My First Pattern

Well, this is it. My first pattern. After 10+ years of knitting and fudging other peoples patterns I finally wrote my own! This is using Handwerks Textiles Sport Sock and the pattern is available for purchase of the this yarn. I designed for my friend Laura who own's Handwerks. She dyes all the yarns and was looking for someone to write patterns for them. I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I said I could do it. All the things I never do when I knit I now do when I design. Like swatch. I poured over my collection of stitch pattern books, then starting knitting a test tube. When choosing a stitch you have to consider not only whether you can do it, but whether you can explain it to someone else. There were several stitch patterns I threw out just because of that.

Here's some detail of the stitch I chose:
There's a mirror image of this stitch where the loop goes over to the left instead of the right. That was the first version I tried. But it required moving stitches to the right needle, pulling the stitch over then moving them back to the left. When you pull the stitch over, you lose a stitch but then you make a new one in the next row which creates the little eyelet. I had a lot of fun knitting the sock. It was strange having to write everything I did down. Even the heel which I usually just do from memory.

After I provided this pattern for her we signed a contract for me to design 2 more for her sock yarn club. A contract! I know! So official like. I just completed the first of those and submitted it to her. It's weird, for a little while there I had been in a knitting slump. I didn't find much enjoyment in my current projects. But now I have renewed vigor. I think it's the design work, it made me look a knitting in a whole new way. So next things? Besides the socks you should see a shawl and well, who knows?

Pattern is now available free