Welcome to I’ll Knit (& Spin!) If I want To! I asked y’all to send in some of your questions (from everything from fiber arts, to designing and on!) so I could put together a little video for y’all every Friday doing my best to answer your questions!
1. Absolutely LOVE your podcast which is pretty much my weekly Friday night date. :) I'm fairly new to brioche and I've been knitting the Junction pattern. Your instructions were clear and I managed the brioche section without any issues. I'm planning to make it a cropped version to wear over dresses, but when I tried it on recently, I discovered that the brioche part is really loose! I know that you've said that brioche is stretchy, but I'm afraid it might not get enough wear the way it is now. I haven't started the ribbing yet and I haven't decided whether I'll knit the sleeves to the pattern length or keep them as short sleeves. Would you have any advice about how I might deal with this or will it maybe settle after blocking/wearing? Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I love the pattern and the colors I've chosen so much that I want it to get the love it deserves! Thank you so much!!
2. Can you share a little about sweater sizing, particularly about using upper bust and any thing to keep in mind? My finished objects tend to end up larger than I’d like, mostly from a fear of knitting them too small.
I’m about to start an epic all over cable sweater (the saven sweater) and trying to find an ease that is flattering and comfortable, but won’t swallow me. If I’m going to 4-6 inches of ease, what size should I aim for/what should I consider? Upper or full bust measurement?
If it helps, My upper bust is 38, full bust 44, and waist/hips are 38/40 (feel free to share measurements).
PS- your junction sweater is my best fitting sweater I’ve made!
3. My question has to do with picking the right yarn for your sweater patterns that is available to me and within my budget. I don’t know where to start to find a suitable and affordable yarn. I have no problem finding yarn for small accessory patterns it is just my nervousness for sweater knitting, trying to avoid wasting time and money. I noticed that you do make a general recommendation for what type of yarn (dk etc) and fiber content to use in your patterns, but because I haven’t had a successful sweater knit I’m concern about picking yarn that has the same drape, stitch definition, etc. I understand that you are a designer and it is up to the knitter to make the yarn choices however any guidance for new sweater knitters on the type (alternative fiber content), not so much brand, would be very helpful. Is that something you would do in the future? Is there any resource you know of that would be helpful to me. Thanks
4. Hi Andrea, I love your podcast! It is a highlight of my week because I put everything on pause and knit while I listen and watch. Thank you. My question is about ply. Can you talk a bit about what would make me prefer 2 plys over 3, 3 over 4 , etc., or the other way around? How does it impact the guage? finished object? Or does it? I'm getting ready to knit a simple cardigan and want to know if I should be thinking about this when shopping for yarn. Thank you, thank you!
5. I was gifted a work in progress from a friend who passed away.. The project is a mostly finished, knitted from the bottom up, fair isle sweater and it was given to me without a pattern. I can see she put steeks in for the sleeves and a column in the center to create a cardigan. I'm not sure how many stitches I should pick up for the sleeves and/or collar/button band. Would you do one-to-one, or another ratio? The sweater is knit using fingering weight yarn- size 1 needles. Thank you for your help!
