Garments: Designing vs. Pattern Writing

So, you’ve decided to stitch up your own garment. That’s terrific! I know you will do well!

As you’re stitching up that garment from a pattern, you may discover little things along the way that may make you scratch your head. Things like “Now, why did the designer do that when *this* is so much easier?” may crop up in your mind.

The first thing you need to remember is that a pattern isn’t a bible. It’s really just a guide. You can tweak it along the way to suit your own needs and desires.

The next thing you need to realize is that there is a big difference between a designer and a pattern writer.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I feel like most crocheters are indeed designers, even if it’s just a tweak of a pattern and even if you have no intention of writing the pattern.

It’s not the same as coming up with a design for publication, of course. Those need to be original designs, not altered designs. But, you *are* altering patterns to suit your needs. Even changing a bow to a flower is a design element that you make on your own.

How many times do you start off making something and then change it along the way to suit your needs?

Even a simple hat. It doesn’t meet gauge so you don’t take it out, you continue increasing until you get what you want. Yes, I see you, my crocheting friends. I know what you’re doing.

It’s really no different with a garment. You may decide you want a few more rows. You may decide you would like to do increases in a different way. You may discover that you need a lot more width really fast because you thought you were on gauge, but you’re not. These are all things you can do to tweak a garment while stitching.

But, let’s get to the title of this post:

“Designing vs. Pattern Writing”

So, let’s just say that you get to a point in the pattern and you can’t for the life of you figure out why the designer did something a certain way. And, I’ll tell you. I’ll bet the “designer” part of the project thought the very same thing. But, once the “pattern writer” got finished talking, it had to be done a different way.

You see, designers and pattern writers live in the same brain. Designing comes so easy to me. I would love to design all the time without a care in the world about a pattern. I would love to have the uplifting freedom it would give to me if I didn’t have to write a pattern. I know it’s only in my dreams, but a book of one-of-a-kind crochet garments from the designers of the crochet world would be a truly extraordinary thing to behold if they could just design and stitch away, without worry about the pattern writing later down the road.

But, alas, I have to keep my feet on the ground. No freedom of design for me. While designing, I can’t do the stuff of dreams. I have to do the stuff that will actually work in writing and will actually make a pretty, concise pattern that will accommodate six sizes.

I can’t have a pattern that requires a separate written pattern for each size bodice. I’ve done it before and I can tell you that publishers would certainly frown upon me. I had to self-publish that one.

So, you see, you may indeed find a different way of doing things from the pattern. And, the designer may have seen that as well, but couldn’t implement it. But, that certainly doesn’t mean that you can’t implement it! Don’t hesitate to use that freedom and make your garment the best it can be!

Why Not Regular Crochet?

I receive a lot of emails asking me why I do so much Tunisian crochet. Why don’t I ever do regular crochet? While it’s true that I’ve been doing a lot of Tunisian crochet lately, it’s certainly not all that I do. I think that, because my name seems to be synonymous with Tunisian crochet, there is a misconception that ALL of my work is in the technique. But, it’s really not. It’s just that I do some unexpected things in regular crochet sometimes and there is an assumption that it is Tunisian, when it’s not.

Here are my most popular designs of all time. All in regular crochet.

Sweetheart Ripple Afghan from Reversible Ripple Afghans here. Truly an unexpected surprise because of the ripples on one side and the hearts on the other. The immediate assumption was that it was double-ended Tunisian crochet. I had to work very closely with the Annie’s catalog staff for awhile there in order to word the description in such a way that there was no question that it was regular crochet because many people emailed me about it being Tunisian.

Dreams Shawl, published at Kimane Designs here. Before you could find laceweight crochet shawls by the hundreds on Ravelry, this shawl was published. It shot up to many favorite lists. But, I’m still seeing it labeled as Tunisian crochet. Just yesterday, I saw it labeled as Tunisian crochet on Pinterest. But, it’s not.

Clarice, published at Kimane Designs here. So easy! So popular! And, it’s popular world-wide. While we’re thinking about making afghans during the winter here in the US, this pattern is popular in Australia because it’s their summer. (And, have you heard of the record-setting high temps in Australia this year? They had to add a new color to their weather maps because the heat got up to 129-degrees Faranheit!)

Of all my designs, the most favorited pattern on Ravelry is this pattern called Elegant Hat, a free pattern from Caron here. Although it’s never been confused for Tunisian crochet.

And, there you have it! Tunisian crochet isn’t all that I do. My most popular patterns of all time are actually regular crochet. It’s just that, here lately, Tunisian crochet has been coming into its own. You see it quite frequently. But, it’s not new to me. I’ve been publishing books in Tunisian crochet for almost 15 years. I was Tunisian before Tunisian was cool. But, now that it is cool, I’ve got a lot of books in it right now.

Tunisian Crochet Meets Laceweight

Tunisian crochet has that very popular myth attached that says that all projects created are stiff and dense and like a bullet-proof vest. Surely you can’t create something soft and airy and light, right? Welcome to Tunisian crochet and yummy laceweight yarn.

How about a lightweight vest made in JaggerSpun Zephyr. This cute little vest weighs only three ounces. I don’t think you can get much lighter than that. The design is available in my new book Ultimate Beginners Guide to Tunisian Crochet in both hard copy here and PDF download here.

Mariposa, available exclusively from Kimane Designs here, is one of those amazingly wonderful and unusual shawls that you don’t often see. You see triangle, rectangle and square shawls. And, more recently, crescent-shaped shawls. But, one shaped like the wings of a butterfly? Extraordinary! Another lovely example of Tunisian crochet in laceweight, using Ivy Brambles Romantica.

