I may have 15+ years of knitting design experience now, but at one point I was a true-blue knitting beginner like everyone else! I was always a very crafty kid but didn’t learn to knit until I was around 23 years old. That was around 2002, so pre-YouTube (I know, probably hard to imagine for those of you under the age of 30!).
Getting Started…
When I got the desire to learn to knit, I had just moved across the country (from the east coast where I was born and raised, to the west coast of California), away from my family and anyone I knew who knit, and so my only learning references were books. Specifically, a workbook I found that was called “I can’t believe I’m knitting“. It promised I’d be “knitting like a pro in no time”, but that was not the case for me! It took me a while to get the hang of knitting because the visuals in a lot of ‘learn to knit’ books like this weren’t great, at least for my visual-learning brain.
But when I would go back to visit family (and after moving back to the east coast), my Mom would help me. So my learn to knit process was long – I’d try, make a mistake, then put the knitting in a bag and wait until I saw my Mom again!
My first sweater…
But it finally DID click eventually, and then there was no looking back! After feeling confident with scarves, and then a simple rectangle poncho, I was ready to make my first sweater. I started with a baby sweater for my friend’s baby shower – I don’t remember the exact pattern but it was pretty basic, other than having to create a front flap. It was very far from perfect but at the time I was so proud of it.
(And funny story – the baby this was going to grew up to become the inspiration and model for my Audrey series – learn more about it in this blog post!)
After this, I was ready to make my big move – I wanted to make a sweater for myself! I fell in love with a sweater called “Hourglass Sweater” in a book called Last Minute Knitted Gifts (I still have the book – here’s a pic):
My first adult sweater…
How did it go? Well I did eventually finish it! Below are some photos I found on my hard drive recently (such a baby face!):
I learned A LOT from this first sweater. This is why I always tell first-time-sweater-knitters to not stress about perfection because your first adult sweater is all about gaining learning lessons.
You can prepare as much as possible for your first sweater but making mistakes and learning from them is what your first sweater is all about. Below are 5 lessons that I think were the most important ones I learned in this process…
5 Lessons I learned from knitting my first sweater
Lesson Learned #1: Positive ease
I picked a size closest to my actual chest measurement. But, this created a very close-fitting sweater on me. That would be fine if that’s how I liked to wear my sweaters, but it wasn’t! The pattern gave no instruction/suggestion about ease, so I just didn’t realize.
In a top-down raglan design like this, I would now typically always pick a size whose finished measurement is at least 3″ or more larger than my actual chest measurement.
Lesson Learned #2: Swatch if you want it to fit
Honestly, I don’t remember swatching at all for this project! So I really don’t think I did. And, as a newer knitter, I was definitely on the tight side so I’m guessing my fit issue was also that my tension was tighter than the pattern gauge, resulting in a small sweater.
If you’re going to invest the time and money into an adult sweater, it’s worth spending an evening doing a gauge swatch – I promise!
Lesson Learned #3: Fiber affects fit
The overall fit and style of your sweater will be highly impacted by the fiber content of your yarn. I chose a 100% wool yarn for my sweater which made an already close-fitting sweater feel a bit uncomfortable to wear! I love wearing 100% wool sweaters but not when they are right up against my skin like that.
I think with the style of this sweater (and especially with the bell-shaped sleeves), a blend would have been a much better choice.
Lesson Learned #4: Blocking makes a big difference
I was too scared to wet block it. But wet blocking could have really made a big difference – it may have softened and loosened the fabric a little bit.
Blocking makes every sweater look so much more polished and finished, and so although it can be scary the first time, I promise it’s well worth it! But that brings us to my 5th learned lesson…
Lesson Learned #5: If possible, don’t go at it alone!
At the time I was learning to make my first sweater, there weren’t any in-depth online resources. And although I did have some yarn shops near me, I worked a 50 hours per week (sometimes more) job so weekday classes were not an option and on the weekends my time was so limited. But nowadays, there are so many more options!
Although an in-person class can be great, learning online has lots of benefits as well and with the technology available today, it’s possible to receive in-depth lessons from the comfort of your own home and at your own convenience.
This is what inspired me to start creating my own online courses and knitalongs – I wanted to provide the same level of in-depth lessons you would get if you had a teacher or friend sitting next to you, guiding you through every step of the pattern. But, with the convenience of it being online and pre-recorded, so you can watch and re-watch in your own time.
Learn from me!
If making your first adult sweater is something you would love to do, or if you just feel like you would benefit from learning sweater knitting tips and tricks from the designer herself, then one of my online courses may be a great fit for you.
I not only walk you through every step and row of a pattern, but I also share with you all of the types of lessons I was missing in my first sweater experience – learning about sizing/ease, yarn substitution and fiber content, and how to fearlessly wet block (plus so much more).
I have two sweater pattern courses currently available – my Alanis layering top or Ramona Cardigan. Click below for more details about each of the programs!
And every year (and hopefully multiple times of year in the near future!), I host a knitalong for a new knitting course. So if you would also like to experience one of my courses but in a knitalong format where I host live Zoom meet-ups and send out weekly emails as well, make sure you’re signed-up to my email newsletter so you’ll be in-the-know when a new knitalong is coming up.
I’m in the middle of recording my next one, which will be for my Low-key vest! I hope to start the knitalong for this later this Fall.