On Saturday, CustomFit will be a month old. Jackie and I were talking about this on the long drive to NY last weekend, and about the next sweaters we plan to make for ourselves. You see, we’re using the same yarn. And I mean the exact same yarn.
It’s the coppery yarn in this picture, which is String Theory Caper Aran in “Canyon”. We both grabbed it at our retreat, and discussed at the time what a fun idea it would be to explore the different pieces of clothing you might get from the same materials.
And that word – clothing – is vastly, vastly important. It’s been the subject of many a conversation around here, these past several months.
It’s funny, really, the language we sometimes use around our knitting. I tend to think of my yarn and needles as the raw ingredients to fabric, of the fabric I produce as the raw ingredient to clothing. But I feel that knitters often don’t talk about creating clothing. We talk about knitting sweaters, maybe. And sometimes we wear them. But I think sweater knitting is intimidating enough for many knitters, without adding the extra pressure of making it clothing, too.
But clothing is what I’m all about. I’m not a “What Not to Wear” lady, and I have no interest in dictating anyone’s personal style to them. Knit to Flatter
was about helping knitters make clothing, by focusing on teasing apart the reasons we might like one sweater more than another. Why we might pull this thing out of the closet twice a week, and leave that thing to linger.
Let’s be clear, now: It’s damn hard to wear clothing that doesn’t fit properly. Every time we put on something that isn’t quite right, we get the message that there’s maybe something wrong with us. When really, there’s nothing wrong with us or our bodies–we just happen to live in a world of mass-produced clothing, where everything is created for some mythical “Ms. Average”.
CustomFit gives you instructions for clothing that fits you perfectly. But that’s not the only ingredient to making clothing you love to wear. Silhouette, fabric, proportion, finishing, detail… all of these things are important too. And I think that even once the intimidation of fit is taken away, these other things can feel scary.
So I’d like to invite you all to join me in a CustomFit Knit-A-Long. Because rather than being intimidating, these things should be fun. To help keep things fun, and create a piece of truly magical clothing, this is going to be a guided KAL. I’ve got a series of posts planned on
- Design
- Swatching
- Fabric
- Seaming & finishing
All aimed at breaking things down step-by-step. I’ve created a KAL Pinterest board as a place where we can share inspiration and join together as a community. Want to join in?
Typically, KALs start well enough in advance that everyone can find a yarn to work with the selected pattern. But any yarn works with CustomFit. And you don’t need to know what you’re making before you start. So we’re going to start the KAL on CustomFit’s 1-month anniversary by falling in love with a yarn and making a fabric we adore.
Cast on for your CustomFit KAL swatch this Saturday November 16. Pin inspiration pictures, swatch pictures, in-progress pictures, and FO shots with the hashtag customfit-kal. We’ll collect them on the board and inspire one another along the way.
It’s not a race, but a journey we’re taking together. Some sweaters will take longer to finish than others. But I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy sweater knitting can be… …and I suspect that along and around the new year, we’ll share our new clothes. My inspiration?
Join us, and revel in garments that make us feel like our bodies are right, just as they are.
Amy Herzog Designs