Blog Tour: Knitting Plus by Lisa Shroyer
I'm so happy to be part of the blog tour for Lisa Shroyer's Knitting Plus -- and so proud to have a design in it!
This is by far the best book on the subject I've ever seen. Lisa considers five different basic sweater shapes and examines in detail the fit issues and opportunities of each. She doesn't discuss body "types"; she talks about specific dimensions, how they affect one another in a garment -- and how to modify them. If you're not an off-the-rack size 4, this book will be useful to you: wouldn't we all like to know how to customize our sweaters for better fit? There's a wealth of information here for knitters of all sizes, in sidebars like ""What Is A Schematic (And How Do I Read It)?", "Tweaking Body Shaping", and "How To Identify Your Non-Standard Measurements."
My design contribution is the Passyunk Pullover.
It's made out of Manos Rittenhouse Merino 5-Ply, because I wanted the combination of next-to-the-skin softness with fantastic stitch definition. When I was designing the sweater, it was all about stitch patterns: one of the "pluses" of plus-size knitting is that you have a larger canvas to explore. Larger sizes can accommodate patterns with larger repeats, and in this case, having a bit of extra length allowed for three distinct pattern areas.
Of course, few of us would want to wear a sweater divided sharply into three horizontal bands. The three different stitch patterns here shift gradually and unevenly. I wanted an organic look to the surface overall, not anything geometric or graphic. The stitch columns look somewhat like seaweed to me now, with bubbles rising toward the surface of the water.
With all the pattern activity within the body of the sweater, I kept the edges as simple as I could. The bottom and sleeve edges are "unfinished": just cast on and go. The stitch pattern forms its own ribbing at the neck.
The construction is that of a traditional circular yoke: the body is knit in one piece to the armhole; sleeves are knit separately to the same point; then all are joined together and decrease rounds are worked periodically to reduce the fabric to the neck circumference. Oh, the joys of the circular-yoke sweater: minimal finishing, for instance (just a small area under each arm to close up). And an easy showcase for the tonal variations in kettle-dyed yarns like Manos (work a few rounds of "stripes" to smooth the transition from old skein to new).
Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow's stop on the tour is the Yarncraft podcast. Enjoy!
This is by far the best book on the subject I've ever seen. Lisa considers five different basic sweater shapes and examines in detail the fit issues and opportunities of each. She doesn't discuss body "types"; she talks about specific dimensions, how they affect one another in a garment -- and how to modify them. If you're not an off-the-rack size 4, this book will be useful to you: wouldn't we all like to know how to customize our sweaters for better fit? There's a wealth of information here for knitters of all sizes, in sidebars like ""What Is A Schematic (And How Do I Read It)?", "Tweaking Body Shaping", and "How To Identify Your Non-Standard Measurements."
My design contribution is the Passyunk Pullover.
It's made out of Manos Rittenhouse Merino 5-Ply, because I wanted the combination of next-to-the-skin softness with fantastic stitch definition. When I was designing the sweater, it was all about stitch patterns: one of the "pluses" of plus-size knitting is that you have a larger canvas to explore. Larger sizes can accommodate patterns with larger repeats, and in this case, having a bit of extra length allowed for three distinct pattern areas.
Of course, few of us would want to wear a sweater divided sharply into three horizontal bands. The three different stitch patterns here shift gradually and unevenly. I wanted an organic look to the surface overall, not anything geometric or graphic. The stitch columns look somewhat like seaweed to me now, with bubbles rising toward the surface of the water.
With all the pattern activity within the body of the sweater, I kept the edges as simple as I could. The bottom and sleeve edges are "unfinished": just cast on and go. The stitch pattern forms its own ribbing at the neck.
The construction is that of a traditional circular yoke: the body is knit in one piece to the armhole; sleeves are knit separately to the same point; then all are joined together and decrease rounds are worked periodically to reduce the fabric to the neck circumference. Oh, the joys of the circular-yoke sweater: minimal finishing, for instance (just a small area under each arm to close up). And an easy showcase for the tonal variations in kettle-dyed yarns like Manos (work a few rounds of "stripes" to smooth the transition from old skein to new).
Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow's stop on the tour is the Yarncraft podcast. Enjoy!
