Friday, October 16, 2009
On Tuesday evening I had the pleasure of meeting the delightful Cheryl Brunette, author of the recently republished book “Sweater 101.” It was the second meeting of our fledgling Knitters Guild here in Snohomish County and Cheryl was an absolute delight to welcome into our midst. Fifty-seven of us gathered on a dark, rainy evening to knit, laugh and revel in our shared passion, while Cheryl signed copies of her book and talked to us about how it all started.
Sporting a fantastic cardigan in shades of lilac and beige designed by the legendary Kaffe Fassett, Cheryl stood in front of us calculator in hand and taught us some of the coolest math tricks I’ve ever had the delight to come across. As an English and Communications major myself, maths has never really been my forte, but thanks to Cheryl’s insight, even I now stand a chance of creating a sweater that actually fits!
And that’s what her book is all about; how to create a garment that actually fits its intended owner. Lets face it, most patterns are subject to the vagaries of printing constraints and are not always that easy to interpret. How many times have we followed a pattern to the letter only to end up with something resembling a Snuggie?
I for one can’t wait to discover the secrets of fitted knits. As much as I adore knitting items all in one piece, there is a time and a place for creating pieces of fabric and then sewing them together. I made my Central Park Hoodie that way and got the most fantastic fit! In fact I intend to reknit this pattern at some point, rewriting it so that I can knit it in one piece. I want to find out whether the shaping with a seamless knit is comparable with pieced knitting.
Cheryl’s book is now at home in my knitting library, snuggled in between Elizabeth Zimmermann’s “Knitting Without Tears” and Kristeen Griffin-Grimes “French Girl Knits.” I’m sure it will become a family treasure as Little Miss Knitty is very excited to learn its secrets too.
http://wildethymeknits.blogspot.com/2009/10/sweater-101.html
Jane