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The Design Process – Inspiration

Posted on | February 12, 2007 | 15 Comments

Welcome to my first installment of a glimpse inside my design process! I will begin with a very short summary of where I find inspiration and then talk a bit about sketching and swatching the initial design. I also include dates so you can get a general idea how long the process can sometimes take.

Working as a full-time designer, I am blessed with having tons and tons of inspiration surrounding me practically 24/7. We subscribe to trend and color services, shop Europe and NYC, and look at magazines. Sometimes I am inspired by a particular stitch, other times by a great silhouette or even by a great yarn.

In this particular case, I was inspired by some beautiful yarn – Fable Handknit’s 100% Baby Alpaca. This yarn deserved to be turned into something that was classy and sophisticated, yet fun and up-to-date.

Finally in the beginning of January, I got around to sketching a few ideas here and there. I sketched about 10 designs and let them sit, looking over them occasionally. Finally they were narrowed down to about 4 and left to sit another few days. Usually, I will also get outside opinions of fellow knitters and designers to help me decide on the final project. I don’t think the creative process should happen in a total vacuum, and comments from outside sources are a very helpful tool when making my final choice. And the winner was………

A deep V tunic cardigan with short doleman sleeves (selected Jan 13th):

Once the design was chosen, I set to work trying to find a stitch pattern that both complimented the yarn and the silhouette – which is not always an easy task! After pouring over several stitch libraries, I selected a few to swatch. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. For this particular design, I picked about 5 stitch patterns and 2 worked with the alpaca.

I went for something with a little texture, but with a hint of lace (finished Feb 1st):

The top of the swatch was done in an interesting pointelle/rib like pattern. The bottom is Flame Chevron.

I carried the swatch around with me for about a week before finally deciding on the Flame Chevron. I thought it would work well with the design and add a bit of texture without being overwhelming. I really liked the top pattern also, but felt it might look a bit too busy, thick and vertical for a long tunic. So this stitch will probably become inspiration for another design down the road.

Inspiration – check.
Design – check.
Stitch pattern – check.

Next step: figuring out the gauge, yarn requirements, and the measurements of the finished garment. Stay tuned!

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