Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Lily Chin is SO RIGHT

At CGOA's Chain Link conference (July '06 Valley Forge PA), I took a 2-day, 12-hour designing workshop with Lily. It's one of the best, if not THE best thing I've ever done. One of the tips I learned was to use giant graph paper that comes on a giant easel pad from office supply stores. Each page is marked lightly with 1-inch squares.

THANKS TO THIS TIP, I GOT A SET-IN SLEEVE RIGHT ON THE FIRST TRY! You know, those weird-shaped sleeve pieces that have sleeve caps, and the calculations for them can be as mathematically esoteric as you want them to be? I was resigned to needing 3+ tries before getting it right so I put it off until I had the necessary patience.

Well, not only did I use the graph paper to sketch a rudimentary sleeve-cap-looking curve freehand AND IT WORKED, I could sit in my comfy chair crocheting it up the whole time while the sketch stayed on the floor at my feet. If you want to, you could crochet a bit then see how the shape is matching up to your sketch, because on 1" graph paper it becomes a paper pattern; BUT DON'T GET UP! Merely glance at your sketch, and the gauge info you've written next to it, and you can see: hmmm, looks like the sleeve cap curve is now about 8 squares (inches) wide, and 2 more stitch pattern repeats should bring the next row up to 8".

WHEN I DID GET UP, my piece magically matched my sketch. BEST OF ALL, I tried seaming it to the body of the sweater and it looks great! Like I spent a lifetime designing set-in sleeves just so that this one could come out looking effortlessly chic!

Wish I could show ya a pic of the project but it's under contract. Is it a tantalizing revelation that it involves a certain excess of collar?

5 comments:

  1. Woohoo! I'm taking a shorter version of this class at TNNA, I can't wait.

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  2. Anonymous11:41 AM

    That's a fantastic tip! Thanks for sharing!! :)

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  3. I wanted to take Lily's class but when I finally decided I could go to Chain Link the class was all filled up! I hope she's there again this year. Thanks for all the tips, Vashti!

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  4. You're welcome, I'm still applying new tips from that workshop. Lily will be teaching at the July '07 Chain Link conference but I don't remember if she'll be offering that workshop again.
    Amy, I'm going to be watching your blog for posts from TNNA because I won't be able to go until June!

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  5. Future Vashti here (2012)...I see that the original link to the 1"-grid easel pad is broken. When I looked online, I found some of these at Amazon--Adams brand--but $36 for 100 sheets seems pricier than I remember paying locally at Office Depot, or think I should pay! So look in your local office supply store, or CHECK THIS OUT: a big ROLL of it at an educator's supply outlet: Jumbo Graph Paper Roll 1 Inch 200' Roll [105827] - $38.99 : Educators Outlet, Buy More For Less http://bit.ly/zmXkNR .

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