Catherine Lowe Design & Fit Workshop
June 20, 2010 at 5:19 pm 4 comments
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!
Entry filed under: Cool Things, latest project, learning. Tags: Catherine Lowe, Poetry In Stitches.
Knitting In Mind 
1.
knit1frog2 | June 20, 2010 at 5:33 pm
weird! Bloglines didn’t pick up your NEW post!! Love seeing you post stuff, but why the frowny face? Like the lipstick though :). Your sleeve…man all of that work, the pics of the rework is fun to see and i can’t wait to see it put together…should look awesome! Just say “no” to bulky armpit folds!
2.
Baker | June 21, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Yes, it looks like lots of work! But the smaller square neckline does make your jaw & neck area look smaller. Cool! So you had extra reds and had to make the red flowery area bigger? No, the big flower on your rt. shoulder looks the same distance from the trim. Hmm. It’s beyond me but I’m glad you get it!!
3.
Baker | June 21, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Oh maybe you just pulled over the front to demonstrate that it looks smaller–you didn’t rework the red sweater? 🙂
4.
go4it | February 21, 2011 at 1:07 pm
love it. I would like to have a workshop that ist about fitting and measurement in my reagion, have been looking for it for years!