Knitwear Design Workshop: A Comprehensive Guide to Handknits

344 Pages·2010·100.316 MB·English

by  Shirley Paden

KN ITWEAR
•
WORKSHOP
A Comprehensive Guide to Handknits
SHIRLEY PADEN
WORKSHOP
WORKSHOP
A Comprehensive Guide to Handknits
SHIRLEY PADEN
3If~ INTERWEAVE~
110
interweave.com
Photographer, Joe Hancock (unless otherwise noted)
Phoro stylist, Carol Beaver
Makeup, Cathy McKay
Art director, Liz Quan
Cover and interior designer, Anne Shannon
Production, Katherine Jackson
© 2009 Shirley Paden
Photography © 2009 Interweave Press LLC, unless otherwise noted
All rights reserved.
Interweave Press LLC
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-I-I. ..
201 East Fourth Street
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Loveland, CO 80537-5655 USA
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Printed in China by Asia Pacific Offset, Ltd.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Paden, Shirley.
Knitwear design workshop: the comprehensive guide to handknits / Shirley Paden, author.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59668-086-9 (hardcover with concealed wire-oj
ISBN 978-1-59668-512-3 (eBook)
1. Knitting. 2. Women's clothing. 3. Clothing and dress measurements. 1. Title.
TT825.P34 2009
746.43'2--dc22
2009010989
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
SPECIAL THANKS
to the following editors at Interweave:
Tricia Waddell for her wonderful support and
direction throughout the project.
Ann Budd who worked ceaselessly on this
project as she gently guided me through
navigating the choppy waters of editing.
Thanks to the best project team I could
ever have hoped for:
Diana Berardino and Suzanne K. Wakamoto
(a.k.a. "the girl genius"). As project managers they
figuratively roped themselves to me and climbed
this project mountain at my side. Diana managed
the first half and Suzanne the second.Theirs
This book is dedicated to my mother whose words and wisdom will
were the hands I could reach out and hold onto
continue to guide and inspire me for the rest of my life.
day or night throughout this book journey.
AND
Joan Forgione who worked tirelessly to make
certain that the first draft of the manuscript was
To my husband whose encouragement, support, devotion, and
correct and who was always available to lend a
patience have made this project possible. helping hand on any part of the project.
Mari Tobita who worked diligently as both the in
house technical editor and an invaluable member
of the knitting team.
Rafael De Pena whose hard work and dedication
to perfection in creating both the fashion and
technical illustrations has brought a feeling of
freshness and elegance to the book.
Karin Thomas and her unwavering artist's eye
that she applied constantly as she worked
diligently to make the charts and schematics
both consistent in their appearance and visually
appealing.
Alice Schwartz and Yvette Walton who came
out of retirement to lend their expert knitting
hands to an old friend.
Lisa Hoffman,Veronica Manno, and Michele
Wang who worked so hard on perfecting and
professionally finishing the knitting projects.
Megumi Hirai for her willingness to make so
many of the swatches and to be the all around
back-up hands for the project.
Diane Claster for the many hours spent on
overflow typing.
FOREWORD
"1 shall be telling this with a sigh
somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and 1 -
1 took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference."
-Robert Frost
I am often asked why and how I selected hand-knitwear design as a profession. With
tongue-in-cheek I begin the story of my adventure in a time-honored way. "A long time
ago in a far-off land ..." while working in the information technologies industry, a
coworker asked me if I knew how to bind off. She had just learned to knit but had not
learned what to do at the end. Even though I had not knit for years, I remembered. As I
worked the bind-off, I experienced an epiphany that unbeknownst to me would change
my life forever.
That evening, I visited a yarn shop and bought some yarn, needles, and a pattern book.
Here I would like to say "and the rest is history," but I wasn't quite ready for "happily
every after."
I began knitting every chance I got. Shortly thereafter, fate took the reins, and I
fell ill. With major surgery imminent, I prepared for my hospital stay packing only
my knitting needles as nonessentials. While in the hospital, my company was sold.
Suddenly, I was unexpectedly unemployed.
There I stood at one of life's many crossroads (still hooked to the IV pole) free to
"follow my own bliss." In the following weeks, I decided to take "the road less
traveled" and become a knitwear designer. Let's examine that logic. I only knew how
to knit and sort of purl and could barely follow a pattern without a visit to the yarn
shop for help. To any astute observer, this was not my "calling." When I announced
my future direction, most of my friends thought that my post-surgery drugs had not
yet cleared my system. Nevertheless, spurred on by the thought of truly "following
my own bliss" I picked up my knitting needles and measuring tape, took a "vow of
poverty," and soldiered on undaunted by the reality that I did not have a clue as to
how to proceed.
