Thank you for your help.
I have looked through ravekry and various other pattern sites too, I keep browsing trying to choose my next project. I bought yarn for a pattern I have (lace not colour work) and didn’t like the swatch so rather than go ahead I have been considering other ideas.
You’re right there are so many beautiful patterns… but I feel drawn to so many of the motif charts I see available online which are not on a sweater. Or I see a motif on a sweater but don’t like the shape of the sweater and would like to use that chart but not the sweater pattern (eg some lovely colour work on 80s patterns with huge shoulders, big blouson body and wide sleeves with tight cuffs… Great if you like 80s fashion but it’s not for me. But the colour charts are available and lovely).
I don’t think you’ve misunderstood my question, I think the problem is that I’m not sure what the question IS!
But I might be getting closer.
Should I chart out the whole sweater on paper with the correct number of stitches and rows so that I can set out the motif/chart and work out how the repeats fit and what to do at any shaping?
I don’t have chart paper but I could get some.
I’ve seen and used stitch fiddle to draw out my own motifs but not an entire sweater front. Do people use that sort of digital chart to set out a whole sweater??
Do one chart for front sweater, another for back, another for sleeves?
I am probably not using the right words for a search for information or tutorials.
When I look I can find lots of charts and I find lots of tutorials of how to physically hold and work the yarn, catch floats etc, but I have not found a tutorial or page on how to add the colour charts to a sweater.
I understand what you say about adding to the bottom where there is no shaping, I could do that I think, but moving up a sweater, I’d rather know how the motif would fit and look in advance in case I need to alter it somehow to fit. How do people go about that aspect? Is it with a full size chart with all the shaping marked on so stitches can be counted and motifs set out?