Shalom Tips 1

You guys are awesome!

I never expected such a warm reception for my first pattern. At last check, 333 people have queued the Shalom Cardigan on Ravelry, and over 1,000 people have stopped by the blog to check it out this week! I'm so flattered, and can't thank you all enough for your generous comments.

I'd like to help people make their own sweaters by posting some tips and tutorials on my blog. Shalom is a free pattern in part because I didn't bother making size adjustments--it's just one-size-fits-meghan. But don't be disheartened, you can totally modify this pattern to fit your body. And, I think it will be flattering on a variety of body types. Think of it as my challenge to you. Everyone likes a good challenge, right? I also really encourage people to share their modifications, yarn selection, etc. to help others make good knitting choices.

Tip #1: Yardage

I just learned the other day how to estimate yarn yardage for a sweater. First, measure out 10 yards (or meters) of your yarn. Weigh this bundle on an accurate scale, and weigh your finished sweater. Divide the sweater weight by the 10 yard weight, and multiply by 10. I took Shalom into work today and calculated that I used about 440 yards of yarn, give or take. This means that you'll need about 440 yards of bulky weight yarn, or twice as much light worsted or DK weight yarn if you intend to double (as I did). I have added this to the Ravelry entry, and will include it in the pattern when I get a chance.

Tip #2: Reclaiming Sweater Yarn

I have mentioned this before, but I'll say it again for good measure. There are some excellent tutorials out there for reclaiming yarn from thrift store sweaters. If you're thinking of using recycled yarn for Shalom like I did, here are a few things to keep in mind. Look for something that feels nice, and that isn’t felted or pilled. Try pulling at a yarn discretely to make sure it will move. I tend to avoid synthetic fibers, but that's just a matter of personal taste. As far as size–the bigger the better. I think the one I got was a men’s sweater, a couple sizes bigger than I would normally wear–but I wasn’t swimming in it. It had long sleeves–which is great, cause there’s a lot of yarn in sleeves, and I knew I was making something sleeveless. If you’re worried about having enough yarn, you could also consider getting two sweaters to unravel with colors that would look nice together (perhaps subtle variations of the same color) then using a strand of each in the Shalom Cardigan. I think that would look really great, and have been thinking about using something like that for an upcoming sweater.

Tip #3: Felting broken strands of yarn together

If you do decide to use reclaimed yarn, you might find yourself having many random lengths of yarn rather than one or two beautiful skeins. If you're like me, you probably hate weaving in ends. I learned this tip by reading Pamela's blog, Flint Knits. If you're working with a wool-based yarn, you can seamlessly join two pieces of yarn by felting. First, you want to prepare the ends by making them tapered. My yarn had two plies, so I ripped (no scissors!) one ply to make it about 2-3" shorter than the other ply, and did the same for the second end. I would then twist them together, and rub them together briskly in my moist palm (you can moisten with saliva, or water, if the idea saliva grosses you out). Give it a try some time, and you'll never want to weave in an end again!

Tip #4: Join Ravelry

Chances are, if you found my website, you're already on Ravelry. If you're not, go join now! You'll find a whole community of knitters willing to share information and help you out. You'll also (if everything goes well) eventually be able to see Shalom knitted by different people in different sizes.

Tip #5: Resizing Shalom

I'm about to run out the door to attend a dinner party, so I won't get into the knitty gritty details just yet on this one. In my next post, I plan to include a detailed schematic for Shalom, including many, many measurements. This should give you an idea of where you need to make adjustments. I also plan to talk about how I went about making the design--especially the yoke, which took more figuring than the body. In the mean time, I will once again recommend books by Elizabeth Zimmerman, who speaks wittily and plainly about knitting techniques and design. Writing knitting patterns is all about math--her books will really help demystify this process. In the mean time, go find some yarn, make some swatches, and figure out your measurements.

Check back soon for the next installment, and keep the questions coming!