Before I get into today’s post about sweaters, I want to take a minute to invite you to join me in next week’s virtual retreat. It starts on Friday, and I have 8 days of daily posts ready for you—short, sweet, calming and hopeful posts that coincide with Election Week here in the U.S.
This virtual retreat is about really slowing down, taking our self-care seriously, spending a bit of extra time offline, knitting more, and doing just one small thing every day to help counter election anxiety, news noise, spin-mastering, and fear-mongering. It’s for liberal knitters who have their voting plans in place, will be joyfully voting for Kamala Harris, and could really use the comfort of being with like-minded folks, if only by email or in these Substack comments. I have high hopes for the week of nourishment I’ve planned for you, and think it’s the best $6 you’ll spend all month.
If you are already a paid member, you are in! You have something to look forward to! I am really looking forward to these 8 days of daily emails because you know what? I need them too!
If you need a community-supported (free-to-you) membership, ask for one here. No questions, asked. If funds are tight right now, we’ve got you.
Now, back to the knitting …
📣 Calling my fellow sweater knitters:
What do you do to ensure your hand-knit sweater(s) will be frequently worn and much loved?
I’ve been knitting sweaters almost exclusively for the past 5 years. I’ve knit about 25 sweaters in this time. Not all of them have become much worn and much loved, and I’ve become a bit obsessed with figuring out why a sweater project hits that bar for me (the ones I reach for over and over again) and why a sweater project “fails.”
Is it about fit? Sizing? Modifications? The pattern? Yarn choice? Some mysterious combination of all of the above?
I’ve been knitting every day for about 15 years and have probably knit more than 50 sweaters. But very few of the sweaters I made in my earlier knitting career are still in my closet.
There’s just a lot to learn about sweater knitting.
Not only do you need to learn the technical knitting skills to make a sweater, but you have to deeply understand your style and what kinds of colors, shapes, and sizing you like. You have to deeply understand your body: what your measurements are, how you like things to fit, what makes your body feel comforted and beautiful. And, you have to understand knitted fabric: what yarns do, how they wear over the long term, how they insulate or conduct heat, what kinds of gauges make fabric drape or bounce or hold firm, and how all of this interacts with the pattern you want to make.
It’s. a. lot.
I know that many of you here are prolific sweater knitters like me. And I know that many of you here are deeply skilled knitters who have never knit a sweater for yourself.
I think there’s a really special pleasure in being able to master sweater knitting and to wear a gorgeous handknit sweater out in the world, to have someone compliment it, and be able to say: “Thank you. I made it.”
I want all of us to experience that kind of self-pride, beauty, skill, and mastery, whether you experience it with sweaters, crochet, socks, or any other thing you make by hand.
Today, I want to focus on sweaters.
The one-minute video I share (above) illustrates one of my more recent sweater knitting practices: letting go of the idea that I won’t rip out my knitting.
I am currently mid-project through knitting the Book Club Cardigan, which is a textured, cabled cardigan with drop sleeves.
I illustrate a modification I wanted to make to the sleeve depth in order to make my knitting experience more pleasant. I wanted the cable repeats for the left front, back, and right front, to be at the same row when I join the pieces. This left me wondering whether I’d prefer the depth of 3 cable motifs on the front or 4 cable motifs on the front. I did one version for each side, blocked my work-in-progress, and tried it on.
My take-aways are this:
Block a project-in-progress, try it on, and see how it’s fitting. Only after blocking can you tell for sure how the fabric will fit and drape.
Don’t be afraid to rip something out. It can be helpful to try different lengths (or other variations) to see what you prefer. It’s just knitting—and while ripping out during an in-progress project might feel disappointing, it won’t be as disappointing as never wearing a fully-finished sweater.
What are your practices, tips or advice for more successful sweaters?
I would love to know. Crowdsourced advice is always the best, IMO. No one of us knows everything, but together, we really do know a lot!
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