how to read/write patterns - basics

     Finding the right pattern is just as important as picking out the right color of yarn for a project.  If the essential elements of a pattern are missing, then there is no point in casting it on to your needles in the first place.  The qualities that make a good pattern are more than just the absence of mistakes too.  The key to finding good patterns is knowing what to look for.
     The following guidelines can be helpful for knitters to learn how to choose patterns that will bring them the most satisfaction.  I would also like to present these guidelines to authors of patterns, so we can begin to develop some standards of pattern writing that make all those delicious recipes available to everyone.
     To start, a *good* pattern MUST have these elements:

• Gauge.  Believe it or not, some patterns omit the gauge completely. If there is no gauge, there is no way to tell what size something is going to turn out. As with any rule, there are exceptions. If the pattern is for a scarf, you might be able to get away without a gauge. But just for good practice, I would still include a gauge measurement, and I always encourage knitting a gauge before starting a project. Even if you have to do the 'lazy gauge', like I do, where I cast on about 20 stitches for an average weight yarn and knit about an inch and a half.
• Size.  How big is the piece supposed to be? If it is a felted piece (or has felted elements) what are the pre- and post- felting sizes? I would be hesistant to choose a felting pattern that doesn't list both of these sizes.  Some patterns, especially for wearables, list more than one size in the pattern. It looks something like this: S (M, L). And throughout the pattern there are instructions for all the sizes: CO 90 (100, 110) sts.  But if the pattern doesn't tell you how small S is, move on.  If it is for a sweater, it better have measurements. The more the better!
• Supplies list - Yarn.  At a minimum for the yarn used the weight/thickness, # of yards/grams, and the # of skeins required should be listed.  The more information listed on the pattern the better. More times than not, you will not use the same type of yarn that is called for in a pattern. And since no two yarns are built exactly the same, the more information you have, the better you can choose what to knit your project with. It's hard to match yards AND grams to a different type of yarn, but at least you can make a more educated guess.
• Supplies list - Needles.  Again I've seen patterns that have a gauge, but don't tell you what size needle they obtained that gauge with. It isn't the end of the world, but it does require you to do some guesswork. And that is more time you'll be spending figuring out the pattern than actually knitting it. So even if your gauge with the listed needles turns out different and you have to make adjustments, at least you have a starting point!
• Supplies list - Special Tools.  This is in the must list because you want to know what you are getting yourself into.  If you knit the entire arumigami creature only to discover you need some special wiring to make it look like it did in the picture, and it wasn't listed in the supplies list, you will end up disappointed having wasted a lot of time and effort in vain.  As I will stress again later, it is important to read through the entire pattern before starting. You don't have to read things word for word, but you should skim through and make sure there are no surprises down the road. 
• Photographs. This may be the most important of all, especially on the more difficult of patterns. If it is a basic ribbed hat pattern, you might be able to get away with no picture. A ribbed hat is a ribbed hat. But having a picture - or more than one from different angles - is essential when it comes to piecing together a sweater or something mystic and complicated like a 'fortune cookie shawl'.  Also important to note here is that if your pattern comes with pictures that are not in color, beware! You may want to ask yourself if the author was really just trying to save on printing costs or if there might be some flaws in the pattern they are hiding in the black and white.
• Diagrams.  This applies to the multi-piece piece that you must put together later, such as a sweater. If there are no diagrams, or if the diagrams are poorly done (i.e. lack key measurements) then you should probably walk away from the pattern.  The last thing you want to do is spend all this time knitting several pieces for your sweater only to have no clue how to put the thing together. Save yourself the headache upfront by checking out the diagrams before you purchase or start knitting the pattern.
• Skill Level.  This is probably the least standardized part of a pattern. Some books will rate all of their patterns, whereas some books are aimed at a particular skill level in general and therefore will not rate their patterns at all. The most standard rating of skill level I have seen is this little graph, which ranges from 'beginner' to 'experienced'.  

But the rating is really at the discretion of the author, and not everyone's definition of 'experienced' is the same. In any case, you should look for this or other clues as to how difficult the pattern is and make sure it is within your range.  Sometimes the title will give it away as in "Easy Ribbed Hat"  vs.  "Intricate Lace Scarf".  The next best clue is to look at the stitch guide, and make sure you understand all of the stitches listed.  

• Written or charted stitch guide.  If the pattern contains any special stitches, such as ones that go beyond the basics you would find in a list of knitting abbreviations, make sure that the special stitches are well explained.  You don't want to stumble upon the 'k2sp'  halfway through your row and not know what that means, nor have no written guide explaining that they meant you should "K2tog, then sl st back to LH needle, lift 2nd st on LH needle back over returned st and replace returned st on RH needle (2 sts dec'd)."  If the stitches are drawn out in a chart, then double check that the explanations make sense. Especially in the case where there are increases or decreases, make sure that the 3 stitch cable they describe is actually worked over 3 stitches. 

I have really just scratched the surface on how to read patterns. But I hope that these give you at least a basic overview of what to look for in a good pattern.  Stay tuned for more posts where I will go into more detail and cover other things that you need to know to read those patterns!  I also teach a class on how to read patterns. If you are interested email me at wildvinedesigns@gmail for more info.  

knitting while traveling - the bus

     I love to travel. At least, I love to explore new places and find new people to people watch. Sometimes it is the getting there that can be long and tedious, however. So that's why I always take my knitting! Because I get too anxious just sitting there. I hate waiting!
     When I worked downtown, I would take the bus to avoid having to park, and all the traffic as well. It was a wonderful hour (30 min each way) built-in knitting time.  You would think it might be difficult to knit on a moving bus. And indeed, I couldn't work on just any project - but I could work on a large number of them. I would just put in my headphones and knit away.  If you are rushing to your pile of projects to decide which one to bring, or if you are still hesitant that you could knit on a moving bus, here are a couple of tips for bus knitting. (BTW, I've learned all of these things the hard way!)