I was happy with my newfound freedom and had a burning desire to work in hand
knitwear design, but, I knew that I needed a clear, concise plan.
I laid out my business direction by asking myself several key questions that ended
up forming my business plan. First, why do I want to make clothing out of string
and two sticks when I could easily buy commercially knitted garments? The logic
escaped everyone else; sometimes even me. I realized that what captivated me was
the way handknitted clothing continues to survive and how it ignites a creative
spirit in every culture on earth.
Now, how do I narrow my focus to a manageable few facets of handknitting? I
have always been fascinated by clothing construction, therefore it was logical for
me to focus on garments. I narrowed the stitch pattern options to lace, cables,
and colorwork and organized them into the themes: Lovely in Lace, Covered in
Cables, and Creative Colorwork. While very manageable, these categories were
broad enough to allow lots of room for experimentation.
What type of garments should I focus on? I did not want to lock myself into
a single category of garment. I decided on three categories: Country, which is
primarily sweaters, Town & Country, which includes jackets, suits, dresses, etc.,
and Evening, which includes formalwear.
My final challenge was more philosophical: How do I both honor this antique art
form and design clothing that reflects the time that I am living in? I decided on
the "2T" approach for my designs-"trend with tradition." I would overlay very
traditional stitch patterns onto trendy shapes. I had my business plan.
The next year I worked hard to learn as much about handknitted garment
construction as possible. Finally, I designed and knit my first sample line.
Customers would tryon the samples and have their measurements taken for a
custom fit. I would then knit the garments.
Every designer has a different approach, mine is architectural. Precise "Remember, a clothing
measurements are at the foundation. I begin with a picture or a sketch that designer is an artist."
conveys the "feeling" of the garment-elegant, casual, etc., then match it with
-Shirley Paden
a pattern stitch. I then transfer those ideas to a formal schematic. I use the
schematic measurements to create the building blocks for the design construction.
Remember, a clothing designer is an artist. As Michelangelo explained that he
could see David inside the block of marble, we see the garment in the ball of yarn.
It is the same creative process. Enjoy the journey!
Classic Body Worksheet ..................... 90
Table of Contents
Sleeve Worksheet ............... . .......... 92
4
CHAPTER FOUR
Alternate Silhouettes . .......... . 94
Dropped Shoulder. ......................... 94
Introduction . .................. 10
Modified Drop Shoulder .................... 100
I CHAPTER ONE Double-Tapered Body ...................... 107
Planning Your Design ............ 12 Single-Tapered Body ....................... 114
Reverse-Tapered Body ..................... I I 6
Researching and Refining an Idea .............. 12
Layout of the Design Idea .................... 14
5 CHAPTER FIVE
Taking Measurements .............. . . . ..... 15
Cardigans .................... 120
Understanding Ease ....................... 23
Selecting a Body Shape and Drawing a Schematic 25 Center Closure ........................... 121
Classic Silhouette Worksheet ................. 26
Overlapping Front Bands ................... 127
Dropped-Shoulder Worksheet ................ 28
Independent Overlapping Bands .............. 132
Double-Taper Worksheet .................... 30
Overlapping Fronts ........................ 136
Single-Taper Worksheet ..................... 32
Rounded Front Edges ...................... 140
Reverse-TaperWorksheet. ................... 34
One-Piece Construction .................... 148
2 CHAPTER TWO
6 CHAPTER SIX
Selecting the Fabric ............. 36 Skirts and Dresses . ............ 154
Choosing the Yarn .................... .. . . . . 36
Straight Skirt ............................. 155
Side-Seam Shaping ..... . ...... . .......... 155
Fiber Content .................... ... ..... 37
Stacked Circular Decreases ................. 159
Yarn Construction ................ ... .... .43
Yarn Weight Classification ................. .44 A-Line Skirt .............................. 163
Choosing a Pattern Stitch .................... 45 Dresses ................................. I6 5
Understanding Pattern Stitch Instructions ....... 55
7 CHAPTER SEVEN
Charts ....................... .. ......... 56
Combining Pattern Stitches .. ...... .... ...... 60 Alternate Armhole Shaping . ..... 172
The Gauge Swatch ................ . ........ 60
Classic Raglan ............................ 173
Measuring Gauge .......... .... ........... 61
Circular Yoke ............................. 180
Translating Measurements to Numbers of
Classic Saddle Shoulder. . .. ................. 190
Stitches and Rows .................... .. . . . . 63
8 CHAPTER EIGHT
3 CHAPTER THREE
Sleeves and Cuffs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Classic Silhouette Pullover . ...... . 66
Straight Sleeve ......... .. ................. 195
Classic Silhouette .......................... 66
Lantern Sleeve ............................ 197
Body ................................... 69
Gathered-Top Sleeve ....................... 199
Sleeves .......................... . . ...... 81
Short Sleeve ............ . ................. 203
Cuffs ................................... . 205
