July 14, 2020
This one is going to be a bit longer of an update than the others I think.
I have finally finished the body and have just divided for the front and back. Recently someone on Instagram, Sharon Hartley of River Road Knits, decided to do some research and find out the different measurements of women in the front verses the back. So I applied my own front and back measurements to this piece. 65% of the stitches are for the front and the remaining 35% of the stitches are the back.
This is going to cause some trickiness in the shaping for the armholes. While this is my first sweater design, it is not my first sweater. It also is not my first bottom up sweater thankfully. I have decided not to do sleeves but am going to work the shaping for the armholes similar to that used for set in sleeves.
I have one of my bras next to me right now and am going to trace the shaping on it to use as a guide for getting the armholes shaped correctly for the front. Currently the front is 32" wide and the back is only 18.5". I will be decreasing the back using the armhole shaping only 3". The front will need to be decreased more than 3" but I'm not yet sure how much. That is where the bra comes in. I want this tank to have shaping and coverage like the bra so I thought it would be a great guide.
When I held the piece up and did a dry fit, so to speak, the numbers and gauge are right on and it should fit well. When I did the math in the beginning to see if 4 balls of this yarn was enough, I didn't take into account enough stitches for the front and back. I've only made a handful of bottom up sweaters and I always forget how much there really is to the front and back. It is only the half way point and I usually think of it as more the 2/3...
So I don't have enough green yarn. The yellow is quite the contrast and I don't want that across my bust, so... I have decided to use the green on the front for as long as it will go. The yellow will be the back and the remaining edging of the neck and armholes. I think it is going to look neat.
Since you guys are watching this in real time so to speak and I am going to be honest about everything, you'll get to see if the piece works or not. I have decided to work no shaping on the back and am decreasing each side of the front by about 7". This sonds like a lot, but I still think it is going to work.
Here is the piece so far.
I have also cast on the 2nd sweater for this design experiment. This one will be able to be graded to other sizes. It is a bottom up cardigan with pockets. I only have the first 4" or so done. I am working with US size 2.5 needles and fingering weight yarn for this one.
January 31, 2020
My
big goal for 2020 is design a sweater from start to finish that will
fit and can be graded to fit others as well. I will be using the book
Knit and her workshop on Blueprint to guide me along the way.
The
classes I took with Franklin in Utah in October, Tessellation and
Steeking will also be a big help in this process. In February i am
taking a knitwear illustration class to learn how to draw and sketch
what's in my head.
For
the first one, yes I think there will be 3 sweaters designed this year
with number 3 ultimately being what I set out to do. I decided to begin
with something that should be very simple, just so that I can get the
feel of what Shirley is going to have me do. The second piece will have
actual sleeves and more detail work in it. My third piece I want to
make from the top down, with steeking for the armholes and use 2
different kinds of yarn. It's going to be red and maybe white. It will
be a holiday sweater, Thanksgiving through New Year's if all goes well.
This
first piece is going to be a tank top. Looking at the yarn I have
chosen and the yardage available I should be able to make it all in the
green yarn. I'm using the yellow to swatch. This yarn as far as I can
tell has been discontinued. I'm okay with that as I'm not sure this
first go will become a published pattern. However if it goes well and I
want another I will find a current yarn that is comparable, make
another and then publish.
Specs so far.
A basic, close fitting tank top
Yarn is Purlescent 15% pearl rayon, 30% tencel, 55% Sheng Ma
February 18, 2020
I have continued reading in the Shirley Paden book and just finished the section on fiber choice and stitch selection. Because the yarn I have chosen is mostly bamboo, I have decided to go with a slip stitch design for the tank top.
Here is my swatch.
There was no growth when blocking. It pulled the other direction out of proportion. What I mean by that is if I pinned the bottom of the piece and pulled toward the top, the sides came in very dramatically. So I removed all the pins and just laid it out flat to dry. What you see is what you get. Easy enough for me.
One of the classes I took this past weekend with Andre De Castro was a knitwear design illustration class. It was cut short from 6 hours to 3 but was well worth it! The first flat garment drawing he had up do I decided to draw my tank top. Here it is.
I still have some decisions to make about how to finish the edge of arm holes. I know I can't use a steek, the yarn has nowhere near the integrity to hold up to that; too slick.
The next step is to start doing the math for my size and then I can cast on!
June 9, 2020
I have made progress on my tank top though it has been slow. I am pleased with the drape of the fabric and the stitch pattern still. I am pretty sure that I will have enough yarn to finish the top but not 100% certain. I did do the swatch and all the math but this fiber is new to me and there may be some variable that I didn't take into account.
Here is a picture of my current progress.
I Just started the 3rd ball of yarn out of 4. I do have 2 more balls but they are in another color; yellow.
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