Wednesday, October 5, 2011

My DAL Design (And a little about how I got to it)

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Goodness gracious, September went by REALLY fast.  Thankfully, I finally have a design for the DAL, and part of it knit to boot! But I'm going to have to work really fast if I want enough time to have the pattern tested and edited before the November 25th deadline.  I feel like it's going to be down to the wire for me again, but at least I won't be weaseling out of this like last time! :P

This round has been a bit hard for me.  I had a ton of ideas when the theme was announced ("fairytale") - but when I put the mood board together, I got a bit of a blank.  I spent time doodling on this piece of paper that I keep near my desk, and it took a huge beating.  I narrowed it down to three ideas:

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There was a Seven Raven's Shawlette, which would have been double knit, reversible, and SO MUCH WORK.  There was the Princess and the Pea socks, which I really liked the idea of, but... they looked oddly familiar to Warren's room mate's socks... which I had never heard of, but am fascinated with! They're called Solmate Socks.  Cool idea, but... why not do something original? 

So, I settled on a gingerbread house inspired cardigan.  Wait.  Freeze.


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I've never knit a cardigan before.  In fact, I've never designed a wearable before (unless you count socks, but really... I don't) and, seeing as I've only ever knit one adult-sized article of clothing, maybe I should scale it down in three months?

So, out went the pockets.  Out went the contrasting i-cord trim in white and the multicolored "gumdrop" bobbles that would have transitioned the edging from the stockinette stitch base.  (It looked so good in my head, but the look I got when I explained my idea at Hooks and Needles made me reconsider.  Writing it down now, and reading it, I understand)  I cut it down so that it would seem more like a knit object that babies would wear and less like... well, a gingerbread house costume.  It will have bright red buttons, though! That I will not compromise on.

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So, that's where I'm at right now.  I'm not quite sure how I'm going to work the decreases for the yoke (having never worked one before) but I think I can fandangle it! I even did a swatch, although that's been entered into service as a brick... more on that some other time, I think.  I have a lot of projects going on right now, and I feel like I need to finish at least 8 before I can breathe again.

7 comments:

  1. Love the sketch! I hope it works out - you can always rip if it doesn't!

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  2. Amazed by your ambition - I cannot design to save my life and am continually amazed by what others can do. Excited to see the end result - I love the idea.

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  3. Okay first off youth is so brave! !YOU GO GIRL. I LOVe the Gingerbread yoke idea...it rocks. Im so bad at reverse shaping. Is there any way you could write out directions for both sides for ME???
    If not that 's okay, just thought i'd ask> Im so not spacial....

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  4. WOW! I am amazed at your talent! I have never thought about sketching idea out but that could be because I am the WORST at drawing! I love how you are turning fairy tales into clothing! I cannot wait to see your creation start to evolve into a garment...

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  5. Good luck with the cardigan. I hope you'll pick up the 7-raven shawlette idea at some point even though it's a lot of work.

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  6. I had the same problem with the theme. I had lots of ideas that didn't at all go with the mood boards.

    Your cardigan sounds great! I agree that the multicolored bobbles would have been a bit much, but the white i-cord trim would be nice.

    I really need to work on mine! I'm going to try to work up my to-do list, and maybe even prioritize it. We'll see if I manage!

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  7. cool idea, I haven't decided what to knit yet!!

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