Is modifying the pattern an insult to the designer?
No. Full stop. That’s the post. Just kidding. You know I’m wordier than that! Most of us have modified a knitting pattern Whether it's...
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You're invited to join the conversation!
This space is for knitters, designers, and the design curious. Here you'll find tips on how to make technical upgrades to your knitting practice, but also see some behind-the-scenes and get inspired. I love a dynamic conversation - please feel very invited to chime in!
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Jennifer Parroccini
- Aug 31
- 9 min
Designing knitwear patterns - 1 of 2
I’ve heard from so many of you. You’re lost in the sea of where to begin. You want to know how to get started designing and writing...
760
Jennifer Parroccini
- Aug 31
- 3 min
Working to Length & Tracking Rows
Working to length As you knit, you’re often instructed to knit to a certain length. There are two ways you’ll see this in patterns, and...
160
Jennifer Parroccini
- Aug 31
- 2 min
Gone to Seed - Digital Pattern Walk
Today, I wanted to talk just a bit about the construction of Gone to Seed, since it's different from my other designs. I'll also share...
130
Jennifer Parroccini
- Aug 31
- 3 min
Planning Your Knitwear Design Year
Planning your design year How far out are you planning your releases? My goal (and reader, I am *almost* there) is 12 months. That means...
170
Jennifer Parroccini
- Aug 31
- 6 min
Test Knitting: How I Choose Testers
Last week in the Anyfest KAL, we talked about experiences in knitting that can leave us feeling left out. One thing that came up...
470
Jennifer Parroccini
- Aug 11
- 3 min
Color Transfer Catastrophe
So, I knit with two colors Okay, so this week I was on vacation, visiting my mama, and we planned to do lots and lots of natural dyeing....
400
Jennifer Parroccini
- Aug 2
- 3 min
Your Perfect Sweater Length
Where Will Your Sweater Land? Whether you're knitting a crop top or a tunic, it's important to predict where your sweater will land....
1290
Jennifer Parroccini
- Jul 11
- 4 min
Book Review: Seasonal Slow Knitting
Are you someone who finds your knitting practice, ahem, changing in the summer? I know a lot of y’all garden and get outside during the...
1392
Jennifer Parroccini
- Jul 8
- 4 min
Bust Shaping for Handknits
For a long time, bust shaping was my 'monster under the bed.' Well, I've looked and there's no monster! Today I want to de-mystify short...
1130
Jennifer Parroccini
- Jul 5
- 6 min
Spreadsheets for Designers
One of you kindly asked me to talk about setting up spreadsheets for size inclusion, and since those are my two favorite topics, like,...
2980
Jennifer Parroccini
- Jun 30
- 3 min
Lofty - it's not putting your yarn on a pedestal!
Let's talk a bit about some common phrases that we use to talk about yarn or fabric properties. These terms are critical for making a...
570
Jennifer Parroccini
- May 23
- 8 min
Knitting and Size Inclusion: 45 Actions
We, the knitters Knitters take a tremendous amount of personal responsibility for changing the world. They want to buy carefully, share...
1600
Jennifer Parroccini
- May 12
- 6 min
Evaluating Patterns - Other Knitters' Projects
This is the last installment of a three-part series. In part one, we talked about evaluating the fit of a pattern on the model. In part...
980
Jennifer Parroccini
- May 6
- 3 min
Evaluating Patterns - Schematics & Other Designer-Provided Info
Informed pattern shopping You love supporting indie designers, but you also want to have confidence that the pattern you're buying will...
1320
Jennifer Parroccini
- May 6
- 4 min
Evaluate a knitting pattern - how it looks on the model
“I wish I knew how to evaluate a pattern to know whether or not it’s ‘good’ before I start knitting.” I’ve heard so many variations on...
1430
Jennifer Parroccini
- Apr 18
- 5 min
Your raglan sweater needs front neck shaping
Handknit sweaters need room for the front neck in order to fit correctly. How do you know if a pattern includes shaping? What can you do?
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Jennifer Parroccini
- Apr 7
- 7 min
Add neck shaping to your raglan with short rows
Your raglan doesn't have neck shaping? Add your own! Step-by-step instructions and a downloadable workshop make this a breeze.
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Jennifer Parroccini
- Apr 7
- 3 min
Measurements for knitters
"Our bodies go inside the schematic." I love this language from Lily (creator of the Untangled Knitting Podcast). The knitting world...
800
Jennifer Parroccini
- Feb 14
- 3 min
Horizontal layering for knitters
Layering with length In her book Embody, Jacqueline Cieslak talks so eloquently about layering horizontally. Who wouldn’t want to “create...
2080