You Can Do Better Than That

#1

I was talking to Bluegh2 on Facebook yesterday and told him I had finished with my daughter’s sweater (http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/90033AD.html?noImages=) and had found myself frustrated while knitting at the difficult direction for what turned out to be a very simple pattern.

I told him that I was redoing the sweater, for my other daughter in the manner in which I thought was much easier. First off, for the bottom part of the sweater, just do the 9 inches of ribbing in the round. Since I am doing the ribbing in purple and white stripes to match her bathing suit, I will continue the back up from what I have on the needles, and leave the shoulder straps on stitch holders. I’ll do the front two panels in purple and white, and leave the shoulders on stitch holders and then kitchner stitch them together to avoid a seam where it might rub or chafe (since she plans on wearing it over her bikini top), then just sew the two front panels in, easy peasy!

Have any of you ever rewritten a pattern in your head and then tried it out to see if you could do the same thing easier? I’ve found this sweater going faster than the other one. Also, the circular needles I was using had very pointy tips which bothered me to no end. Blue asked why I wasn’t using Magic Loop. I had to admit that I hadn’t thought about it until he mentioned it. :aww:

#2

Yes, I do that all the time. I actually asked designer once why she didn’t do this particular pattern in the round since it would be so easy and she told me she preferred knitting flat and seaming. A sweater I can understand for the structure, but this was a toy as I recall. :doh:

#3

I did a lot of changes when doing baby clothes. Especially because I just don’t like garderstitch. And a LOT of baby patterns have garder… maybe because a lot of new knitters want to knit for babies? Or because it is stretchy?
But when you start with a change here, then you make one there, then this and then that… I only start hating it when the gauge does not come out and I have to start over a few times.

#4

The only thing I had to “change” was the cast on for the back, and I just did a pick up and knit and began the back from there so it was seamless as well.

I know I’ve been knitting for years but I don’t feel like I am at the point where I could say to the designer, “Uh, I found it easier to do it this way.” Like Jan said, some people feel better in their zone and perhaps this person was a flat knitter as well. I’m really trying to make this comfortable for my daughter who is like me, picky about fabric textures, and I’ve done this in an acrylic yarn.

Plus, it’s hot, too hot to go work in the garden, I’m stuck at a point in my book where I need to do some serious work, but I can’t until some research comes back to me… I really don’t have much else to keep my mind keen.

#5

Hi! :waving:

I’m in the midst of putting together a book about designing your own cotton knits for the kitchen and I can tell you for sure - there is no one definitive way to write a pattern.

Any designer will tend to gravitate towards their favorite or most comfortable method of putting a knitted piece, and its pattern, together.

In fact, I’ve even “invented” a couple of new ways to write patterns, ways that I find much easier to use than most of the printed patterns I’ve seen. That will all be in the book, but still, it’s a matter of choice.

So if you see a way to customize a pattern to a style YOU like and can work more easily with, believe me when I tell you that you’re not breaking any cosmic knitting laws by re-writing it to suit your own convenience! :slight_smile:

Go for it and happy knitting!

Hugs,
Ruthie :hug:

#6

I’ve done it just recently with the bunny slippers. I didn’t like how the footing ended up looking so I added a few more stitches and the toe ended up being more rounded at the top and bottom instead of pointy. Which made it easier for the toe area to be rounded when seamed together. Thank God I wrote it down as I was doing it.

I now have to sit down and figure out how to write the pattern for adult feet since my mom wants a pair.