Autumn Cape 2016 A long Term Project Part 6

In the previous blog I ended on the pros and cons of one of my bright ideas (heaven help us). This one is how I put the said idea from theory into practise. First of all the idea I had was to enrich the design by adding a squirrel,  A Red Squirrel obviously being a bit of a traditionalist.

Much as I like the Grey Squirrel (an American invader) whenever I think of Squirrels I automatically think of Squirrel Nutkin. For those not familiar with him he is a character from the Beatrix Potter stories.

Now I am not much of an artist especially when it comes to drawing real things. Indeed if people can recognise what I have drawn I count it as a success. Therefore I needed to do some research. Since Red Squirrels are hard to come by in my area and even if they were they would be unlikely to sit still long enough for me to draw, books and the Internet were my fall back.

Rough Red Squirrel

The picture above shows my first Rough Red Squirrel. Don’t be fooled there was a hell of a lot of rubbing out and redrawing before it got anywhere near this stage.

Rough Red Squirrel on Chart Paper

 After I was satisfied with my original rough drawing I next had to transfer it onto some chart paper – NOT the same piece as my tree.

Red Squirrel on Practise Chart

Once I had my rough drawing transferred on to the chart paper I had to square off all the curves in order to make it suitable for a knitting pattern.

Red Squirrel Measurements

Before I transfer this picture onto the real Chart I wanted to measure it. I need to check the picture for scale. Not only that as I am getting near to the bottom of the paper I am using I wanted to make sure that there was enough room for the whole Squirrel. I am making things difficult enough for myself without the added problem of trying to transfer one drawing on to two pieces of Chart and getting them lined up correctly. It might seem simple just counting the squares but believe me after a while they start blurring and merging into one another.

Red Squirrel on Pictorial Chart

The above photograph shows the Squirrel finally inserted onto the Pictorial Design Chart. I meant to a take a picture before colouring in but I forgot – sorry folks. Most of the Squirrel will be coloured in for the knitting pattern. However the outlines of the arms/hip etc. will need added afterwards in the fine detail.

Red Squirrel on Pictorial Chart Full Colour

Since Squirrels Red or otherwise rarely levitate in mid-air it needed to sit on something. Consequent after adding the Squirrel I drew in a branch on which it could rest then added the background leaves. I tried to wherever possible place yellow around the Squirrel in order for it to stand out once knitted.

Now I have the Pictorial Chart I can begin to transcribe that into my Written Chart. I won’t actually be able to do much Knitting until I get my wool for the Squirrel but then that means you get a break from my excessive blogging : )

Autumn Cape 2016 A long Term Project Part 5

Autumn Cape 2016 A long Term Project Part 5

It was shortly after my last blog that I realised that I had found another bit I could improve. In all honesty it is something I should have spotted long before now. If you can remember as far back as parts 1 & 2 when I was showing how I built up the design you know I built up the Pictorial Chart Design in sections.

First Coloured Background Chart 

As stated previously I had cast on 124 stitches; 120 for the main pattern and 2 extra each end for the selvedge to make the knitted piece flatter and also easier to sew up. The main trunk was drawn and coloured but the background leaf design was coloured in every 5-10 lines.

I was concentrating so hard on remembering to knit the selvedge’s that when I came to add further sections of background colour I overlooked one essential detail. That was the fact that when sewn together these selvedge’s will not be seen. Therefore it was a bit ridiculous to make small colour changes at the edges of the design.

If you look at the picture below you will see that the colour changes at the edges are far smaller and more often above the lower boughs. When I realised my mistake I corrected the chart by making few changes at the edges below the boughs.

Fewer Edge Colour Changes

The above picture shows the design after knitting 2 complete A4 pages of the Written Chart or alternatively 120 knitted rows. Since I would soon be at the point where I would be adding a new part to the Design it was a good opportunity to take some measurements beforehand.

Left hand bough Approx. 20 cm Wide.

Left hand bough Approx. 15 cm High

Right Hand Bough Approx.  17 cm Wide 

These measurements were important as when I come to input the feature I have in mind I need to get the scale correct in correspondence to the rest of the Pictorial Design Chart. Of course rough drawings were needed before any addition to the chart.

I had a couple of ideas - some of which dangerously complicated but then I never seem to take the easy way when trying something new.  Annoyingly what I had in mind I haven’t got the correct coloured wool for and I am not up to a trip to the city as yet.

I have a couple of options. Once I have got the design roughly down on paper I can incorporate it directly into the knitted design by making it to the right scale and transferring it to the Pictorial Design Chart then adding the fine details later. Alternatively I could put the actual feature design to one side and then embroider it after the knitted piece is finished.

Both options have pros and cons. The first option means that I have to be spot on when knitting and any mistake would be glaringly obvious. On the other hand it would mean the majority of the work will have been done and only a little bit of fine detail would need adding.

The second option means that I can have a large section of background colour without quick colour changes. However it means that there would be more to do after knitting plus a whole section would be double thickness of wool.

Perhaps once the rough designs were made it would make it easier to choose which option to use. So the next stop is research to help me draw the rough outline of the feature I want. I will give the results in the next blog.