Six Steps To Designing Your Own Handknits

Just because you're a beginning knitter doesn't mean you can't design your own hand knits.  Here are six steps to help you get started:

1. Make a swatch

The swatch is a sample of the fabric you'll be creating.  Swatching is your friend!  You'll swatch for gauge, of course, but also:

• To test out stitch and color ideas.
• To check how different stitch patterns work together.
• To try out different cast-ons and bind-offs.
• To see how different needles affect the fabric you are knitting.

2. Try out different yarns

You may have some ideas about which yarns will work with the stitch patterns you have in mind, but nothing is more revealing than actually knitting a sample of your stitch patterns with different yarns.  You'll discover that different stitch patterns result in different widths over the same number of stitches and that this will also vary with different fibers - even if the yarns are the same weight category.  Its best to have an idea of what to expect in advance.

3. Measure an existing garment that you really like

Base your dimensions for your design on a similar knitted garment that fits the way you like.  

4. Give in to your knitting preferences

There is no sense in torturing yourself by working with techniques you don't like.  If knitting on size 3 needles and fingering weight yarn makes you cringe, then use bigger needles and thicker yarn!  If you hate seams, knit in the round.  But, if you crave intricate details, love beading, go gaga over cables and really complex lace ... then, knock yourself out, its your knitting after all.

5. Do the math

Ok, so I'm not a fan of math and numbers make my brain feel all melty, but unless you love ripping and re-knitting, you'll want to check your math before you start.  Ideally, you'll want to do the actual knitting as few times as possible, you know, just the one time.

So figure your gauge. Take your measurements. Grab your calculator and do the math. Work out how many stitches to cast-on and where to increase and decrease. Have a bit of faith and start knitting.

6. Write it all down

Even if you're not planning on drafting out a full pattern of your design, give yourself a break and write stuff down!  That way you won't have to agonize over which row you started your shaping or any other tweaks you made as you've been working your design.