Do you have any stitch dictionaries in your knitting library? I am somewhat of a stitch dictionary junky. I think I have most of them. I always have grand illusions of designing, and then I get bogged down with too many wonderful choices to play with. That didn’t stop me from being really excited when designer Debbie O’Neill told me that she was working on a new book – a stitch dictionary. I have always loved Debbie’s designs and knew the book would be great. (One of my very favorite Debbie designs is Celebratory Chevrons – free here on my blog. It’s one of the few sock patterns that I’ve chosen to knit more than once.) Last week, her publisher kindly sent me a copy of the new book – The Stitch Collection – and I dove in. Actually, it’s a slipcase with 5 smaller volumes tucked inside – Knit & Purl, Rib, Lace, Cables, and Specialty. 225 patterns in all. There are several things that make this one of my new favorites, and one that I will use frequently.
– I love the smaller sized books. Most stitch dictionaries are filled with every possible combination and they are big and heavy. Not something I would tuck into my project bag or take along on a trip. And a bit overwhelming to leaf through.
– I love that each page gives you a skill level and a drape level. Sometimes you don’t know how it will work from the photo, and I haven’t seen these ratings in other stitch dictionaries.
– Also different (and a real benefit), I like that each stitch is explained, along with particular characteristics: “It pulls in dramatically, but is very elastic. It will lie flat along the cast-on edge, but will tend to curl along the side edges.”
– I also appreciate the suggestions for use: “… can be used as an edge stitch for sweaters, hats, mittens or gloves, or as a panel or an overall pattern in an elaborate sweater.”
– And a few warnings on some, like: “This stitch pattern comes off the needles looking slanted, and a good blocking evens it out nicely. However, you may want to avoid using it across large areas because the larger the area, the harder it is to block out the slant.”
My only wish? I wish these were spiral bound. I think I will pop by Office Max and have mine done. (Do you do that with your favorite knitting books? I think it’s so handy to be able to open books all the way and have them lie flat when in use.) Also, there are no charts. But as someone who seldom knits from charts, that wasn’t a big deal for me. When I want to take written directions and turn them into charts, I’ve been using this program. Very easy to use, with great tutorials.
So all of this (stitch dictionaries, designing software) leads to the contest question of the month – have you ever tried to design something of your own to knit or crochet? Does the thought of it sound interesting, intimidating, or invigorating? Leave your answer in the comments and we’ll use the random generator to draw winners for $30 Gift Certificates to The Loopy Ewe next week!
Sheri whothinkssomeofyouaredesignersandyoudon’tevenknowityet!
I’ve attempted to design a sock but it’s still very much in the making.
I dream of designing once I become a better knitter. It sounds very hard though.
it’s my current obsession. i want to design shawls and socks. i’ve got two of barbara walker’s treasuries and i’ve been practicing with different stitches and charting them out.
I would love to do it, but I hate to rip….
I’ve designed a few things (both for sale and free, on my blog/Knitpicks/Petite Purls). Right now I’m in the midst of designing and grading my first adult size garment. I have a few other designs in the work at the moment, and a shawl idea that really wants to be finalized. Not enough time in the day…
I am usually intimidated to design from scratch but feel confident enough to heavily modify existing designs,
The current ‘newly designed’ item in crochet is a mesh market bag in doubled #10 thread. Can’t keep any on hand to photo because my friends and family take them as fast as I make them.
I’ve also tried my hand at designing socks this year. So far I’ve done three different patterns (and only have one pair of them in my sock drawer!).
I LOVE Celebratory Chevron! I’ve used that pattern twice and have a birthday request for another pair using it.
I have lots of stich dictionaries for both knitting and crochet. I usually go back to my fav; the Barbara Walker Treasuries for knitting. I am going to have to get the new one from Debbie O’Neill though: I can see that already! And yes, I take my books to Kinkos to get the wire binding. Makes them so much easier to use.
I’m in your camp….design interests me, but there are sooo many great designs already out there to try. One of these days…..
Designing both fascinates and intimidates me. I can take somebody’s design and modify it, but designing from scratch….
I find the thought of designing intimidating…but I do collect stitch dictionaries as well – love to dream!
