Designer tips - Sizing references

Something important to think about when designing your projects is sizing. This is important for all projects, including socks, hats and shawls, but especially if you are working on garments. Having a great size range for garments is important to help you serve your customers, think 28-64" range for the chest/bust measurement. You can increase the accessibility of your accessory patterns by offering a good size range too.

The first step to good grading is sizing resources. Having multiple sources is a great idea, you can compare between the two, and sometimes a particular measurement is missing from one, but can be found in another. The links below are some that I refer to when designing and editing.

Sizing resources:

• New Representative Sizing Standards by Kim McBrien, women

• Craft Yarn Council sizing - babies, children, women, men, feet, head

• Ysolda's sizing chart - women

• Jill Wolcott Knits - women

• Knotions sizing tables - babies, children, women, men

• Knit it Now - children, women, men, feet, head, hand, blankets

• Woolly Wormhead Guide to hat sizing- head

• Knitty Blog Foot Sizing Survey Results - feet

• Fiber dreams Hand sizes - hand

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Designer tips - Spring 2022 moodboard

When you are planning your designs you need to be thinking ahead. The design process takes time - inspiration, writing the pattern, sample knitting, tech editing, testing, photography and pattern layout can take from a few weeks to several months. Which means the design you are working on now will probably be released in the Spring.

For best results you are probably going to want to time your pattern releases to be seasonally appropriate - a big chunky cable sweater is going to get more love in autumn than during the hottest part of summer.

Click the picture below for a Pinterest mood board of Spring 2022 inspiration. What is your favourite colour for this Spring?

About that yarn - Woolyknit 4-ply cones

KISS Sweater

Yarn weight: 4- ply (held double for sweater above to make DK)

Yardage: 2350 m on a 500 g cone

Purchased from: Woolyknit

Price: £18 for 500 g cone

Colours: 48 available, "Burnt orange" used

Fibre source: British wool, from Suffolk and Jacob breed sheep

Processing: Majority of Woolyknit yarns processed and spun in the UK, some spun in Europe

Micron: 31-33

Supplier suggested uses: Weaving, machine knitting, hand knitting, crochet

Texture: Very good; shows textured stitches well

Lace: Reasonable; holds blocking well, slightly fuzzy so yarnovers are not entirely crisp

Cables: Good; cable is clear, slightly fuzzy yarn softens the look

Things we love:

• Local fibre sourcing is always a huge plus.

• Affordable, this is a great price for a British wool yarn.

• Fabulous choice of colours, I found I hard to pick!

• Particularly good for "plain knitting" as in the sweater above. Shows cables, texture and lace fairly well (swatches below).

• Sheepy smell - there is no doubt where this yarn came from.

• Felts well- you might want to hold several strands together to make a thicker yarn for felting projects.

• Pure wool steeks beautifully as it a grippy.

Downsides:

• Depending on your view on woolly yarns you might find this one a bit "rustic". It has a pleasingly crunchy traditional wool feel, but if you only opt for super smooth merino you may not be a fan of this one. Next to skin soft is very subjective, for this one I would say: hands - yes, hat- maybe, neck - probably not, sweaters - definitely.

• The yarn has some strands of kemp (thicker hair), these are not hugely problematic as they can be pulled out as you work, but they might up the tickle factor a little.

• This yarn would be great for colourwork, but it comes on 500 g cones, sometimes you just want a small amount of a colour. There are a few colours available on 125 g cones, but not the full range.

• If you want a thicker yarn you will need to hold several strands together, means having multiple cones or rewinding.

• Depending on how you feel about the sheepy smell you might put it down here.

The verdict:

This yarn will definitely be appearing again. The sweater is warm and cosy even on a chilly day. The yarn was enjoyable to knit with and is particularly pleasing on large areas of stocking stitch.

There is plenty left from two cones having made the KISS sweater above holding the yarn double (46" bust made). I am thinking mittens, a vest and perhaps a cardigan since I "accidentally" bought two cones in kingfisher blue as well. I also plan to try it out for weaving on a rigid heddle loom (beginner weaver!) so I will share how that goes.