Beginning a New Knit Design

I am going to share my step by step design process with all of you here. You might not be interested in some of the details but I am hoping to encourage you to be creative and to not put yourself in a box or to subscribe to the belief that, "That is the way most designers or knitters or creators do it." I do learn so much from other creatives and I am in the process of learning as much as possible, but I am also following my own path and I will share the steps here.

The way I am going about designing and creating isn't the "right" way, it is simply the way I am going about it. There isn't a "right" way, of course, but I am going to share my process, failures, inspiration, and new skills with the hope of inspiring you to step out and create what is stirring in your heart and in your mind. To start the process I signed up for a design course with Aroha Knits. This was an investment for us but I know that I needed some guidance to begin and also some discipline to keep at the process and because I paid for it, I knew that I would be less likely to give up.

But truly, I am enjoying this so much for so many reasons. One, is that I can do it at my pace - between all of the other priorities in my life such as homeschooling, gardening, and the day to day care of our home. The second reason I love the designing process is that I am engaging my brain by having to put my vision into a workable pattern. Thirdly, and the most obvious, is that working with wool and knitting is pure happiness. Before I started a specific design, I wanted to define my style - why I wanted to design, who my audience would be and what kind of garments and knitted objects would I be designing. Right off I knew that I wanted my patterns to be simple - at least for the most part. I also knew that I wanted to the finished object to be practical - something that would be well used, worn and loved. I also wanted my patterns to be affordable and offer affordable yarn options so that people with even a lower income could afford to knit what I designed. I know that so often I see these gorgeous designs out there and they suggest, for example, 10 skeins of $25.00/skein yarn and when I buy all of my clothing at consignment shops except in very rare instances, I know I could never afford to knit such a garment. Now, I am not saying that the yarn is not worth $25.00/skein, I understand what goes into the process of making yarn and I also am not saying that $7.00 - 12.00 for a pattern isn't worth that price. But for me and I am sure for others - that is simply out of reach financially.

So my goals for knit design are to create patterns that are accessible to all income levels and to create patterns that are simple, functional and timeless.   I hope you enjoy following my process here as I share what I am learning and the step by step of designing my first garment - a simple cardigan.