Duets & Inspirations
This is the opening chapter of Shirley Paden's well-known design reference book. The complete book thoroughly and methodically walks knitters and knitwear designers through all areas of hand knit garment design using her 4-part process. The techniques covered include taking body measurements, selecting garment types and fabric, reading charts, making swatches and writing patterns. The reader is shown how to complete the calculations for designing sweaters, dresses, skirts and coats as well as different accessories including sleeves, necklines, and collars. For ease of understanding, the book includes worksheets and help guides throughout.
Chapter 1 will give you a great foundation. Here you are taken through the building blocks necessary to successfully begin the design planning process. They include creating a design profile, taking body measurements, taking measurements from an existing garment, understanding ease allowance, completing a sketch, and planning a schematic. There are also explanations of the five key garment body shapes with their accompanying sketches and sample schematics in addition to the worksheets that are provided to guide you through accurately planning your own hand knit designs.