I’m so thrilled about all of the enthusiasm for the coming Top-Down Knitalong, and the sketches and swatches already starting to turn up on the #fringeandfriendsKAL2016 feed. I’ve had a couple of people ask what “improvised” means and whether you’re not allowed to have a plan for your sweater going in. Improvised just means knitting without a pattern, but you do that by having a plan — a plan of your very own! Which is based on two things: 1) the gauge you’ll be knitting at (which you derive from a knitted and washed swatch in your intended yarn) and 2) your desired sweater shape and dimensions. It’s not about flying blind, it’s just about making your own plan for a sweater in your own head versus having a pattern tell you what to do.
And on the subject of shape, I’ve also had people ask whether a top-down sweater or a sweater for this knitalong has to be a pullover. Absolutely not! As noted in the preview and the addenda — and the tutorial and the prologue to the tutorial ;) — it can be anything your heart desires. The sample in the tutorial is a plain old crewneck pullover just because that’s the most basic a sweater can get. If that’s what you want in your closet, or you’re nervous about this and want to keep it as simple as possible, that’s a great option. Or you can get all kinds of creative if you like! Make a v-neck or crewneck or shawl-collar; pullover or cardigan or coat; plain or embellished; fitted and fingering or superbulky and slouchy, or anything in between! The possibilities truly are endless.
I still don’t know what I’m going to knit for this (all those endless possibilities …), and thought we could all use a little extra inspiration, so I created a new board on Pinterest called Top-Down Ideas. The captions are full of suggestions about things to consider — from shape to interesting details to how to really think outside the box. The sweaters included are mostly neutral, so you can use your imagination to fill in color or texture or pattern according to your taste.
I hope it gets your wheels turning, and I’d love to hear what you’re thinking about!
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PREVIOUSLY in Top-Down Knitalong: FAQ and Addenda