One other issue that I ran across in my re-reading of Maggie Righetti’s Sweater Design in Plain English is that the lack of resiliency in plant fibers (along with certain animal fibers, like silk) means that garments must have zero or even negative ease (top of page 62).
Category Archives: Sweater Adventures
Designing: Picking a Silhouette
Because I have very square shoulders, I long ago learned that I look best in raglan and circular yokes. One bottom-up seamless sweater had three different sleeve/shoulder shapings before it was done, the winner being a raglan.
Swatching: General Considerations
Yes, the s-word. Most of us don’t like swatching, because it feels like a waste of time. In some cases, it probably is. There are plenty of projects that don’t need swatching, as long as we’re willing to live with the consequences. Shawls and scarves don’t need swatching, unless we’re concerned about yarn chicken or really want the FOs to be a particular size or have a particular drape. Even hats, gloves, and mittens don’t need swatching, if we’re willing to find heads or hands that will fit in them—and if we’re not super-concerned about the warmth of the items if our fabric is a little looser that it ought to be.
Sweater Adventures
Having read that people loved sweaters made from two yarns I had never used, I took advantage of some sales and bought value packs of both. I’ll post details of each step of the process from swatching to the finished objects.