Archive for June, 2010
Catherine Lowe Design & Fit Workshop
knit1frog2 (see her post) and I took Catherine Lowe’s Design & Fit Workshop together. This is the second workshop I have taken with Catherine Lowe; I am amazed and delighted again.
And INSPIRED!
I learned much about:
fit
style
fit
sweaters
fit
shoulders
fit
sleeves
fit
fit
fit
There seemed to be a lot of emphasis on “fit”.
A good fit makes all the difference, as does a bad fit for that matter!
We learned what a good fit means and ways to get a good fit.
We all brought in our own sweaters that:
we love
we hate
we can’t figure out what is wrong with.
We modeled and critiqued.
OUCH!
That was illuminating and will influence my designing, knitting, and buying choices.
I am inspired to knit sweaters with great fit, that look great and make me look great.
We each created our own personal sloper.
That’s me!
A useful tool to have! It was great to be measured by a professional and get those measurements onto paper in a way that I can use to design, alter, and modify sweater patterns.
I purchased this sweater back in the 80s; I love the collar and can use my sloper to design one like it and a sweater to fit.
I have been working on Poetry In Stitches – Leaf Stripe Cardigan with Velvet Trim (page 166)
I had pretty much given up on it being anything other than a drop-shouldered-frumpy-fair-isle with a gorgeous color pattern. I was just knitting it per the instructions, though I had hoped to give it a little shaping, I was resigned to only giving it a bit of shoulder shaping.
No longer! After Catherine’s workshop, I have a better understanding of how fit works. I am incorporating a few alterations that will improve the fit of this sweater and how it looks on me (or any body).
I have reshaped the sleeves, trimming out 2 inches of bulk from the armpit (armpit bulk even sounds bad):
sleeve per the pattern
sleeve altered to improve fit
I will reshape the square neckline to suit my face shape. I modeled the sweater below with a similar square neckline for the workshop. Catherine showed us that this wide square neckline doesn’t flatter my wide square jaw. I can wear a square neckline, but it needs to be the right width – which I can pull off my sloper!
traditional square neckline makes my jaw look wider
square neckline with better personalized shape
flatters my jawline
Finally, I will add shoulder shaping, because like everyone, I have a slope to my shoulders. Without shoulder shaping, there is extra fabric that ends up in bulky folds in the armpits.
Again, armpit bulk = BAD.
I am excited!
