Create Your Own Knitting Patterns
Whether you're knitting for charity or yourself, it's a lot of fun to create your own knitting patterns.
Have you ever tried to create your own knitting patterns? If you're experienced at inastarsia or Fair Isle knitting then you've probably considered it at some point. All you need to create your own brilliant patterns? Some graph paper, a pencil, your yarn and needles, and a spark of creativity -- and let's face it, we knitters have that in spades!
1. Get graph paper.
There are many places to get graph paper, but the easiest by far is to download free paper especially made for knitters. Needlepointers.com offers exactly that download. If you want, you could also run a web search for free knitting graph paper -- you're bound to turn up loads.
2. Decide on a project.
If this is your first time trying to create your own knitting patterns, stick to something safe: a blanket square or a dishcloth, for example. That way the pattern stays very straightforward: one square of the graph paper represents one stitch, with the entire project being square. If you want, you can also assume you're adding five to ten stitches on either side of the graph paper pattern.
3. Draw your design.
There are many ways to create your own knitting patterns, but the easiest seems to be staring with a loose sketch on the graph paper. For instance, if you want to create a flower, draw a flower! Then go over and fill in the boxes with Xs as close to your line as possible. If you're planning to knit in more than one color, use more than one color to indicate that on your pattern -- otherwise, you'll find yourself horribly confused!
As you can see, you don't need much artistic ability to create your own knitting patterns -- just a sense of what you want the finished product to look like. Drawing with Xs on graphing paper isn't an exact science in any case, so don't worry if rounded edges and circles and the like don't seem to fit perfectly.
Do keep in mind, though, that the smaller graph paper and the more stitches you use, the more likely you are to turn out something that looks like what you're picturing in your mind. Lots of small stitches together will make a much better curve or detail than a few big stitches.
Following those simple steps, you should be able to create your own knitting patterns for inastarsia and fair isle knitting!
