My First Sweater (for real this time :)

topic posted Thu, December 28, 2006 - 11:35 PM by  Sabrina
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I got some really cool stuff this year for Christmas. Including two pattern books. One skein wonders, and knit two together. They are both knit books, but I prefer knit patterns then I just turn it into a crochet pattern.

Right now I am making the Santa Cruz hoodie. It will be my first completed sweater. I have started a couple, and one twice. But I really think I will finish this one, this time. For one I have all the yarn to complete it, and for two, I am already almost done with just the back section. I am really excited, and can't wait to wear it. I am using, gasp, acrylic yarn from Michaels. But hey it was free, and looks nice. It is a boucle, and is dark and light brown.

I am trying to figure out if I should use light brown, purple, or pink, or a combination of two or more of the colors as accent colors. The pattern does the body of the sweater one color and the arms another color. What do you think?
posted by:
Sabrina
Fresno
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  • Sabrina, sounds wonderful! I like accent colors...maybe you could do edging or sleeve cuffs in the accent colors?
    • I love the way brown and pink look together, also brown and peach, and borwn and light blue or turquoise and brown look great together, too.

      Wow! I don't think I could crochet a whole sweater! I've knitted lots of sweaters, but I mostly crochet small stuff, like scraves, hats, and decorative stuff.
      I've got 2 crocheted shawls I started 2 years ago, both are very delicate in very fine threads, and are taking way too long, I'll crochet for hours and hours and just make like a 1inch progress. VERY unmotivating :-/
      for that same reason, I'll go MONTHS without even looking at them.

      anyway, congratulations there on your sweater, Sabrina! :-)

      please post some pics when it's done, eh?
      • I learned to crochet two summers ago, and have completed two sweaters. I don't follow a pattern, since I don't know how to read them, and just make it up as I go. The first one was just a plain sweater, but the second has an open front and I sewed buttons on it, like a jacket. It turned out great. Whenever I wear it, people compliment me on it, and then when I tell them I MADE IT MYSELF....people just ooohh and aaahh. What a great feeling! :)
        I wish you luck and motivation on finishing your sweater!
        • I keep hearing from people that they don't know how to read crochet patterns. I find them really easy to read and what I think is difficult is trying to create something from a pattern that is a diagram with a legend, rather than one that is just written out with stitch abbreviations.

          I just think of it like another language that I have to learn and translate in order to create something. Some people can read Spanish, but I can read crochet, ya know.
  • post pic when you finish
    ...I have always wanted to make something like a sweater or cute top but I always end up doing simple things like hot pads, afgans, easy stuff. I would like to do all those fancy stitches. I just got 'The Happy Hooker Crochet' Book, am gonna try to do something really progressive...is that a good word? LOL
    • i'm dying to make the capelet (cold shoulders i think it is called) for myself and the cowboy hat for my friend. i tried making the cowboy hat at least 5 times and had a really hard time with the pattern even though i consider myself at least an intermediate/advanced crocheter. grr!!
      • "i tried making the cowboy hat at least 5 times and had a really hard time with the pattern even though i consider myself at least an intermediate/advanced crocheter."

        Wow, I would really start to wonder if maybe there is a problem with the pattern? I can't imagine it is too well written if you're having trouble with it at your experience level.

        Isn't it a bummer to spend time on a pattern and then it isn't working out? I hate that!
        • Although, if it is published, surely it was tested a lot first? I'd hope!
          • generally patterns are tested first, but sometimes they are tested by the same person who wrote the pattern. They know what they think they are writing, but when the pattern get into the real world, we don't know what they were intending, so there are minor glitches. It can also happen with the transcribing of the pattern. Sometimes the person who is typing up the book does not know anything about how to read patterns, so if the accidentally leave something out, or switch something around, they don't realize.
  • Sounds really cool.

    I think the reason sweaters can be hard is because they sometimes take a long time and a lot of patience when it comes to finishing them - getting the armholes right and such.

    In the past what I have done is set my goal as completeing one section - say the back or if it is a cardigan the right or left side. And then I set that aside and give myself a break by working on something different and smaller like a beanie or a scarf. Then after I have had a break, I go back and complete another section of the sweater. This might seem to some people to make it take longer, but I find that it causes me less frustration because I sometimes get really fucked off with myself if it seems like something is taking forever to complete and I don't have other projects.

    Unlike most people, I find it sometimes difficult to work on multiple projects at once because it feels like I am never getting anything done but instead have a billion things in progress. Completing something makes me feel better. So, like I said, working in bits and then on something else eases that frustration because I feel like I am making some progress.

    I love the idea of converting knit patterns. It seems there are so many modern, funky, him knitting patterns compared to what is available in crochet. Or at least until Happy Hooker came out - that is a GREAT book I think. I know loads of people that think of crochet as something a granny does, whereas knitting seems cooler. I do both, but I learned crochet first and have been doing that off and on for about 20 years or so (my aunt taught me first when I was about 11 or 12).

    Anyway, good luck with the sweater and definitely post pics when you are done.

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