Classic Fold-Back Cuff .................... 205 Sleeve and Side Seams ...................... 269
Bell Cuff ............................... 206 Vertical-to-Vertical Seam (Mattress Stitch) ..... 269
Placket Cuff ............................ 209 Vertical Backstitch Seam ................... 270
Buttonholes .............................. 271
9 CHAPTER NINE Horizontal One-Row Buttonhole ............ 271
Necklines . ................... 214 Eyelet Buttonhole ........................ 272
Vertical Three-Row Buttonhole .............. 272
Classic Boatneck .......................... 2 I 4
Zippers ................................. 273
Square Neckline .......................... 216
Round Neckline ........................... 217 Projects ..................... 274
V-Neckline ............................... 220
Twist Flowers Pullover ....................... 274
Cable Coat with Cape Collar ..... . . . ......... 282
10 CHAPTER TEN
Double Leaves & Twists Duster ................ 290
Neckbands, Collars, and Lapels . .. 224
Pea Coat ....... , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . , . , , , , 306
Neckbands and Collars ..................... 224
Neckbands , , , , , , , , , , , , ................. 224
Appendix .................... 326
Straight Collar .......................... 227
Split Collar ............................. 228 Abbreviations ............................ 326
Turtleneck Collar ........................ 229
Design Process Checklist ................... 327
Mock Turtleneck Collar ................... 230
CYCA Measurement Charts ................ 328
Cowl Collar ............................ 231
Peter Pan Collar ......................... 232 Shaping Formula Variations .................. 332
Large Round-Yoke Collar .................. 233
Bibliography .............................. 340
Large Round Collar ...... , .... , , ......... 234
Sources for Supplies ....................... 341
Horizontal Shawl Collar ................... 235
Classic Vertical Shawl Collar. ............... 237 Index ................................... 342
Wide Vertical Shawl Collar ................. 239
Shawl Collar Worked Horizontally ........... 243
Horizontal Shawl Collar with Buttonbands .... 247
Lapels .................................. 250
Classic Lapel .. , , ........ , .... , , ......... 250
Notched Lapel " ........ , .... , , ......... 254
I I
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Finishing Techniques . ........... 260
Blocking ................................. 261
Shoulder Seams ........................... 262
Three-Needle Bind-Off .................... 263
Horizontal-to-Horizontal Seam .............. 263
Necklines ............................... 264
Pick Up and Knit. ......... . .............. 264
Pick Up and Purl .......... . .............. 266
Whipstitch Seam .......... . .............. 266
Armhole Seams ........................... 267
Backstitch Seam ......................... 267
Horizontal-to-Vertical Seam ................ 268
INTRODUCTION
There are few more rewarding experiences in life than making, giving, or receiving a
handknitted garment. These garments are worn with pride, diligently cared for, then
passed down to succeeding generations as symbols of all that is good in humankind.
Every handknitter has connected with this energy and, at the end of the garment
construction journey, has made something special and unique.
A review of what has been achieved in handknitting over the last millennium is no
less than astounding. We find beautifully made brocade garments, beaded handbags,
fine lace wedding veils, and shawls, all worn by the European aristocracy and royalty.
We also find wonderfully textured Aran patterns and color knits that are artistic
masterpieces. In fact, in the rich history of handknitting, we find the most unexpected
range of seemingly infinite possibilities for self-expression.
This wonderful series of accomplishments notwithstanding, most knitters, no matter
how experienced, will quite willingly volunteer that many of the finished garments
they have spent countless hours making have turned out differently than they had
anticipated. The most concentrated area of dissatisfaction is in garment fit. The root
of this problem seems to be threefold. It begins with an insufficient understanding
of commercial pattern instructions followed by a lack of attention to the details of
making a meaningful gauge swatch. These two problems are compounded by a lack of
knowledge about how to take proper body and/or garment measurements.
The purpose of this book is to explore the various techniques involved in designing
handknited garments with a perfect individual fit. It is for handknitters at any level
who want to free themselves of commercial patterns and design their own, from
traditional garments to stunning works of wearable art. It is for those who want to
experiment with garment shaping, those who want to write commercial patterns, and
those who simply want to understand or make minor modifications to commercial
patterns. The only prerequisites are to be able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide!
You will soon discover that garment design is far easier than you may have thought.
The chapters in this book will take you step by step from an initial idea to taking
measurements, selecting a pattern stitch, drawing a sketch and schematic, writing
knitting instructions, and finishing a garment professionally. Sample step-by-step
instructions are given for creating shapes for many silhouette possibilities.
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10 KNITWEAR DESIGN WORKSHOP