My First Sweater: Anna Dianich

January 31, 2017 by Karen Templer

As I was bogging down in the stockinette wasteland of my St. Brendan body last week, I was thinking about that golden time when my pal Anna Dianich (of Tolt Yarn and Wool) knitted my Trillium body for me and I knitted her Lila sleeves. Wishing we could tag-team every sweater that way, it occurred to me to wonder for the first time what her first sweater had been, so I asked her to answer some My First Sweater questions for us all.

This was before last Friday’s Q for You (“Are you a sweater knitter?”) went up, and I have to say I’m completely blown away by the response to that question. Over 500 comments so far, and probably 90-95% of you said “yes, I’m a sweater knitter,” with another 3-5% saying “not yet, but I want to be!” Only a few people said no, and as several people pointed out, I have likely cultivated a sweater-knitting readership, being a bit of a monomaniac. But if you asked me about the general knitting population, I’d guess 70-80% are accessory knitters with the remaining minority being sweater knitters. Allowing for audience bias, I might have guessed more like 60% of you would have responded that you knit sweaters. I never would have dreamed it would be nearly unanimous. And of course it’s wildly unscientific, and I have no way of knowing how many non-sweater knitters simply didn’t answer. But regardless, that was an eye-opener for me, and has me thinking again how best I can help people over the hump. So with that said, here’s the coincidental return of My First Sweater, and expect this to be more regular going forward!

With that, here’s Anna—

. . .

How long had you been knitting when you knitted your first sweater, and what prompted you to do it?

I had been knitting for over 10 years before I knitted my first sweater. I had knit hats and a couple socks and a couple of baby/child sweaters but never a sweater for me. I was intimated, which is silly since knitting an adult sweater is same as knitting a kids’ sweater; it’s just bigger. The first sweater I started for myself was awful! I didn’t really understand the importance of swatching … honestly, I don’t know if I even knew what swatching was. I basically just jumped right into knitting this sweater, and I could tell it was going to be very big, and I also ran into a few other issues since I was still not great at “reading my knitting” and how to fix little mistakes. I abandoned that sweater and it stayed in my closet about 2/3 finished. A couple years later I tried again, this time with more knowledge and confidence.

How did you choose the pattern, and what was it? And what about the yarn choice?

It was the Levenwick sweater by Gudrun Johnston. I loved the design so much I had to knit it! I chose Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in the color Hayloft because, yes, I am one of those knitters that likes to knit in the color the sample was done in. Haha!

How did the knitting go? What were some of the challenges and hurdles along the way? Did you make any modifications, or knit it as written?

Having more knitting experience, knowledge and confidence helped! I actually swatched and read comments on Ravelry from people who had knitted the pattern — that was very helpful! I also turned to other knitters for help when I got stuck, which helped not only to get me through this project but to build more knitting knowledge. (There is always more to learn.) Since the sweater was top-down I was able to try it on and see if any adjustments needed to be made. I did make a couple of mods to the pattern after reading those comments on Ravelry and trying on the sweater as I went along.

How did you feel upon finishing it? Did you wind up wearing it? Do you still?

I was SO proud of myself! I felt like a “real knitter,” finally, after so many years of knitting. I understood what I was doing — it clicked. I remember wearing the sweater to VK Live in Seattle. I took a class with Gudrun Johnston and I wore it then. I was excited to show her and a little nervous. I don’t wear this sweater very much. It’s beautiful and it fits me but I think I’m more of a pullover person.

What are some of the lessons you learned from knitting that sweater — how has it impacted your choices since then?

I learned how important it is to be able to read your knitting, to understand what’s happening when you create stitches. I also learned how important it is to have a community of knitters around you, whether it’s friends or a local yarn store. Also, even though it’s your first sweater and you may make a few mistakes, use yarn that you love — it makes knitting and wearing it so much better! And don’t forget to swatch!

My First Sweater: Anna Dianich

You’ve knitted tons of sweaters at this point, as seen regularly on your Instagram feed — many more than you’ve posted to Ravelry. Do you have a personal favorite, and what makes it your favorite?

It’s funny because my favorite and my most-worn are two different sweaters. I think my favorite sweater is my Dalur (above/top) but it’s often not cold enough to wear it. I get a lot of compliments on my Seascale sweater and my Mailin sweater, and I’m super proud of the work I did on my Amanda cardigan, but my most-worn sweater is my Ladies Classic Raglan (above/bottom) knit with Cestari Traditional yarn. I wear this all the time!

Ok, it’s funny that you just said Dalur, because my last question for you is: Do you mind if I make an exact replica of your Dalur? I covet it.

Please knit the Dalur! We can be twins!

. . .

