My Career As A Knitwear Designer (ha ha ha)!

I’ve decided to make more knitting designs. Work is quiet, which allows me time to map things out and think things through and calculate. So I’ve made a cardigan design and graded it into 16 sizes, from really little little to fairly big big. 

I started with a kiddies version, quite successfully too I thought, (it’s cute and I’m happy about it), then set about to do the young adult size. Yay isolation!

This one has slightly different background colours. I did the body, bottom up to the underarms and just for a break, decided to make a hat. Again I’ve varied the colours and the patterning to showcase other possibilities (and not be bored myself). But, I ran out of the main colour. It’s from Shetland and I’m in Australia so whilst I was ordering I thought I may as well choose the colours for my bigger cardigan. Which I did. 

As it turns out, Scotland has a temporary ban on international postage, so while that’s happening I went back and started the sleeves to finish the other. 

I cast on and worked the cuff, then got into the fair isle band motifs before realizing I’d left out the first band. So I pulled it back to the rib and started it properly. I got back as far as I’d gone before, some 10 cm of pattern past a deep rib but it looked too baggy. Not what I want. Unpicked it. 

Going back to my original charts I fussed over all of the adult sized sleeves... which is really, really arduous because the program I then use is sooo slow on my stupid, stupid laptop and it kills me. It took ages to generate my new improved sleeve. An evening. 

Cast on again. 

I like to cast on with 3mm needles then drop back to 2.5 mm for the ribbing but I forgot so pulled it out.  Next day... Cast on properly with 3mm but (grrr) forgot (grrrrr) to (grrrrrrr) change down...

SO I started again. Inner calm, inner calm... 62 stitches. Yes. Managed a neat, well practiced cast on with 3mm followed by a beautifully tidy (deep) cuff in 2.5mm’s. Beautiful. The size looked right for a 6. Great. Sleeves don’t take long, I’ll be done soon.

I want you to know that all of this happens between many other tasks, train trips and work and family and perusing my emails. It’s a few of days of disjointedness. I thought, right, I’d Better Just Make Sure and pulled out the pattern to be 100% and hey! The pattern said (mother-flippin’) (stop swearing) seventy (mother-flippin’) two!!!! Not. 62.

Shoving down a rising beserk, I ripped back my little neat cuff. Again. For the 5th or 4th or 10th time! Unravelled it yet again...

I pulled out the original graph. The very original paper calculations, not the stupid, arduously made print out with my fair isle plonked in. And yes, guess what? 62 was in fact CORRECT! Time to tear up the wrong print outs, with vigor.

You’ll be proud of me because I didn’t swear (out loud) and I didn’t cry (on the inside). I either overcame my feelings of rage and disappointment and boredom, or suppressed them deeply and just got up, packed a bag for the train trip in the morning and went to bed.

Before I did go to bed I thought I’d get out a fresh ball of wool for the cuffs, since I’d worn the other ragged and it might be better to bury it deep inside the fair isle. So I grabbed another and saw that I was going to run out before I finished the cardigan and needed to order another couple. But Scotland... mail...

Never mind... suck it up (you stupid, stupid idiot)...

This morning I had a nice walk before I caught the train to the city. I listened to a great podcast about early female pilots in Australia, whilst walking through the pretty bush. Lovely! On the train I set up a show I’m watching on my propped iPad, cast on 62 stitches neatly with 3mm needles then dug in my bag to change to 2.5’s and guess what? I’d left them at home.