Free Course for Aspiring Knitwear Designers

Lots of knitters have design ideas they’d like to see published, but they might not know how to get started publishing patterns with third-party publications like yarn company websites, magazines and books.

Knit and crochet designer and mentor Tian Connaughton has produced a free six-part video course with Knit Picks and We Crochet that aims to help new and aspiring designers get started.

Get Published covers the following areas:

Things to do before submitting a design proposal
How to submit a design proposal
What to do when your design is accepted
What to do when your design is rejected
How to communicate effectively
How to receive yarn support

The course is free and open to all but was specially designed to empower Black, Indigenous and People of Color who might not see themselves in the knitwear design industry.

It also includes interviews with new and established designers to help inspire aspiring designers to get started.

I’m watching it right now; if you check it out I’d love to hear what you think!

Next Pattern:

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting.

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of.

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams.

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs.

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty.

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this).

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry.

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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