First a little bit about my fiber journey. It all started with the sheep, then selling their wool (18 years ago), couple years later I got my first spinning wheel and started down the rabbit hole of spinning, processing and dyeing. I learned how to crochet as a child but never knew how to knit. Then in 2017 I started teaching myself to knit. Knitting has defiantly been and adventure. Like most I started with hats and scarves, but then jumped right to sweaters.
The real struggles of knitting…
Being a spinner, I wanted to knit with my own handspun wool yarns. But that meant learning to knit with a yarn that didn’t fit into a certain size. As most know not all weight of yarn are created equally. What one person calls a DK another may say is a Worsted. I have always determined my yarn weights by WPI (wraps per inch). Overtime I have learned all fiber settles or blooms differently. My Targhee wool blooms once spun.
My first sweater I followed the pattern exactly like it read. A top-down design. I was so proud of it but was disappointed when it was too small.
My second sweater was a huge adventure of learning. I found a great pattern for more of a bulky art yarn knitting sleeve to sleeve. It was a super fun knit but once finished was HUGE in size.
Pattern - Be Mine Sweater by Knit Collage, Yarn my own super bulky Handspuns
My third sweater I used the same pattern as my second one but based it off of measurements. The way the sweater was construction (knitting from sleeve to sleeve) made it fun and easy to knit off of my measurements.
Pattern - Be Mine Sweater by Knit Collage, Yarn my own Bulky Handspuns
My fourth sweater a top-down design, taught me how important swatching is… Swatch then block the swatch. This will be how you determine your cast on stitches. Based off of the stiches per inch and your what your body measures. This pattern also taught me that I love doing colorworks…
Pattern ~ Copper Leaf by Stix Chix, Tracy Pipinich. Yarn- Tobacco Root Valley Yarns by Ranching Tradition Fiber colors- Madison, Cone, Rye, Fall Ash and Chokecherry
To be continued.......
Comments