1. Don’t allow perfectionism to bar you from taking risks and expanding your knitting horizons.
I learned this important lesson in 2016. I have almost no experience knitting hats, and up until now have avoided it because I felt I could not control the outcome. But then this fabulous cashmere yarn (String Dolcetto) entered my life, and I couldn’t get the idea of knitting my father-in-law a cashmere hat out of my head! I was so compelled to get my hands on that yarn that I chose a hat pattern at random and in spite of numerous gauge problems which required unraveling, I persevered. Here is the result:
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/yarnstylist/mens-basic-hat
I have never knitted anything for my father-in-law, as his wife is a master knitter, so even the idea of this gift was a risk. But it turns out that Heinz loves the hat and sent me several photographs of himself wearing it! Once my fear of hat knitting had been hurdled, I immediately knitted another one! Chouette seemed like a perfect baby hat for my 11-month-old niece:
Just think, if I had stubbornly held on to my perfectionism, I would have missed that adorable moment! It seems that, all this time, I have been itching to knit hats, so one for myself quickly followed.
Now my queue is filled with hat patterns and I am also planning to venture into some advanced fair isle knitting!
2. Plan how you will finish your garment BEFORE you cast on.
Remember the miserable experience I had seaming “Interval” by Shibui Knits?
To be honest, I am still unsatisfied with that sweater and will be fiddling with it for a while. But if I had only read through the pattern and planned the seaming and finishing stages before I cast on, much anguish would have been avoided! I have spent the past month reading technical manuals, such as Finishing Schoolby Deborah Newton and The Knowledgeable Knitter by Margaret Radcliffe.
Both authors strongly recommend planning the assembly of your garments before you cast them on. They also have tips on creating good-looking cast-ons and cast-offs, button bands, edges and collars, as well as instructions on how to seam a variety of different knitted fabrics. If I had only read one of these books BEFORE I cast on, and planned the project out, I would have added straight stitch edges on my front, back and sleeve pieces, to make it possible for me to seam them together without the reverse straight stitch seam looking like a dog’s breakfast.
Another really clever idea of Deborah Newton’s is to practice the collar or edge shaping on your gauge swatch in miniature before you cast on your garment if you are uncertain of how it will turn out. I will definitely try that in future!
3. Clothing has an Environmental Impact
It seems I completed 19 knitted projects last year. During #slowfashionoctober, I discovered the amazing landfill problems that ready-to-wear and “fast fashion” are creating as we throw away more and more of our clothes. You can read more about that here.
This new awareness led me to re-evaluate the garments I have discarded as failures over my knitting career. I am resolved to find a way to fix as many as I can so they can be worn or gifted. This goal also strengthens my resolve to be more thoughtful in planning out my garments before I start to ensure they will function as desired.
4. Thoughtful Pacing Makes Knitting More Enjoyable.
Nine out of the eighteen projects I knitted last year were gifts. A few of them were full garments, but many of them were fun toys, hats and baby jackets. This meant that for every serious garment I created, I was able to achieve almost instant gratification with a baby sweater, hat, or Miss Kitty pillow! Although this means that the number of advanced projects I made was decreased, I was exposed to many new techniques through the smaller projects, which also provided me with a welcome rest. After each little piece that I made, I felt renewed energy and interest in tackling the really challenging knits I had planned. Well, those are my reflections on 2016. Please share, readers, any insights or lessons that you learned about your knitting last year, so we can all benefit from your insights!