I really like unusual shawl shapes and this one is no different. It’s a triangle, but it’s not a right angle triangle. It’s more like a l-o-n-g rectangle. It gives you an opportunity to wear it in all manner of different stylings and is such a nice lightweight accessory, made in the Plymouth Baby Alpaca Lace. This design is one of the designs available in my class at Annie’s Online Classes here.

Don’t ever be shy about busting myths! With the evolution of Tunisian crochet, you never know what wonderful discovery may be right around the corner!

Bigger Swatches

I hear so often from people that they’re afraid to make garments. I think a lot of the fear comes from the gauge swatch. Repeatedly trying to meet the gauge of the stated swatch is disheartening. Trying to get a proper gauge swatch is very difficult in crochet. It’s a breeze for knitting or even Tunisian crochet. But, regular crochet? If it wasn’t so difficult, you wouldn’t see the hashtag of #swatchfire created on Twitter by crochet pattern designers. Crochet simply doesn’t behave in a way that makes accurate swatches.

The biggest problem I see is that swatches are made too small. If the stated gauge is on a 4-inch measurement, then the swatch is usually mistakenly made to four inches. But, you’re never going to get accuracy like that. You have to make a BIG swatch. Then, you have to measure in the center. But, even then, it’s difficult. If your stated gauge should be 4 stitches to an inch, you don’t know whether it’s really 3.6 stitches to an inch or 4.4 stitches to an inch. That’s a .8 stitch range, which doesn’t mean a whole lot until you apply to a 36″ circumference of a garment.

Many people have a problem with not meeting the row gauge when the stitch gauge is met. Try going up again in hook size to see if this meets the criteria. But, do remember that most stated gauge swatches are the total project gauge and not the literal swatch gauge. Try to imagine the difference in row gauge between a little swatch and a big sweater. The sweater, even while stitching it, is going to stretch out. Your gauge swatch is going to grow in row gauge the moment you start putting weight on it. It could be that your row gauge is accurate, but you can’t tell because it’s too small.

I don’t want to diminish the importance of a gauge swatch. You still want to know whether that swatch is going to grow from 8″ to 12″ in washing. Truly, you don’t want your sweater to grow to your knees by days’ end. But, I think people may be getting too wound up in the swatch and getting too frustrated with the project.

Here’s an example. Let’s say you have a baby sweater. You spend hours trying to get a gauge swatch. But, wait a minute. Those sleeves on the baby sweater aren’t much bigger than a swatch should be. Why not use the sleeve as your gauge swatch? Stitch it up according to the instructions and see if it meets the schematic. It’s the schematic that you’re trying to reach, not the gauge swatch. Don’t put so much effort into the gauge swatch that you give up. What’s the worst that can happen? You have to take out the sleeve and start again. That’s it.

And, are you one of those people who think that a garment pattern is way too difficult? You’ll just stick to afghans or shawls? I’ve seen some afghan squares that were 10 times more difficult than stitching up a sweater. Seriously, what is a sweater other than a mostly straight piece (like an afghan) and then a bit of decreasing at the armholes and then straight up again. That is not difficult. And, my goodness, if you’ve done a doily, you can certainly do the decreasing of a sweater.

The last thing that I see that may hinder people from making a garment is the seaming. I’ve heard people say “But, my seaming always shows.” Well, take a look in your closet. Look at just about every piece of clothing you own. The seams show. Really. Go look. I’ll wait. You see that? Your seams are supposed to show. If they don’t, fabulous. But, if they do? Well, so does everything else you own.

I encourage you to try out one of those garment patterns you’ve been admiring to see just how easy it can be. I find that baby clothing is a great way to start. They’re so small and quick-to-stitch that you can learn a lot from making them. Adult tank tops or shell patterns are also good places to start. Not a lot of shaping going on for a tank top. And, some of them don’t have a lot of seaming either.

Don’t be shy about trying a garment. It’s really a lot easier than it sounds. And, it could be an entirely new and wonderful way to add to your wardrobe.

New Design: Wearever Tunic

Hmmm…. it’s not really super new so you may have already seen it. It’s been available as a free pattern from Red Heart for several weeks. But, this is the first chance I’ve had to blog about it.

This is the Wearever Tunic, available for free on the Red Heart website. It’s sized for size Small through 3X.

This is a unique design with several different techniques. The bodice is made in a nice textured stitch. It’s worked from bottom up. Once you have the bodice completed, you work in the round from top down in simple single crochet spiraling. I love the neck embellishment on this one.

This tunic is made in Red Heart Luster Sheen, which has been one of my favorites for over a decade. And, there are new colors, released in a line called Baby Sheen. So exciting! I have several skeins of Baby Sheen in a box right in front of me now. My fingers are feeling twitchy.

New Design: Precious Baby Blanket

Yesterday, I noticed one of my new designs on the Red Heart website. (Who? Me? A Red Heart website stalker?)

The Precious Baby Blanket is knit with Red Heart Soft Baby Steps. My discovery of a wonderfully tidy double decrease in knitting is what led to this design. My double decreases were never very tidy looking. When I discovered this particular decrease, I was amazed and immediately wanted to use it in a design. It’s a gorgeous right- and left-leaning decrease.

I noticed that the chart wasn’t published with the pattern. Below is the chart I prepared with Excel. Click to enlarge.

Enjoy!