My Honey Pullover design is in the just-released Spring 2015 issue of Interweave Knits (1st, 4th and 5th photos courtesy of Harper Point and Interweave Press). I got the idea for the set-in sleeves when I was looking at a swatch of a lace pattern (see below), and realized that the lace stitches pulled the fabric into a shape which looked a lot like a sleeve cap on the top. I also liked the curve created along the bottom of the swatch, and thought it would be a flattering shape for a sleeve cuff.
This design was rejected by the first publication to which I submitted it (not an unusual occurrence!). So I set it aside, and when I got the submission call for this issue of Interweave Knits, and one of their storyboard themes seemed a good match, I sent it in again-- and this time it was accepted.
When it came time to translate my sketched design into X number of rows and stitches, I was a bit concerned about how I would figure out how much of the sleeve cap shaping I could just leave up to the distortion caused by the lace stitches, and how much I would have to add with the usual shaping decreases-- and how to adjust this for each and every size. This didn't turn out to be too complicated: I just measured the height and width of the curved top of my lace swatch, and then added the additional shaping needed for each size. I should say it wasn't complicated IN ADDITION TO the usual calculations for set-in sleeve cap shaping. BUT although these are a bit time-consuming, working out the math ahead of time is always faster than knitting by trial and error. Carpenters like to say "measure twice, cut once;" for knitwear designing, it's "math twice, knit once."
Also, I was glad that I had visualized this design with a 3/4 length sleeve, because the lace panel would not have looked right except with a full repeat of the lace pattern, which meant that the sleeve length could only be changed in increments of about 1 1/2 inches. The 3/4 length sleeve was more forgiving than a full-length sleeve as far as setting the sleeve length for each size.
My original name for this pullover was "Mattina," which means "morning" in Italian; the editors of the magazine decided to change the name to "Honey." When I choose a name, I consider how the name sounds, the appropriateness and versatility of any references to color or design elements (keeping in mind that knitters will often choose a different color yarn), and then I do a search on Ravelry to see how many times that name has already been used. I try not to choose names that have been used a lot, to make it easier for knitters to find a particular design by name. "Mattina" has never been used. "Honey," on the other hand, has been used over 50 times*. Just sayin'.
*as all or part of the name of a design, i.e. "Honey Bunny" or "Raw Honey"
Mi piace molto di più il nome Mattina per questo bellissimo pullover! Congratulazioni!
Posted by: Cristiana Brenna | February 09, 2015 at 03:32 AM