Wednesday 22 July 2009

Tension Headache

I've been planning for a while to attempt my first proper "wearable" knitting project - a cardi (actually a lace pattern so that's another first in there too).  I bought yarn I think will do on Saturday and it was actually much less than I thought I would need to spend.

An easy first step should have been the swatching - to check what size a set number of stitches and rows comes out so I can adjust as necessary.  Because if you knit tighter or looser than average that will effect the fit.  I've never swatched before.  But I got the principle.

Only I then looked at the pattern and saw what it called for for tension squares (well, eventually.  turns out it's on the designer's website but if it's in the PDF I bought I can't bloody see it).  And it actually seems much more complicated than I thought it would be.  Lots of googling and advice from a friend and I think I know what I need to do (although I did e-mail the designer to ask when Ravelry failed me).

My knitting tutor talked about breaking patterns down into small bits and practicing each step until you get it.  And certainly just doing a few rows of the lace pattern made me realise how simple it was without even getting halfway though it before stopping.  Breaking this pattern down into steps makes it seem more doable.

Getting started however, doesn't.  And I've already given myself a headache.

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