Thank you, Anna! Pattern links below, everyone. And for anyone who might need it: How to knit and measure a gauge swatch

PATTERNS MENTIONED
• Levenwick by Gudrun Johnston
• Dalur by Hulda Hákonardóttir
• Seascale by Courtney Kelley [more about Anna’s]
• Mailin by Isabell Kraemer
• Amanda by Lena Holme Samsoe [subject of our Amanda Knitalong]
• Ladies Classic Raglan by Jane Richmond [featured in Pullovers for first-timers]

PREVIOUSLY in My First Sweater: Jenn Steingass

Make Your Own Basics: The skirt(s)

January 30, 2017 by Karen Templer

Make Your Own Basics: The skirt(s)

In the pantheon of clothing basics, there are a few anointed skirt shapes. Sure, hem lengths inch up and down with eras and ages, and there are always tricksier/trendier variations on any of these shapes — a million ways to tweak them, and a million patterns that have done it for you — but these four iconic silhouettes are the basis of pretty much everything:

MINI: Moss Skirt by Grainline Studio is neatly tailored with a fly front, slant pockets and back yoke detail. My mini-skirt years are behind me, but I would have sewn a ton of these at other times in my life. Check View B for a longer option.

A-LINE: Everyday Skirt by Liesl Gibson has a flat front waistband and an elasticized back, plus slant pockets. This is not a shape I personally can wear, but I wish I had a dollar for every time someone has recommended this pattern to me. Clearly a crowd favorite!

PENCIL: Selene by Colette Patterns has a lapped back zipper, darts and vent, with two pocket options. You can never go wrong with a good pencil skirt.

CIRCLE: Full Circle Skirt by Anna Maria Horner has a side lapped zipper and is otherwise as simple as can be. Unless you want to get fancy, in which case AMH, the queen of patchwork, has provided paneled and pieced variations.

PREVIOUSLY in Make Your Own Basics: The fisherman sweater

Q for You: Are you a sweater knitter?

January 27, 2017 by Karen Templer

Q for You: Are you a sweater knitter?

I know I’ve asked you all before what you knit the most of, but I have a very specific subset of that Q for You at the moment, which is: Are you a sweater knitter? [ETA: Pullovers and cardigans are both sweaters.]

Here’s why I ask. I haven’t made a scientific study of it or anything, but I would swear that in the course of the 5 years I’ve been paying attention, pattern collections and indie magazines and such have gone from being half or mostly accessories, with a few sweaters thrown in, to often being sweater collections with a couple of accessories thrown in, if even that. (And socks are definitely more scarce than they once were.) It has me wondering whether that’s the bias of the people putting them together, or whether there’s evidence that people are really that much more interested in sweater patterns than anything else these days. I know there are new sweater knitters joining the ranks every single day, but I would still assume there are far more accessory knitters than sweater knitters roaming the earth. So how to explain the shift in the collections? If I’m right about that. And I really believe I am! Or maybe it’s a pendulum swinging back where I wasn’t around for its previous swing the other direction?

So this is not just a Q but a PLEA to the thousands of you reading this post, will you take two seconds to leave a comment either saying Yes (I am a sweater knitter) or No (I’m not a sweater knitter)? If you have the time and the will, I’d love to hear more — if no, do you want to be; if yes, is it all you knit. Sometimes, always, never. Whatever you want to tell me! But please, I’m dying to know—

Hi, my name is Karen, and I am a sweater knitter.

Oh, and for aspiring sweater knitters, see: Pullovers for first-timers (an introduction to sweater construction) and Cardigans for first-timers

PREVIOUSLY in Q for You: What’s in your Field Bag?

Queue Check — January 2017

January 26, 2017 by Karen Templer

Queue Check — January 2017

So where am I on that Channel Cardigan I want to take to Paris? Well, the sleeves are still done! And I’ve added a whopping inch or two to the body.

All my late-night nervous knitting energy has been poured into the second coming of my St. Brendan sweater. It’s been two weeks since I ripped it back to its yoke, and it already has two full sleeves (knitted flat) and about half of the body. That cake of black yarn you see in the pic is my last skein before I have to get into the kinky frog pile, so I’m considering it a good stopping point. When this skein runs out, I plan to knit the neckband from the frog pile, then block the whole thing (also soaking the rewound skeins) and seam the sleeves. I haven’t decided exactly how long I want it to be yet — I want to see how it looks with the upper half and sleeves all done and blocked, which will tell me what the rest wants to be. And I also have the cuffs on waste yarn — thinking about knitting them long enough to fold up.

You may notice there’s no colorwork on those sleeves. I’ve decided the way it is now, with just the yoke, it really is exactly the sweater I’ve been wanting. I expect to be done with it in another week or so — hopefully there will be at least a few days in February cold enough to wear it! (She says from balmy Nashville.)

