Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Next up, she will try her hand at designing!

It wasn’t too long after I started knitting when I realized I would want to design one day. I envisioned that day being a little further in my future, but then Julia and Marnie (both inspirational to me already) started the Create Along, so it seems the time is now! I’ve made minor modifications to patterns I’ve knit in the past, but this will be my first foray into designing from the ground up, and I’m really looking forward to it.

The CAL forum is fabulous. Knitters/designers of all skill and experience levels are encouraged to ask questions, offer advise, and share ideas. I find it so interesting to see how designers go about their process, to see how ideas evolve and how problems are solved. I've already learned so much from the CAL and I haven't even started working on my own project yet.

For said project, I’m starting off small (literally) and simple. My projects will be two semi-matching dresses for the Peanuts.

Peanutty Inspiration: A & K

The Peanuts usually don coordinating outfits (as opposed to dressing exactly alike), and my goal is to create dresses along those lines. What I have in mind are simple, coordinating a-line dresses with straps that tie up top at the shoulders. Besides the fact that I think the straps will look cute, my thought is that they will also allow for adjustment, as the girls grow. My hope is that they will able to wear these garments as dresses initially and as tops later on. (I try to be practical.) I have the general shape in mind, but want to wait until I have my yarn in hand, to see how I will be inspired when it comes to other design elements.
So, my yarn. One of the CAL rules is to use one of five specified yarns as the main yarn in our design. I will be using Classic Elite Premiere. Reason? I haven’t used it yet, and I’ve heard great things. Calmer would have been my first instinct otherwise, because I love it so, but I’m already knitting with it currently and I also have another project waiting in the wings that the rest of the Calmer in my stash is earmarked for (Hi, Deciduous!). Besides, I’ve wanted to work with Premiere, and this seems to be the perfect opportunity to try it!
I'm really looking forward to trying my hand at designing for the first time. This first attempt should provide much entertainment value, if nothing else, so stay tuned! ;)

14 comments:

Disentangled said...

Having seen your yarn (hee, hee - or is it my yarn? 'possession' being 9/10 of the law and all ;-), I am super excited to see what you do with such wonderful colors!

Jennifer said...

Yay for you! I'm cheering you on. Your dress idea is a great pattern to start with.

knitzalot said...

How exciting! I can't wait to see your creations.

The Stitchin' Sheep said...

My best advice for you, learned from my few design experiences lately (both flops and successes) is DO THE MATH FIRST. Winging it makes for my entertainment, but having done all the measurements and calculated everything out saves lots of frustration. I've found that doing a little sketch of what I want the thing to look like and writing all measurement, gauge, etc. on that same page works out nicely.

Good luck.

Anonymous said...

That sounds like a wonderful pattern idea -- and very practical, especially given how fast kiddos grow. Creating a design with built-in longevity would be a big hit with knitters, I'm guessing. Good luck! I've never used Classic Elite Premiere either, but it always feels so nice.

Kara said...

Your pattern sounds amazingly perfect for those darling peanuts. Good luck into the designing foray. I just know you are going to do great!

Shelley said...

Are those not the CUTEST babies in the world??!!! Such inspiration should definitely yield a killer pattern! Sounds like fun.

Madge said...

Good for you, plunging into the design world! I'm looking forward to seeing your creations for the Peanuts. (it can be your blog's Peanut Gallery *grin*)

Have fun!

dee said...

I can't wait to see, those cuties will look fab...you go girl!

kat coyle said...

aw, those little cuties are too much! it should be a lot of fun to knit them some original dresses.

Anonymous said...

so much cuteness! They will look adorable in matching dresses, you go girl : )

Anonymous said...

so much cuteness! They will look adorable in matching dresses, you go girl : )

Nasus said...

Can't wait to see your creations!

Anonymous said...

Could the peanuts be any cuter? Only in handknit dress/tops! I can't wait to see what you're cooking up.