Lessons learned

My First Big Project, a tee-shirt, is done all bar the weaving. And I have learned some important things along the way. I shall blog about the actual tee later, but here I'm going to list some of the things I wish I'd known before hand.

1. A knitting pattern isn't gospel
Just because it says something in the pattern doesn't mean I have to do it. People are different shapes and sizes and look better in different things. A pattern that claims to fit a size 12 might not actually look right on a real size 10 lady (i.e. me), and one that says it fits size 12-16 is frankly lying. Which leads me to...


2. I need to know my own measurements
Every single one of us is different, and just because I buy size 10 clothes doesn't mean that I measure the same as a size 10 dummy. In fact I already knew this: I have to wear a belt because my waist is smaller than size 10; I can't get skinny jeans because they don't fit my hips and thighs; I often have to get size 12 tops because otherwise my lady lumps don't fit comfortably. Now I just need to apply that to my knitting. In fact, I've already begun. Last night I sat down (well, stripped off and stood up actually) with my tape measure and some of my favourite clothes and measured myself and my tops to give me a better idea of what I want.

Because, of course, the other thing that's important here is finding out what I actually like to wear. I'm over 30 so tend to avoid crop tops, so it's no good slavishly following a pattern that stops a few inches short of my waist band. I'll need to lengthen any pattern that does. Do I prefer long sleeves or short? I guess that depends on the weather, but it's something to keep in mind.

All of this means keeping a note of my measurements in my knitting bag at all times and then working out the maths to ensure that everything fits perfectly and to my taste. I should probably get a calculator too.

3. Working your first big pattern in silk isn't the best idea
And that's exactly what I did. Pure silk. It cost nearly £45. And I made mistakes, there was much of the pattern I didn't properly understand, I did the decreases wrong, it turned out too short so I had to add a crochet hem. As it turns out, it looks pretty good, especially for a first attempt. But an acrylic jumper would have cost about £10 so any mistakes wouldn't have mattered. My next project is an acrylic jumper and it did cost about £10. I feel much more confident playing about with this because even if I do mess it up, I can just buy more yarn without doing a Lehman Brothers (too soon?).


4. There is still much I need to know
This semi-magical process that is known as 'blocking' - do I have to do it with all knitted garments? Or just those that say so in the pattern? How exactly do I it? Especially with delicate fabrics such as silk - I can't steam that so do I just pin it out and leave it or use cold water? Do I need to block synthetics? I'm sure I read somewhere I don't, but now I can't be sure. I need more info. More books. More magazines.

But I'm about ready to move on to my next project now. I'm already making tension squares for it. And my next post will be about the finished tee that I've learnt so much from. And there'll be pictures. So far my blogs have been far too wordy.