On a recent podcast episode, I shared my evolving process around picking knitting patterns to use with my handspun yarns. My handspun yarns have become truly my favourite yarns to work with and I know this is echoed with others in the community because I hear it all the time – this makes my heart sing!
The knitting patterns we choose for handspun yarns are often not the same as what may be chosen for commercial yarns. The needs of the pattern in each case is different.
Rather than the pattern providing much of the interest in my creativity, the making of the yarn provides that instead. My process is incresingly fibre –> preparation –> singles –> yarn structure –> finishing –> fabric –> garment; therefore, by the time I choose a pattern, I’ve already made 5 or 6 decisions.
I’ve found increasingly that choosing a wildly complicated pattern doesn’t often work for the yarn I’ve spun, especially given that the yarn is designed with things like colour movement, grist, twist, fibre content, ply structure and hand in mind.
I’m often looking for a knitting pattern that is deceptively simple with simple lines and lovely proportions. As well, patterns that can be modified, forgiving and requires less yarn.
Enjoying the knitting and how the fit across the pattern is graded is mportant, yes. But more important is how this particular yarn structure will change the fabric? What did the twist angle do? Would a woollen-spun 3-ply behave differently from a worsted-spun 2-ply? How did the fibre preparation influence the drape of the finished garment? These are the questions that become more interesting and important.
Those decisions made earlier in the process affect the outcome. And I’m looking for patterns that allow me to explore those answers.
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