Yep! It was so much fun and I’d love to do it more often, but it does take time.
I’m not sure if there’s a distinction between “knitting without a pattern” and “designing”. I’ve made plenty of hats, mittens, and socks without a pattern. But I don’t know if that’s designing. I did try to design a cable pattern for a fingerless glove. The charting was really difficult, and I kept making mistakes because I was so new to charting. The chart did help me get started, but while knitting, I discovered variations on the chart were necessary. It just turned out that once I had the garment in my hands, the scale was more obvious, and while charting I didn’t have a good sense of the scale. The gloves did turn out really well, and I’ve made a second pair. (Both made on DIC yarn bought from the Loopy Ewe, too, of course.)
interesting, very interesting……..
I’m a modified not a designer. I’m one of those people who if they see something knit in a particular yarn or color way and I love it, I knit it in that same way – I suffer from a lack of imagination. Kudos to those who can!
I would love to be able to design my own pattern but I am very intimidated it.
I love designing my own pieces to crochet. I’ve made bags, hats and right now I’m working on a shawl. Creating a unique piece is a lot of fun.
I have attempted and succeeded at designing my on patterns. I love it, in fact!
Intimidating! But I do enjoy looking at Stitch Dictionaries…. I’m happy that there are SO many great patterns out there that I already want to do. I’ve already found enough to last MORE than my lifetime! 🙂
I find design intimidating. I’m very much a follow the pattern step by step kind of knitter. Doesn’t stop me from having stitch dictionaries in my library though.
I’ve often done my own designs in crochet, but I’ve crocheted for MANY years and feel comfortable experimenting. I have much less experience at knitting, but I’ve designed a few knit things, mostly for my own use.
So, Office Max can take a bound book and turn it into a spiral-bound book? I had no idea this could be done! Is there a limit to how big the book can be?
IMO, designing is more time-consuming than difficult. The hardest thing is allowing for the way that different stitch patterns, especially cable patterns, work together in your fabric. So yes, I have designed socks, a man’s gansey, and a man’s mohair pullover with vertical merino cables. Mostly I buy patterns, though, because I enjoy knitting a lot more than designing knitting.
Not yet…but I’m getting the urge more and more to take a leap of faith and design a sock!
yes, yes, and yes.. I have three of Barbara Walker’s Treasuries – the pages are riddled with post-it-notes and pencil notations. I use graph paper to chart out my repeats, and when i’m at a computer I use tables in Word. Starting a new project from scratch is like starting a new puzzle. I can spend hours fitting pattern stitches together for a certain look. I just love it when the finished project looks the the image i had in my head to start with.
I think designing sounds interesting, but a bit intimidating. I would love to design something in the future (socks, perhaps?), but I doubt I will do it anytime soon.
I have not designed any knitting patterns, but I have made a few crocheted baby blankets that I guess you could say I designed. Nothing too complicated. I enjoy the needle arts more when I trust the pattern and follow others designs.
I have two of the Vogue stitch dictionaries and used those to design my own scarves/wraps/shawls. I’ve also designed my own cupcakes, with lots of trial and error to come up with what I think is pretty cool. No dictionary required for those.
I regularily use different stitches to ‘jazz’ up a basic sock recipe. I don’t know that I would call it designing but I do modify my knitting.
I closest I’ve gotten to designer is converting a sock pattern into fingerless mitts. Even for that I only merged two patterns together, not created something new.
I often think about designing something. I would probably start with something simple and fast, like a sock. But alas, there are so many patterns already out there that I get distracted. So many things to knit and so little time in this life.
I have used stitch pattern books to “design” my own scarfs, cowls and dishrags before. Those are such “small” projects to play with designs. Plus it makes a gift truly unique!
And I haven’t seen this dictionary before, but I really like the idea of the smaller books myself!! Going to have to look into that one!
