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PDF EBOOK
£8.00 (approx. $12.50)*
* Paypal will show you the precise currency conversion before you confirm the sale.
It’s here! I’ve never been quite this excited about anything I’ve created, so I apologise in advance if I gush a little too much. :)
What is ‘Fill-in-the-Blanks Shawl Design’?
Well, it’s a method I devised that allows you to create 4 neck-down shawl shapes using a stitch pattern of your choice, without having to chart anything out.
In my post on Easy Shawl Borders, I postulated that it would be possible to devise a formula to allow knitters to use 2 sets of stitch markers to fill a shawl with a stitch pattern “on the fly”. As with many things, in practice it took more thinking than I’d anticipated to make a formula that would work for all stitch patterns. I scrapped one version that required a whole page of numbers to be calculated, and then filled in on the instruction sheet. The final worksheets are 1 page each and only require 2 numbers: the first is the number of stitches in one pattern repeat + selvedge stitches, and the second is the number of stitches in one pattern repeat excluding the selvedge stitches. Write those on your worksheet and you’re ready to knit your custom shawl!
I tried to make this ebook as comprehensive and awesome as I could, which is partly why it’s been so long coming. To the best of my knowledge, this is a unique resource; there is nothing as simple, mindless or convenient in any other knitting book or ebook. It provides both instant gratification, and a great way to learn about shawl design.
Beginning Shawl Design
The Shawl Knitting Cheat Sheet has been downloaded over 10,000 times since I released it a little over a year ago! I admit I had no idea it would become so popular, but since then I’ve learnt a lot about the kind of shawl resources that knitters are looking for.
“I want to design my own shawl, where should I begin?”
That’s a question I’m asked very often, and one I see on knitting forums time and time again. Beginners always jump in at the deep end; it’s understandably difficult to know how much you don’t know, and it’s frustrating to keep being told to backtrack and take things slowly. That’s why I’m so excited to finally be able to offer fearless new knitters a solution.
10-Level Shawl Mastery Checklist
Have a look at the list below. Where do you stand?
- Understand how to knit shawls from patterns.
- Understand how increases and decreases create shawl shapes.
- Begin to understand how stitches are manipulated to form stitch patterns.
- Understand how stitch patterns fit into the shawl shape.
- Understand how stitch patterns can be manipulated to fit better into the shawl shape.
- Understand how stitch patterns flow into each other.
- Understand how to write out patterns in a way that allows you and others to follow them easily.
- Understand how to streamline your design process so you can design faster.
- Understand how to alter stitch patterns to better effect.
- Conduct stitches like a symphony.
The Free Shawl Cheat Sheet will help you with #2, the Little eBook of Knitting Stitches with #3, and Fill-in-the-Blanks Shawl Design with #4 and #8*. The Blank Shawl Templates included with the latter will help you with #5. Many of these are not levels to be attained, so much as challenges that you are likely to face in different ways in different shawl designs, but it’s still helpful to identify your weaknesses and work on them.
* I used the ebook for a shawl I will be releasing soon, and it made things so much quicker! I was able to simply copy the instructions for the set-up rows, fill in the chart and get knitting. Even just having the blank charts all set out so you don’t have to think about them is a great time-saver, so if you do nothing else, make sure you download them below!
What’s in the Ebook?
- 1-page fill-in-the-blanks worksheets to create 4 top-down shawl shapes:
- triangular
- square
- circular
- and semi-circular.
- 3 stitch patterns to try right away,
- with both written & charted instructions
- photographed on both right & wrong sides.
- Advice for working shawls with stocking stitch, reverse stocking stitch or garter stitch backgrounds.
- Advice for combining and dividing stitch patterns.
- Advice for troubleshooting.
BONUSES
- Instructions for creating plain shawls with patterned borders.
- Instructions for working a bottom-up triangular shawl using the stitch pattern of your choice.
- Blank charts for advanced knitters.
- Booklet version – if you have good eyesight, you can print 2 pages per sheet and be the proud owner of a super-cute little paperback version.
What Will This Ebook Allow You to Do?
- Design your own shawls, in 4 shapes, with your choice of stitch pattern, without the need to chart anything!
- Mix and match the 4(+1) shawl shapes with the 3 stitch patterns provided to knit up to 15 different shawls + the same number of plain shawls with patterned borders.
- Make great use of any stitch dictionary you own, to create your own design in minutes. Don’t have a stitch dictionary? How about a Little eBook of Knitting Stitches?
- Gain a better understanding of shawl construction and patterning. Once you grok the method, it’s also easy to invent (or unvent) your own shawl shapes.
- Indulge in some mindless design. Once you’ve set up your stitch markers, and understand when to increase, all you need in front of you is your stitch pattern.
- Ask a loved one to choose a shawl shape and a stitch pattern and quickly create a custom-knit gift. If they’re a knitter, you could even write them up a personal pattern! (How FABULOUS would it be to receive a hand-crafted pattern named after you? I’d love it!)
- Knit a patterned shawl to any size and for any amount of yarn you like. I recommend at least 200m/220yds for the smallest shawlette, though, unless you’re knitting for a very small person, or a teddy bear. :)
If you’re a more advanced knitter, you can also:
- Use charts from top-down shawl patterns you already own to change the shape of a shawl. For example, once you understand the process, you could turn your favourite triangular shawl into a square so that it stays on your shoulders better.
- Make money! There are many designers who’ve used the Crescent Shawl Shaping Worksheet to create and sell their own designs. With a little practice you can do the same.
3 stitch patterns x 4 (+1) shawl shapes = 15 shawl designs
Additional Downloads
- Download the Stitch Pattern Calculator to your computer, for offline access.
- Download the blank shawl chart templates as a .zip file (includes MS Excel, and Mac Numbers formats) or view them in Google Docs. PDF versions are included in the ebook. You may also want to download the Aire River Knitting Font to chart out your patterns.
- Download some free knitting stitches.
BFFs!
Licences
- You’re very welcome to sell patterns designed using this formula, but please make sure you write everything out properly and do not redistribute the worksheets.
- You’re also welcome to sell items made using this ebook.
- I’m considering special pricing for teaching licences, for knitters who would like to use this ebook as the basis for a (paid) knitting course. Send me an email if you’re interested.
Birthday Giveaway!
Because it’s my birthday, and I’ve been meaning to hold a giveaway for ages, anyone who purchases the Fill-in-the-Blanks Ebook between now and the end of 8 July 2012 (12pm GMT) will be entered into a draw to win a package of knitting goodies. I haven’t decided exactly what the prize will be yet, but it will include a cabled mug like this one, and a set of Warm Wool Heart postcards. Depending on how many entrants there are (and how much time I have), I may also be able to arrange a couple of runner-up prizes. :)
ETA (9 July): The winners have been announced!
Acknowledgements
- Thank you to my wonderful tech editor, Akshata Dhareshwar, for her diligent, meticulous work, for being a lovely person, and for putting up with my slow communication!
- Thank you to all test knitters. As always I had trouble keeping track, so if you haven’t received a copy of the final ebook, please let me know!
