CH 187: Modification and Collaboration: Community and Design

This week I’m talking about the ways that the knitting community comes into designing a pattern. For many knitters, making a change to an existing pattern is their first step into the world of pattern design. It’s a good way to gain a little confidence, experiment with new ideas, and flex your technical and creative muscles. I think of modification as a kind of collaboration, where a designer and a knitter are “working together” to create a perfectly personalised finished object. 

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Alongside an eclectic yarn range, which includes Hazel Knits, Icelandic Lopi & CoopKnits, we stock a carefully chosen selection of needles and notions. We’ve also recently launched ‘hand dyed by meadowyarn’, our very own in-house, hand-dyed yarn range. Working in our tiny dye studio, nestled in the Suffolk countryside, we are able to indulge our love of colour, producing complex tonal, kettle-dyed shades across a range of weights and bases. With regular updates our collections evolve and grow, inspired by the landscape and people around us.

AYS is a wool boutique specializing in hand dyed yarns and luxury fibres from around the world. You’ll always find a well curated collection of yarns and colors on the shelves and a friendly knowledgeable staff on hand. Some of our favorite brands include Hedgehog Fibres, SweetGeorgia Yarn, Julie Asselin, Shibui Knits and The Fibre Co. You can find A Yarn Story on Walcot Street in Bath or online at www.ayarnstory.co.uk

Show Links

Afternoon Tea Shawl project page with hood modification

Curious Collective Shawl Pattern # 1

Curious Collective Shawl Pattern # 2

Whispering Island Shawl

For our Scavenger Hunt prompt this last week of camp, share a photo of a knitting pattern you’ve modified, a pattern you’d like to modify, or maybe something you’ve knit because you were inspired by someone else, as a muse! Post in the Big Participation Thread, and remember, you can fill in the prompts any time for the next week or so before I draw winners for our Camp Curious end-of-camp prizes! To make it easier to catch up, I’ve posted all the prompts at the top of the thread.

Shawl Society News

The Rune Shawl Mini KAL will run until Sept 7th (I said the 6th in the podcast but we’ve said the 7th before so we’ll stick to that!) so don’t forget to post your FO photos in the thread whenever you’ve cast off! As we’re getting close to the end (just a couple of months to go) remember that if you’re finishing up any other shawls from this season you can still post them in the FO threads to be in with a chance to win a lovely prize in the Grand KAL at the end of the season!

More To Explore

KNIT A BEAUTIFUL SHAWL

Learn all the essential skills you need to start knitting stunning handmade shawls with the FREE Spindrift Shawl Pattern and Online Workshop

Magazine Covers with Helen Stewart on it and a knitted shawl wrapped around her neck and shoulders