For more than two decades I’ve been focusing my teaching and writing on helping knitters develop their skills and their judgment, on enhancing their creativity and independence. The Knowledgeable Knitter is intended to add to that effort, reaching far more knitters than I can possibly teach in my workshops.
So what good are enhanced judgment, a broader knowledge of knitting techniques, and well-developed knitting skills when all you really want to do is follow the directions and knit a sweater? They enable you, even while constructing wonderful sweaters using standard knitting patterns, to tweak each sweater, making it exactly the way you want it. You get to take charge of the entire process, both creatively and technically, using the pattern as a starting point.
The Knowledgeable Knitter follows the life cycle of a sweater, from selecting the yarn, pattern, and needles, through knitting and finishing. It focuses primarily on conventional, bottom-up sweaters and vests knit in pieces, because that offers the best opportunities for discussion of issues like how to handle edge stitches, shaping, and seaming. I’ve been careful, however, to include detailed discussions of other construction methods, including circular sweaters and those worked from the top down, as well as some tips for cuff-to-cuff garments.
In my other books, a good deal of the content is what I’d call “how-to” — step-by-step detailed instructions on how to perform specific knitting techniques. In this book, I’ve tried to step back from the techniques to get a wider perspective on the project as a whole. I think of The Knowledgeable Knitter as a “why-to” book rather than a “how-to” book. But don’t worry, techniques that require in-depth discussion are included in the text, and you’ll find detailed explanations of the rest in the appendix.
Successful sweaters, projects you’re proud to show off or give as gifts, are all about the choices you make. Initially you’ll need to choose the pattern or the yarn. Sometimes you’ll decide on both at the same time. Many knitting failures are the result of a bad matchup of pattern and yarn — they simply don’t work well together. The next major choice is size. Determining the correct size to make is crucial, because it doesn’t matter how well made a garment is, it’s not going to look good if it doesn’t fit. Before you start knitting, another significant choice is the needles — if you don’t have the right size needles to get the correct gauge, the garment won’t come out the size you expect. And then there’s the cast on. This sounds insignificant, but if the cast on is too tight, too loose, or just doesn’t look good, it will be there forever to haunt you (unless you decide to cover it up with some embellishment or take the bottom of the sweater off and replace it — but more about that later). And these decisions are just the beginning!
As you work your way through the garment, following the instructions, there will be numerous times when you ask yourself, “What do those directions actually mean? How do I do that? Where do I put whatever it is? Is it time to . . . ? But . . . ? What if . . . ?” We all like to get the knitting going, and then, whether we love the process itself or we just want to have the satisfaction of a finished object, we prefer the knitting to flow along as effortlessly as possible. Unfortunately, while we’re on automatic pilot, bad things can happen without our ever noticing. Sometimes we get to the end, look at the results, and can only ask the ultimate question: “What was I thinking?”
An old friend of mine, who did consulting for businesses large and small, used to say that there are two keys to success: show up and pay attention. The fact is that these apply to knitting just as much as to anything else in life. You need to show up and knit, but you also really do need to pay attention. This book is designed to help you identify what to pay attention to, and how to judge for yourself the best course of action to take.