inspiration for my next sweater

1. learning cables, 2. Promise me that we'll keep on partying, 3. sally scott, 4. frost

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Making Margaret (7): Finally Done!

Well! That last photo about sums it up. I'm very happy with the finished Margaret and so glad I did it. I learned so much from designing my own aran sweater. The process has given me confidence to design more; during the final stages of making Margaret I was struck with inspiration for another cardigan and began obsessing about it, swatching, and sketching for it. It's not grey though! Never thought I'd say it, but I need a serious break from the grey.

Looking back, I've learned a few good lessons. I think the biggest one is just to trust myself and not second guess myself as much. I'm no stranger to perfectionism, but there was a point when I just had to stop fussing and start knitting. That said, I really believe now in swatching for all the details beforehand. I spent a lot of time arranging the cables just so, but figured I would work out the button bands, neck shaping, and the finer details of the raglan shaping as I went. I did, and it worked out fine, but it would have been really helpful to have taken time in the beginning and say, add a short button band to my swatch, or make a second swatch that included the raglan decreases to see how it would really go. When I experiment like that on a swatch instead of in my head, sometimes I see design elements I would have never thought of, and the finished sweater is better for it.

All in all, making Margaret was really great, and now I can enjoy being wrapped in cable-y goodness just in time for winter. Stay warm out there! x.