yf k1, rep to end.

Row 2 and all even rows – knit

Row 3 – k2 yf sl1 k1 psso k3 k2tog yf k2, rep to end.

Row 5 – k3 yf sl1 k1 psso k1 k2tog yf k3, rep to end.

Row 7 – k4, yf sl1 k1 psso yf k4 , rep to end.

Row 9 – k3 k2tog yf k1 sl1 k1 psso k3, rep to end.

Row 11 – k2 k2tog yf k3 yf sl1 k1 psso k2, rep to end.

Row 13 – k1 k2tog yf k5 yf sl1 k1 psso k1, rep to end.

Row 15 – k2tog yf k7 yf sl1 k1 psso, rep to end.

Repeat pattern rows 1 – 15 once, then on the last pattern row decrease 3 stitches evenly.

Change to 3.25mm needles.

Work 6 rows 2 x 2 rib. Cast off. Weave in ends.

Kid Hat

This hat will fit a toddler aged approx 1 – 3 years.

Hat measures 13 inches around unstretched

Materials – Peter Pan DK 1 ball.

Tools – Tools – 3.25mm circular needle 40cm

4.00mm circular needle 40cm.

4.00m dpns for top of hat, or 2nd set of 4.00mm circular needles, for finishing the decreasing at the top of the hat.

Using 3.25mm needles cast on 80 stitches. Join, making sure stitches aren’t twisted.

Work 9 rows 2 x 2 rib.

Work 1 row 2 x 2 rib increasing 8 stitches evenly around – 88 stitches.

Change to 4.00mm needles.

Work lace pattern for 2 repeats.

Decrease hat

The decrease is worked over the first 5 rows of the lace pattern then is worked in stocking stitch to the end.

Row 1 – k1 yf sl1 k1 psso k1 k2tog k2 k2tog yf k1 rep to end.

Row 2 – Knit

Row 3 – k2 yf sl1 k1 psso k1 k2tog k2tog yf k2

Row 4 – Knit

Row 5 – k3 yf sl1 k2tog psso yf k3, rep to end.

Row 6 – Knit

Row 7 – k7 k2tog, rep to end

Row 8 – Knit

Row 9 – k6 k2tog, rep to end

Row 10 – Knit

Row 11 – k5 k2tog, rep to end

Row 12 – k2 tog to end.

Rep row 12 until 12 sts are left.

Cut yarn, leaving enough yarn to secure remaining stitches.

Thread yarn through yarn needle, run needle through remaining stitches and secure.

Weave in ends.

Christmas is coming!

And are we all prepared....nope!  My Christmas gift giving will be mostly achieved by post, as 3 children and 4 grandchildren live in Canberra which is about 3000 miles from me in Perth.  I live with my daughter and her 16 month old son Liam so we will be having a quiet Christmas day at the beach with Liam's aunt and her brood.  Ya gotta love summer Christmases!

So, what to make for christmas presents that is quick and easy?

Dish or washcloths come to mind.  These little cloths are an awesome way to test out new yarns and stitch patterns.  Once you have a couple of standard patterns in your box of tricks, they can be whipped up in an hour or so and matched with some lovely handmade soap for a gift for a teacher, daycare leader, workmate or anyone you can think of who would appreciate a small gift.  Knit up a small stash and you will never be short of a last minute present.

Leaf Lace Washcloth

The best yarn to use for cloths is cotton, bamboo or a cotton/acrylic mix.  These dry quickly and can be thrown in the wash or soaked in a mild bleach solution to clean.  They may fade over time but as they are a working cloth, we can forgive that!  I have cotton washcloths that I have been using for over a year and they are still doing their job, as long as I am there to direct them!

Some yarn suggestions - Heirloom Cotton, Heirloom Bamboo, Twilleys Freedom Sincere, Wendy Sorrento.

Here are some handy links to free washcloth patterns -

Knitting Pattern Central - pages and pages of free patterns for almost anything you can imagine!  Their sister site Crochet Pattern Central is another mine of information.

Ravelry - This is probably the largest knitting and crocheting resource in the world.  Although you need to be a member to use and view the site, joining is free.  Once you're in, you might never want to leave!

Knitting on the Net - another free site that includes a brief description of each design.

Dish and Wash Cloth Mania - a blog dedicated to this noble pursuit!

Washcloths and dishcloths are fairly forgiving so you don't have to use the recommended yarn if it isn't available where you are.


Other gift ideas are socks, shawls, toys, gloves, hats and scarves.  Socks and shawls can be quick and easy or intricate.  You can choose to make a simple design using a self-patterning yarn which does all the work for you, or go all out and use a luxury yarn for a special gift.

Scarves and cowls are hugely popular gifts.  A small scarf like this design from Tikki's blog takes a couple of hours and is a great stash buster.  I made mine from Naturally Aran Tweed (I did say in a previous post that I was going to use Filatura di Crosa Lovely Jeans but picked up the Aran Tweed instead!)

Paula's Scarfette Naturally Aran Tweed

Some lovely sock yarns from our shop are -

Wendy Happy - A 4ply blend of soft bamboo and nylon, great for warm weather as the bamboo has antibacterial properties to help keep your feet sweet;
Heirloom Jigsaw - A 4ply self-patterning wool/nylon blend that is hard wearing and looks great;
Naturally Waikiwi - A super soft 4ply blend of Merino wool, nylon, alpaca and possum make for a very special gift.
Twilleys Freedom Gorgeous - 8ply bamboo/nylon blend, again wonderfully soft to work with.

Crochet Amigurumi Tiger

Toys are another popular gift item.  Amugurumi, which originated in Japan, is the art of making small, crocheted (they can also be knitted but crochet is more prevalant) whimsical toys.  Some of them remind me of the manga style of cartooning, where heads and facial features are exagerrated.  There is a great tutorial here  The best yarn to use for toys (in my opinion) is a basic wool or acrylic.  These yarns are hard wearing, easy to use and buy, and come in a huge range of colours.  Some of my favourites are -

Naturally Loyal - 8ply 100% wool which is soft and easy to work with;
Heirloom Dazzle - 8ply 100% acrylic in a large range of plain and variegated colours;
Heirloom Easycare - A 100% wool crepe which is ideal for toy making.

Filatura di Crosa Solo 1 Minuto Scarf in Boysenberry

If I was in a real hurry  I wouldn't even knit!  I'd just give people a no knit scarf that they can make themselves.  A brand new one that has just arrived in Australia is Filatura di Crosa Ci Piace and Solo 1 Minuto.  Each 6m hank of soft squishy furry yarn can be made into a lovely narrow scarf (keep an eye out for narrow scarves as they are the next big thing).  You can mix and match colours and even plait them as a variation.

Filatura di Crosa Ci Piace Scarf in Hot Chocolate