• Use circular needles - the benefit here is it is much harder to drop your needles as with straight or double-pointed. There is always that accidental needle toss action, and I've dropped plenty of double pointed needles and had to go chasing after them.
• Bring a yarn ball bag or carrying case - unless you've rolled a center pull ball and intend on holding it between your legs or under your arm, you might want something to hold onto your ball of  yarn which inevitably will roll onto the floor. This could be a problem if the bus makes that frequent stop and everything shifts towards the front.
• Make sure your row counter is securely attached to your circular needle, or don't take it out of your bag when you increment it. This one time I was working on double-pointed needles and my row counter slipped off the edge. I saw it fall to the floor in slow motion just as the bus slammed on the breaks and it rolled - all the way to the front of the bus. Ducking under the seats and trying to see where it had gone, I finally decided it must be at the front and so when I got off, I walked by, made a quick bend and found it in a pile of crumbs and other debris that had also found it's way to the front. EWW! 
• Make copies of patterns in books, and fold up the copies in an easy to read way.  I learned this after many a trip toting around my entire pattern book, constantly pulling out the book and opening to the right page, then having to stow it back in my bag and just repeat the process. The copied pattern on the other hand I could fold up and manipulate however I wanted.
• Double check your supplies list, and skim your pattern before you leave home. Too often I have brought a new project to start, grabbed my yarn and needles, and get on the bus and start reading the pattern only to realize that I needed the other pair of needles in the pattern first and did not bring them.
• Bring enough yarn. Also too often I have brought what I thought was all that I would get through and then I end up finishing knitting everything I brought - with most of a bus trip left. I guess this might be OK for some people, but I like to knit every second I can. And when I run out of stuff to do I start spiraling into 'oh my, this ride is taking forever!'.  So make sure you bring plenty with you!

Happy Knitting!

coming up to speed

Dear Reader,

     Thanks for visiting my blog! Here is my story (apparently the long version) of how I became the knitter I am today. As always, I welcome your comments and feedback.

     About 7 years ago, my best friend Becca got back from a trip to New York City. She said she had seen a girl knitting on the train, and decided that we needed to learn to knit! Since I was already into cross stitching, latch hooking, needlepoint and crocheting, I was all about it. So we got some books (Stitch and Bitch Nation - yeah!) and began the journey into the wide world of knitting.

     The first project I ever made was a scarf, black, on size 15 needles out of fun fur. It's very long and skinny, has tons of mistakes (but you can't see them) and I still wear it!  Another one of my early projects were multi-colored striped socks, made out of acrylic yarn (Red Heart). These two projects illustrate not only how little I knew about knitting at the time, but also display how far I've come with the craft.

     Becca and I taught ourselves and each other to knit, and then we started teaching our friends. I first learned that I was a continental knitter one day when Becca (an English style knitter) was showing our friend how to knit, and I was showing her how to knit, and the friend became really confused. Becca asked me why I was doing it backwards! I was like, I don't know! This is just how I do it. My guess is that it came from the way I hold the yarn when I crochet (which my mom taught me to do when I was very young).

     I discovered my LYS (local yarn shop) when on the search for a size of knitting needles that I was not able to find at Hobby Lobby or Michaels. But I found more than just needles there, I found out about the whole world of Real Wool!  I walked around the shop just touching everything. Wow!! Not only was that great but it was a lot closer to my house and seemed so much more personable of an environment for pursuing my new hobby, not to mention a great place to get help when I got stuck.  And then there was the 'Knit Knites'! Bunches of knitters (and crocheters) getting together at the shop to chat, eat, and of course knit!

     I found myself going back to the LYS for all the fun accessories and lots and lots of yarn. After winning a prize in a March Mad Hatter's contest, I found myself being offered to teach a class! Now I've been teaching knitting classes for about 4 years. It's funny because I struggled so much with my first project, not knowing that you shouldn't start with black yarn (it's hard to see) and you should probably choose something simpler to knit with (i.e. not fun fur). I've also learned that using acrylic yarn (unless it is the uber-soft variety) is kind of a faux pas - at least it isn't kind to the fingers if you knit with it a lot, and you won't find much of it in your LYS.

     I haven't always been a knit-a-holic. In the first few years there would even be whole months where I didn't knit anything. But the last 4 or 5 years it has turned into a real obsession. I have over 130 projects posted on Ravelry and find myself keeping several going at a time. My yarn stash has grown and taken over half the closet in my home office (still somewhat small by some standards), but I've earned quite the reputation for myself amongst my friends, family and coworkers, who are more surprised to see me without yarn and needles in hand than with. I do still find a little time to work on some cross stitching projects, but the knitting is definitely my obsession. I knit on trains, planes, buses, in waiting rooms, standing in lines (post office, grocery stores), in the dentists chair - I even bought my purse specifically because it was small, but could also fit my knitting.

     After tons and tons of suggestions by friends and impressed strangers to sell things I knit, I set up an Etsy store (wildvinedesigns.etsy.com). It seems like a bit of a saturated market tho, so my shop may remain a bit empty for the time being. However I do have plans to populate it again, most especially coming up with items that do not end up selling at this year's Colorado Renaissance Festival (Raven's End booth).

     I also have gotten into designing my own patterns, and plan to write some knitting pattern books.  I will probably also try to sell some of the patterns (as well as offer more free ones) on Ravelry.  Additionally I want to write some books on knitting instruction, to share the many tips and tricks I've accumulated at many a knit night. So stay posted to this blog for all of that. Or just follow me on Twitter: wildvinedesigns. :)  Thank you kind reader.

Sincerely,
Genevieve