Yes, I love designing – started as a kid knitting a vest for a favorite rabbit; in high school crocheted a bunch of vests for self and family; after being introduced to Elizabeth Zimmerman and Barbara Walker via public television, I started collecting BW’s Treasuries as I was able to find & afford them. (I should have bought them all years ago in hardbound – they’re more expensive now.) I actually did design and knit a sweater by choosing some ribbings and an overall pattern from the treasuries and EZ’s formula of numbers for sweaters. It would have been better in something lighter than worsted and do not really know what became of it – maybe it is lurking in a long forgotten project bag ……….
I haven’t ever designed something myself, but I have been known to merge multiple patterns together to get what I want. I knit the Rogers-esque cardigan for my husband, but changed it to raglan shaped (and knit seamlessly) with help from EZ’s knitting workshop.
Does designing my own scarf count? After I learned to knit, I picked a couple of stitches that I liked and made a scarf. Other than that I use patterns and will maybe tweak something here or there to my preference. However, I’m mostly a pattern follower. There are enough cool patterns out there that I haven’t really taken the time to do my own creating.
I don’t know if this counts as “designing” but I made a few hats without a pattern when I first learned to crochet. I always dreamed about designing knitting 🙂
I have attempted to design a blanket and realized that I’m not very good at it. So I have stuck with knitting all of the beautiful designs that I find.
I find stitch dictionaries to be an essential part of designing. Right now I’m working on some fingerless mitts of my own design using a lace pattern from the Lace & Eyelets Harmony guide (or, the pink one as I like to think of it!). I’m especially fond of Japanese stitch dictionaries, and I also have Intwined Studio, which is absolutely fantastic. I’m ESPECIALLY looking forward to the Janel Laidman stitch dictionaries, the first two of which I believe are coming out later this year.
I have thought about designing something of my own but I’m such a process knitter that it would drive me crazy to have to sit down and write things out or rip out something that didn’t look just right. There are so many wonderful designers out there that if I have something in mind it only takes a bit of searching on Ravelry to find a pattern that’s similar.
I modify a lot but have never “designed” anything. I dream of designing something for my boys because I think boy stuff is serious lacking compared to girls but I haven’t done it yet!
Nope, I’ve never designed anything – don’t think I have enough experience yet. But maybe someday – it sounds both interesting and intimidating!
I’ve done small scale designing before. It’s always fun to challenge yourself, but it does involve a tremendous amount of extra work. If I’m being honest, I prefer an “already designed” pattern to designing my own, just because you can just jump in and get to knitting, without all the effort.
I regularly take random stitch patterns and use them in socks. Some work out well, really well, and some not so well, but they’re all wearable. This is a great way to dip your toe into designing, and is, pretty much, what you’re encouraged to do if you use Charlene Schurch’s Sensational Knitted Socks. In addition, I have one pullover, done with the EZ percentage system, where I added my own cable panels.
I would like to someday, but there are so many great patterns out there my list keeps getting longer.
I think there are so many great patterns out there that I don’t feel compelled to design anything.
I’d love to be able to design something myself but I have the same problem most people have. I have no faith in myself, if I were to get this, I’d totally design something!
I’ve designed my own scarfs, and small bags. I own stitch dictionaries for both knitting and crochet, but I love the idea of the smaller books.
Lot of the time I use patters as a receipe and modify but I have designed my own when the thing I want a, sock, hat, mittens, vest, that doesn’t seem to be out there pre-designed world. I also spin a lot of my own yarn so I have to know how to modify a pre existing pattern to suite my yarn.
No, I am too distracted by all the wonderful designers out there.
I don’t have any stitch dictionaries, but I have tried designing a scarf from a stitch pattern I found online.
I used to design sweaters a lot more than I do now – I think I’ve become lazier in my mid-years. My all-time favourite sweater is one I made about 20 years ago in Shetland jumper weight wool, using a Norwegian star motif “borrowed” from an Alice Starmore pattern. I was horrified to discover, several inches into the body (stranded knitting, in the round) that I had miscalculated my gauge (gauge?!) and needed to add more stitches, so I increased every few rounds on both sides, incorporating the contrasting colour into the increases so that I ended up with an interesting side panel pattern – how’s that for turning a mistake into a design element! I always get compliments when I wear that sweater. My design procedure (such as it is) is to make things up as I knit and make notes as I go. Swatch? Almost never!