A customer sent me a picture and said "Can you knit this for me?" I did have to explain that a handknitted sweater is not going to have the fine look of a mass produced machine sweater. The yarn I use is thicker, therefore a different look.
She then asked me if I could make up one and if she liked it she would order two of them. I decided that would be fine with me as I knew that I could sell it in the store if she didn't want it. I also thought this would be a great opportunity to come up with my own design and maybe make it a sellable pattern.
The body of the sweater was pretty basic. This is a toddler size 1-2 and I have many patterns that could help me to size it. I did start the neckline a little high for what I like, so maybe the next one should start lower. See how the top button (on the above pic) is almost halfway up the armhole. Most V-necks start at the bottom of the armhole. That's what I would do next time.
The collar was my real trouble spot. So I made a muslin mock up to see how it would lay. I wanted some rollover. That really helped in the knitting of it. The next one I'm going to add more cream rows to make it roll out a little more.
The finished sweater. She did order them. The second one will have faux pockets and will hopefully have a larger collar. She is buying them for grandsons that live a distance from each other, so she doesn't mind having them a little different from each other.
I don't know if I will turn it into a sellable pattern. Realizing putting it on paper and making sure there are no mistakes, plus doing other sizes, is quite a lot to chew off. If I find I have some spare time maybe?
I can't get enough of Eloise. Aunt Naomi is blowing bubbles for her.
That is a hilarious picture of Eloise! You all have too much fun with her!
ReplyDeleteI can't even imagine making a sweater like that and it looks really cute.
Very brave of you to create a collared sweater.
ReplyDeleteMmm, bubbles! We haven't tried bubbles with Older Grandson (17 months on Sunday) - perhaps it's time we did.