Designing a Knit Top Pt. 1

This series of blog posts is going to show, in detail, my designing process. Enjoy them!

So here I am again, with plenty of time to design a new pattern.

I haven't designed a knit item for a while, so I will design a new knit item. Something big and more complicated than I usually make- a shirt.

I've got plenty of yarn around here, but never have enough to do more than a hat in any color, so, Stripes it is!!

Digging around in my yarn stash, I find a good bit of yarn in black, red, and white, and as I love that color combo, and I can get more of those yarns easily, I grab those up and the corresponding circular knitting needle.

Click the link to the left to see the rest of this

 person's flikr album, it's awesome!

But I'm still not sure what I should do, so I get out some paper and begin drawing. A piece of my inspiration comes from ancient Egypt, and their pretty collars.

I should extend that basic shape out to cover the shoulders, dd a little extra on the part that goes over the arms. and when I get that shape where I want it, then bind off the arm holes and make the body, which will be shaped like a skirt.

These types of shirts have been done before, dresses like that too, so I have to make this a little bit different.

I decide that the increases will be yarn overs (gives a small hole in the fabric, and is the basis for knit lace), and that those yarn overs will zig zag. .

Also, I think I'm not going to bind off the arm holes, but transfer them to a stitch holder and maybe make bell sleeves. we'll see how I feel about that later, the sleeves will require tools I don't have yet (very short circular needle or double pointed needles), because I do not like magic loop method.

 

This is what I have so far. I'm a slow, slow knitter!