Cultivate your knitting intuition
Skill vs intuition in handcrafting, CraftDoodling Designs News, other updates.
There are so many more of you reading this newsletter since I started here on Substack last August. Thank you so much for allowing me a little space in your inbox and a slice of your time every week. I hope you find these letters enjoyable and that they spark new ideas for you. 💌
In my earlier posts here and here, we explored the idea that there are myriad ways to improve in our beloved craft, which are not necessarily faster ways to knit.
Skill Vs. Intuition
Knitting and other handcrafts for making fabric and clothing are generally slow pursuits. When we get started on these crafts, we focus on learning the appropriate skills.
Once the basic skills are mastered, the key to enhancing anything handmade lies in refining the intuition of the maker. Arguably, tools play an important role too, ⚒️but they can only be as good as the person using them. Ultimately, it all comes down to the maker. 🙋🏻♀️
Skill: The ability to do something well.
Intuition: An ability to understand or know something without needing to think about it.
Learning to "read our knits" is how we start cultivating our knitting intuition. The more we knit, the more chances we have to practice it.
I had learned to knit and completed a decent number of projects before I came across the idea of "reading the knitting." Years ago, I brought a cardigan I had knitted for my 2-year-old to a Ravelry meetup in my city. Someone ran a finger across the raglan line of the cardigan and commented that it was done well. I accepted the compliment, but it was only after that incident did it begin to dawn on me, that the raglan line is fundamental to the construction of that sweater. Until then, I had simply followed the pattern instructions faithfully without understanding the underlying structure.
Generally, learning the skill and knitting reasonably well takes less time, whereas developing an intuition for the craft is a lifelong pursuit.
Where to start?
“Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Recognizing knit and purl stitches and how they sit on the needle 🪡 is a good starting point. A stockinette fabric is particularly well-suited for this practice. Even after completing few projects, these concepts can be surprisingly tricky to grasp without keen attention.
Working with ribbing and other simple knit-purl textured stitches would help beginners solidify their understanding of knit and purl.
A hat or a small baby sweater project is suitable for exploring increase and decrease stitches.
Make a decrease stitch and notice how it looks.
Work the next row and see how the stitch looks now.
Can you spot the stitch after executing several more rows?
How does the decrease or increase affect the shape of the fabric?
Learning to read advanced stitches
When working on advanced stitch patterns like cables or lace, it's helpful to observe the relative positioning of the stitches and remember how a particular motif looks even before it's fully formed. This allows us to put down our work and easily pick it up again later.
Here is an example from my upcoming pattern, Nasha 2.0. The lace is an 8-row repeat. The first picture shows how it looks at 4 rows, and the second shows the fully formed lace.💮
Taking the time to read our knitting helps prevent mistakes or allows us to catch them sooner. Even if we need to rip out and reknit, we can do so with much more confidence. 🤟
Do you think reading your knitting has helped you execute your projects more confidently? Share your experiences in the comments. 🧡
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CRAFTDOODLING DESIGNS UPDATES
Nasha 2.0 is slated to be released on the 28th of June. The original version of Nasha will be updated on the same day too. Please keep an eye out. 🥰
Fluens Tee is all knitted up. Now to block it and start working on the pattern. I will keep you posted on its progress. Here is the link to a reel I had posted showing the sheen of the yarn I am using. It is the delectable Rani Fingering from Serendipitous Wool. 🩶
Thanks for checking out and joining CraftDoodling Designs Ravelry Group. It replaces my Facebook Group and Slack community and will be the place to discuss patterns, find out about test calls and pattern releases, and general knitting chatter.
I have started conversation threads for "Knitters on the move" and "Knitters who read" for anyone who shares these interests. I am making it a habit to check Ravelry more often and comment on people's projects there.
I have started working on a new Brioche Cowl design. I intend to use it as teaching material for another beginner brioche class. Currently, it is my walking project, and I will be posting about it on my Ravelry group. Hope to see more of you there. 🤞🩷
OTHER THINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE
Just finished Reading 📖
The couple at Number 9 - Claire Douglas
Currently Reading 📖
The girls who disappeared - Claire Douglas
Show your work - Austin Kleon
Until next time,
Kavitha. ♡
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I'm getting better at reading my knitting, but I still make a lot of assumptions about how it's going. With lace I have to use stitch markers across the row or I'd be in the most terrible mess.
Great post! For some reason reading my knitting is much easier than reading my crochet to me. I’m sure it’s because I’ve got loads more experience with knitting than crochet, but that “comfort “ level is what keeps me knitting vs. dabbling in crochet more. It’s also interesting to me that some patterns, aka lace shawls, make more sense in my brain when I need to go back and read, frog and reknit as needed than say, socks, with construction especially.