Friday, January 6, 2012

My very first steps in designing

Let me start by saying I haven't been very good at my NY resolutions. I said I'd be kind, but the other day, there was a little old lady driving at about 35 mph on the freeway (the one where you can go 60mph, which really means you can go up to 70mph!!!). I passed her and then gave her the evil eye. And then I thought about how I wished I'd had signs in my car to flash at people. Oh, I am bad, aren't I? Well, my signs would say stuff like this:
* Hey buddy, use your signal! I can't read your friggin mind.
* Pay attention to the road, slacker. My lane is not your lane!
* Hey, thanks for letting me merge. NOT.
* GET out of the road, slowpokes.
* Go at least the speed limit!
Funny, funny thing about how I have road rage on the freeway - I didn't drive on the freeway until I was 30. Sure, just a handful of times before that. And now look at me - I am Queen of the road! ;)
Hehehehehe.
Well, now, I must carry on with my designing process. Now, going forward, I am going to assume a few things and if that aggravates the heck out of you and you don't know what something is or you want me to explain, please leave a comment and I'll reply. Otherwise, it's probably simple and you think I am crazy for sharing what I think is some little secret into the designing process.
First and foremost, you are going to need one of these:
measuring tape
When I first started knitting, my knitting guru said, "you need to swatch to check your gauge." And I replied, "blah, blah, blah, whatever." I thought it was a waste of time. And, honestly, sometimes it is. But if you are making clothes, it's a must!
I am going to be making my daughter a skirt. To tell the truth, I have never made a skirt. So, this is a learning process for us all ;) But, I'm using what I've learned with other projects and applying it to this one.
So...back again to the swatch.
I used my new Rowan Wool DK with size 7 needles (oh, Kristy, I invested in size 7 needles ;)) I like my yarn a little loose, with movement. The yarn calls for 6 needles, but I'll use 7. I cast on 20 and knit about 4 inches to create somewhat close to a 4x4 square.
(Here is a little trick from me to you: don't bind off. I leave my sts on the needles so I can rip it apart and reuse the yarn.)
Now, always count the stitches at least twice. First, stitch wise and then row wise.
swatchmeasurements1
Using my Rowan Wool DK and size 7 needles, I have 5 stitches per inch, or 20 stitches per 4 inches. When I go to make calculations, this will be useful information.
Then, I count row-wise:
swatchmeasurements2
I have 6 stitches per inch, or 24 rows per 4 inches.
Next, I calculate the measurements of my model. Here she is:
luciabeauty
But I decided to just use a skirt that she liked for measurements.
skirtmeasurements
Here is the breakdown of the information I gathered:
1. waist = 22 inches, un-stretched
2. length = 28 16 inches
3. high thigh = 28 inches
4. low thigh = 32 inches
5. bottom = 36 inches, un-stretched
I think I'll knit bottom to top, because I like knitting things where I have to decrease as opposed to increase. Right? Don't even call me silly! So, the question is....drum roll.....how many stitches do I need to cast on?
Well, we know we can knit 5 stitches to an inch. And we need the skirt to be at least 36 inches across. I am going to go out on a limb here and say I'd like to add an additional 2 inches to the bottom for twirl, so we need at least 38 inches. 38 times 5. See, 5 = 1 inch. So, we need to cast on 190 stitches.
(((When I say we, I mean you and me. If you want to join me...)))

7 comments:

  1. This made me happy. :) Is it going to be a rainbow skirt? Cant wait to see the progress!

    ReplyDelete
  2. :) Yes, all my newest rowan colors! oh, is it possible to be in love *swoon* with yarn?

    ReplyDelete
  3. i have a question, since my first love is crochet i have found with knitting that it "grows" after you wear it. will this be a problem? just curious

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for a trip into Swatch-Land. It's a place I rarely go to. However, you might want to bind off, wash and block the swatch. The gauge could change.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mary - yes, true!!! very true. But I am one who likes shortcuts. Ah, darnit. You are so right.

    Kristen - I have no idea. I don't think so. Knitted fabric seems pretty sturdy to me. ???? Sorry I am no help. My first love is knitting, so I'm gonna have to side with the knits (vs. the crochets ;)) Seems like we should blame the yarn!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I wish I had skills like this. So jealous!

    http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
    Twitter: @GlamKitten88

    ReplyDelete