Project Planning

Summer heat has arrived. At 8:00 pm each night, this is where you'll find me.

I'll be sitting in one of those white chairs, with a cold drink, my Kindle and of course, my knitting.  I'll be there until about 9:30, when it gets too dark to see my knitting, and the mosquitoes start to buzz around.

We have a few roadtrips planned, so I've been planning some new projects.  When I'm going to be knitting in the car for an extended period of time, I like to switch back and forth between projects, to keep my hands from getting tired on the same size needles and to keep from getting too bored.  The most important part of planning a project is "Swatching".  This is where you knit up a sample square in the desired  yarn to make sure you have "Gauge".  This is the most important step in project planning, as it will determine the fit of your final garment.

In the past, I was always a lazy swatcher.  I would cast on 20 stitches knit for 2 inches and then measure with the stitches still on the needles.  Then I would rip is out and start the cast on for my project. Sometimes this worked, but most of the time I was unhappy with the garments I produced.  Especially the ones for me!  Knitting with Custom Fit has taught me that if I want the perfect fit, I must produce the perfect swatch. If at the end of the project I am running out of yarn, then and only then, do I rip out my swatch. I've found this doesn't happen often.

Here is how I explained "Swatching" to my Knit Night friends, so they could prepare for our upcoming KAL (Lady Kina):

Once you have selected your yarn, it is time to "SWATCH" (a picture of my swatch is attached).  Cast of 30-40 stitches on US7 needles and knit in stockinette stitch (knit on RS, purl on WS) for about 4 inches.  You can add a garter stitch (K on both RS and WS) border if you prefer.  Bind off.  Soak in cool water and roll in a towel to dry.  Carefully pat swatch out to shape (do not stretch) and place a few pins around the edges to hold in place as it dries.  Now the most important part -- Count the number of stitches in a 4" row (be extremely careful in your measuring and counting, as this makes the difference in getting a perfect fit, or not.  Even count 1/2 or 1/4 stitches).  Your final stitch count over 4 inches should be 20 stitches.  If you have more than 20 stitches, swatch again with US9 needles.  If you have less than 20 stitches, swatch again with US6 needles.  Continue this process until you reach the perfect 20 stitches per 4 inches.  If you have selected Worsted Weight Yarn, the only differences will be in how tight or loose your personal knitting style is. 

The purple swatch is planned for "Bloomsbury".  The aqua swatch is planned for "Lady Kina".  The coral swatch is planned for "Eva". The dark red swatch is for 'Laura Leaves Tank".  "Lady Kina" and "Laura Leaves Tank" are already on the needles and ready for travel.  I have a Custom Fit pattern in hand for "Eva" and she is ready to be cast on at any moment.  The amazing thing about a Custom Fit pattern, is you can select the design and the yarn completely independent of each other.  You aren't tied to knitting the design at the exact gauge indicated.  Once you have "swatched" in your chosen yarn, you simply plug the stitch counts into the Custom Fit software, and it produces the perfect pattern for you.  There is no math or calculations involved.  "Bloomsbury" has been placed on the back burner, for now, as she may be too warm to wear right now, but she'll be perfect for September/October weather, so she won't be waiting for long.

I expect to be back next week, with pictures of our travels and pictures of my knitting progress.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a success from one of our best crocheters in the Knit Night Group. She made this cute, little bolero for her daughter to wear at her brother's wedding. She has done such a beautiful job! Lily is also quite the little model. You've see her before in her Mother's creations, and we hope to see her or her sibblings again on this blog.

I hope you are all having a fabulous summer. Thanks for stopping by . . . . .and Happy Knitting!