Our sponsor this week is Ott Lite! Click through for more info. This lamp is part of the Wellness Series.
You can see Casey’s blog at kcknits.com.
Things we talk about in this episode:
Winding Yarn into Two Equally-Sized Balls
Log Cabin Blanket
Stellar Swatching
The Mystery of Row Gauge
Craft Yarn Council Standard Body Measurements/Sizing
Casey’s Cotton Lace Top (free Knitty pattern)
Filtered Ravelry search for cotton lace tops (even though it wasn’t part of the question)
Again; I can’t wait until is Wednesday and hear your podcast! I spent so nice time hearing you! And you always teach so much. Thank you!
Regarding the bad drawing part: If you aren’t going to learn to draw (there are proportions for human figures, is not so hard) you can cheat a bit! you may use a photograph of a model, friend or anyone, a sheet of paper and a lamp table or a daylight window and simply trace your sketch of the outline figure to design your patterns from there: then you can show your art to us! 😉
Keep the great work!
That’s a great idea – thank you, Lucy! I guess I can stop hoping that someday I’ll develop a natural talent for drawing, LOL.
S t a c i
Loved the podcast this week! Jumpers & rompers to me equate to giving yourself an extra few minutes to “ccoordinate” when you have to use the restroom!
I wanted to leave a comment for the person who asked about blocking out a cotton lace pattern. I knit this shawl for my friend who got married in the Caribbean…not only was it going to be hot but she is also vegan so I had limited options for a fiber choice. The 100% Egyption cotton was thread weight and knitted up all scrunchy like any other lace pattern would but once finished I soaked it for a bit and then blocked it as normal. Since it was cotton I had to get pretty aggressive with the blocking but the detail of the lace came out perfectly. I realize the question was about summer tops and not a shawl but I don’t see why the same process wouldn’t apply if you’ve taken the time to swatch appropriately.
I hope this helps!
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitter-pated/echo-flower-shawl-2
In regard to Ryan from Australia’s question concerning creating your own pattern. I have done this on a small scale and I end up using MS Excel to create my charts. It has sheet tabs at the bottom and as you make changes, you can copy what you have already done to another sheet and modify it. That way, you have your original attempt as Sheet 1 and you next attempt as Sheet 2, etc. You can also change the name of the sheet from Sheet 1 to Version 1. You do need basic Excel skills to do this. You can also use MS Word, but it does not have tabs. As far as drawing a person’s shape, mine look like I never got out of kindergarten, so I search online for paper doll cut outs, print them out and draw on them.
Yay my question got featured, thank you so much!! Great podcast ladies ?
Regarding Fair Isle Knitting, Continental
I knit continental and have great success using a yarn stranding guide. They are very inexpensive. On KnitPicks, for example, there are at least three models. They are sold under the names Yarn Stranding Guide, Wire Yarn Stranding Guide or Yarn Guide and the price range is $1.19 to $2.80. There’s a good chance you local yarn shop or hobby store may carry them. Good luck.