Design for Knitting - Part 1
Inspiration for your knitwear
There comes a point, in every knitter’s progress, when you want to design a
garment yourself and translate it into a knittable pattern.
But where do you start?
Inspiration for the design may, if you’re very lucky, suddenly present itself in
your imagination. You can ‘see’ exactly what it should look like, right there
in your mind’s eye.
Now’s the time to sketch what you ‘see’ and make notes about colours and types
of yarn to be used.
There are two reasons for doing this. Firstly, so you don’t forget it! You may
not have the time to knit it right now, but you can put a quick sketch in your
‘To Do’ file for knitting later on. Secondly, by sketching it and filing it
away, you clear your mind so more original ideas can bubble to the surface.
The idea of making a sketch may fill you with horror. ‘I can’t draw’, I hear you
say!
Yes, you can draw. Remember that your sketchbook is for your eyes only and,
providing you can understand the lines you’ve drawn on the paper, that’s all
that matters. If your sketch is very basic, you can always supplement it with
lots of notes.
However, there are a couple of ways to cheat with your sketching!
-
Find a photograph in a magazine or book of a model wearing something that
closely resembles the shape of your garment idea and photocopy it. Cut out the
shape and use the ‘hole’ as a stencil. If you mount your stencil on to card, it
can be used several times for different ideas.
-
Take the same photograph and trace the garment outline. Photocopy your tracing
as many times as you need and sketch your ideas on top.
The actual translation of your sketches into knitting will not be without
problems but you have to remember that it’s an original idea you’re dealing
with and that requires patience.
Translating your ideas from paper to pattern to knitting may need lots of
changes along the way but that's half the fun for the imaginative knitter!
Return to top
|
