"I don't know how to read patterns."
or
"I can't follow a pattern to save my life."
I keep coming across variations of the same statement, so I want to talk about it a little bit.
There is nothing wrong with not being able to follow a pattern. I can follow patterns. I just don't. I mean, occasionally I'll make something from a pattern, but much more often I will get annoyed with it after a short while and do my own thing.
Listen, if you know how to make the stitches, and how to increase and how to decrease, you don't need no stinkin' pattern. It's called freeform, and there are books out there dedicated to teaching people to break free of patterns and do stuff on the fly.
(Not that there is a single thing wrong with following patterns either, but that's not the point of my little speech tonight.
)
It is a good idea to learn the basics of garment construction, but EVERYTHING can be broken down into geometric shapes. A hat starts out as a circle. A sweater is, at its most basic, four rectangles. Blankets are rectangles or squares or, more rarely, circles or stars. Shawls are triangles (sometimes several together). Once you can make a hat without thinking twice (and it's really easy: increase evenly until it's just a bit smaller than you think it should be, then work even until it's just a bit longer than you think it should be), and a sweater with a little planning, you can make anything. Anything! A sock is a hat with a little twist in it. Dolls are balls (two hats together) on top of sweaters with socks thrown in.
So don't feel bad if you can't read patterns. (I personally think the damned things are written obtusely on purpose!) Pick up a few good reference books--No-Pattern Knits, Modular Crochet--and have a go at it. (Oh, Modular Crochet is out of print, but it's probably at the library. Take copious notes. Totally worth it.) You will finesse the finer points as you go along.
But do you know what the best part of "not being able" to follow a pattern is? You set your own expectations. I'm still not entirely certain which is the "right" side of any one crochet stitch, and I'm 99% positive I'm purling wrong...but I like the way the finished products look, and that is what matters.
or
"I can't follow a pattern to save my life."
I keep coming across variations of the same statement, so I want to talk about it a little bit.
There is nothing wrong with not being able to follow a pattern. I can follow patterns. I just don't. I mean, occasionally I'll make something from a pattern, but much more often I will get annoyed with it after a short while and do my own thing.
Listen, if you know how to make the stitches, and how to increase and how to decrease, you don't need no stinkin' pattern. It's called freeform, and there are books out there dedicated to teaching people to break free of patterns and do stuff on the fly.
(Not that there is a single thing wrong with following patterns either, but that's not the point of my little speech tonight.
)It is a good idea to learn the basics of garment construction, but EVERYTHING can be broken down into geometric shapes. A hat starts out as a circle. A sweater is, at its most basic, four rectangles. Blankets are rectangles or squares or, more rarely, circles or stars. Shawls are triangles (sometimes several together). Once you can make a hat without thinking twice (and it's really easy: increase evenly until it's just a bit smaller than you think it should be, then work even until it's just a bit longer than you think it should be), and a sweater with a little planning, you can make anything. Anything! A sock is a hat with a little twist in it. Dolls are balls (two hats together) on top of sweaters with socks thrown in.
So don't feel bad if you can't read patterns. (I personally think the damned things are written obtusely on purpose!) Pick up a few good reference books--No-Pattern Knits, Modular Crochet--and have a go at it. (Oh, Modular Crochet is out of print, but it's probably at the library. Take copious notes. Totally worth it.) You will finesse the finer points as you go along.
But do you know what the best part of "not being able" to follow a pattern is? You set your own expectations. I'm still not entirely certain which is the "right" side of any one crochet stitch, and I'm 99% positive I'm purling wrong...but I like the way the finished products look, and that is what matters.