Then it’s full speed ahead on Channel. The anticipation of that camel yarn and melodious stitch pattern is what’s getting me through all this stockinette …

• Channel Cardigan pattern by Jared Flood in Clever Camel | all Channel posts
• St. Brendan pattern by Courtney Kelley in Arranmore | all St. Brendan posts

PREVIOUSLY in Queue Check: Year-end 2016

Wardrobe Planning: April in Paris (part 1)

January 25, 2017 by Karen Templer

Wardrobe Planning: April in Paris (part 1)

I’m indulging a little fantasy — one I hope will become reality. April in Paris. Bob and I have never been to Europe (never been anywhere except Mexico and the Bahamas) and I keep saying this is the year we figure out how to make it happen … although it still seems incredibly far-fetched for something that’s ostensibly happening in three months! Regardless of whether it’s daydreaming or advance planning, I’m using the idea of packing for that trip as motivation for a couple of other things:

A firm deadline to complete the knitting of my Channel cardigan-in-progress. What better garment to wander the early-Spring streets of Paris in than this sweater? So I’m making it the focus of my imagined Paris packing list.
A reason to start thinking about how I want to dress this late-Winter/early-Spring in general — i.e., what few pieces I might add, and are they to-buy or to-make? It would be lovely to be ahead of the game on the latter for a change. Plus I haven’t touched my sewing machine since August, so it’s wise to think through what best to make when I do.

Since I’m forever dreaming of a wardrobe so concise-yet-versatile that it would fit into a carry-on and combine into a thousand outfits, that’s what I’m aiming for here. I have a first draft of a proposed packing list (slash shopping list slash making list) in the form of that messy sketch up there, comprising 12-14 endlessly combinable garments. And I’ve also started sketching out some of the outfit combos in my beloved Fashionary notebook. I’m trying to strike a balance between having it all decided too far ahead of time (being over it by the time April gets here) and having it more-or-less-decided far enough in advance to have time to make the makes.

An embarrassingly long while ago, the lovely people at Brooklyn Tweed asked me if I might want to do a guest board for them at Pinterest, and since Jared Flood’s Channel Cardigan pattern is the centerpiece of this whole mental exercise, I’ve made this the subject of my pinboard. So far I’m collecting inspirational images, places to go while we’re there, garments I might want to have with me. I’ll be adding to it over the course of the next couple of months, if you’d like to follow along! Hopefully it will end with me actually standing in front of the Eiffel Tower in my Channel.

Of course I’ll have more to say about it all here as I zero in on the details. And if you’ve been to Paris and have recommendations, I’d love to hear them!

PREVIOUSLY in Wardrobe Planning: Winter wardrobe week

When knitalongs breed patterns

January 24, 2017 by Karen Templer

When knitalongs breed patterns: Two great Cowichan-style cardigans

There was a certain irony, during the Top-Down Knitalong, in seeing people who were engaging in knitting without a pattern (in most cases for the first time) being asked repeatedly about their sweaters, “Are you going to publish the pattern?” “Please publish the pattern!” And (irony aside) I’m really excited about how many patterns will, apparently, be coming out of that knitalong. But these things take time, and what I am pleased to tell you in the meanwhile is that two patterns (that I know of) also came out of the previous year’s knitalong, the Cowichan-style Knitalong, both of which have been released in recent months:

TOP: West Coast Cardigan by Jane Richmond
Jane is an extremely popular pattern designer, and one of my first favorites when I took up the craft, so I was thrilled when she jumped into that knitalong, sharing that it was her first time doing stranded colorwork! Rather than knitting a vest, she opted to knit more of the classic zip-front jacket — albeit top-down raglan rather than drop-shouldered. Demand for the pattern ensued, followed by a year or so of pattern-writing and testing all that, and it’s now the subject of its own knitalong. The pattern also includes blank charts if (like me) you’re wanting to create your own motifs.

BOTTOM: Watkins by Whitney Hayward
Whitney (most recently noted for Stone Wool) also opted to knit a cardigan that was a huge crowd-pleaser, while being a little more loosely Cowichan-inspired. This one is bottom-up seamless, with a more traditional shawl-collar — and a steek! — and is bulky gauge rather than superbulky, so some might find it a little more wearable.

I can’t see any reason why I shouldn’t knit one of each!

To learn about Cowichan sweaters, see: the full Cowichan-style knitalong scroll

UNRELATED SHOP NEWS: We’ve got the new issue of Koel Magazine; the new KnitWit with article by yours truly; the latest volume of Brooklyn Tweed’s Capsule books, by Michele Wang; a fresh stack of Jared’s book; the newly repackaged Stowe Bag pattern; all five colors of the Field Bag in stock at the same time, along with Porter Bins; a new batch canvas wax and cleaner (sold separately) … the list goes on! Find it all at Fringe Supply Co.