Thursday, February 25, 2010

Gemma Cardigan



I am very excited to announce that my first ever for-sale knitting pattern has just been published. Last month, I submitted three sweater designs to Knit Picks to be considered for their Independent Designer Program, and all three were accepted! Since then, I have been knitting, size-grading, and pattern-writing like madwoman. Gemma was the first to be finished, and it went live on the Knit Picks website this morning.

Gemma Cardigan - $5 at Knit Picks and Ravelry (no account required)


Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL) (The sample is a size S with about 1/2" of negative ease.)
Finished Measurements: 28” (32”, 36”, 40”, 44”, 48”, 52”) bust
Yarn Requirements: 7 (8, 9, 9, 10, 11, 12) balls of Knit Picks Swish DK in Tidepool Heather (or 770 (880, 990, 1100, 1210, 1320, 1430) yards of a similar DK weight yarn)
Needles: US 5 (3.75mm) circular needles and same size of needles preferred for working sleeves in the round (e.g. DPNs, two circular needles, or circular needle long enough to use Magic Loop)
Gauge: 21 stitches x 26 rows = 4” in Stockinette stitch



Gemma is a fitted cardigan with a circular yoke, waist shaping and simple lace at the collar and cuffs. There is also some subtle shaping going on right before the lace sleeve cuff in the form of some increases that create a tiny little puff. The lace is an adaptation of the Diamond Mesh Lace from Barbara Walker's (first) Treasury of Knitting Patterns.

This is one of those knits that is pretty simple, won't necessarily show off your intarsia/cabling/nupp-making skills, and, yes, contains a lot of Stockinette, but I'm pretty sure you can wear it with just about anything.



And being part of this new Independent Designer Program? A wonderful experience all around. Knit Picks was a joy to work with. They were responsive, fast, and extremely encouraging. Plus...the yarn rocks. I loved working with the Swish DK on this project.

Also, doing a for-sale pattern meant I was able to hire a Tech Editor, which was fantastic. I don't think I will ever go back to trying to edit patterns alone.



My amazing friend, Lefteris Tsironis, helped out with the photos when I made a visit to Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago. We had a lot of fun doing the shoot, and he spent who-knows-how-long processing and editing the photos that same evening. There are about one million more pictures of this sweater on my Flickr page. (And, yes, I'm smirking in almost all of them. It's because I'm self conscious, not because I'm feeling particularly pleased with myself, as a smirk often denotes.)



Also, a big thank you to everyone who reads and/or comments on this blog. Your encouragement and general warm-fuzziness are a big part of how I was able to muster up the courage to start trying to get my work out there!

And stay tuned for a couple more pattern releases in the next few weeks...

41 comments:

Laura said...

Very pretty - congratulations! The lace detail around the cuffs and yoke is lovely.

barefootrooster said...

GORGEOUS. as always. (and beautifully styled, i must say.) congratulations!

French Press Knits said...

Beautiful cardi. Your styling/pictures are also wonderful!

Aline said...

awesome! I am sooo impressed. Happy dance...A.xx

Anonymous said...

Really very pretty! I love your blog (I usually just lurk) and wanted to say "Congratulations"! Thanks for sharing with all of us :)
Shanna

Ellen said...

This is lovely! Off to queue it ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi Hillary, I've been following your blog for a while now. congratulations on the pattern release. The cardigan is so gorgeous, I won't be surprised if it quickly becomes the must-knit/classic among knitters. Looking forward to more of your releases

Lindsay said...

Such a cute cardigan! And actually one you could wear everyday without feeling over-done.

You're such a good model, too! I thought those were KnitPicks models and photographs until I read otherwise.

Teresa said...

Beautiful! I'm so happy!! It's a lovely pattern, and (honestly) my favourite type: the totally wearable. I can't wait to see the other pieces you've submitted :)

peaknits said...

Congratulations - what a great big deal to be published! Nice work - the sweater is lovely. I am looking forward to more!

Thea said...

Yay you! The sweater is perfect - and totally wearable, am sure you'll get lots of knitters for this one. You look great in the pics too! Cannot wait to see the others....

Will email you seperately about your tech editor experience - if you don't mind, have been toying with the idea myself and haven't taken the plunge yet.

but first, off for the weekend :-) A knitting thing!

Chantal Boucher said...

Congratulation! Nice cardi!

Jodi said...

Brava! What a lovely cardigan. Having a tech editor sounds heavenly. ;-)

Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog: said...

The total awesomeness of this defies words!!!

It's wonderful to see that your classic yet youthful fashion sense will have a greater influence in the handknit market.

Way to go Hilary!!!

Lolliblog said...

Congratulation!
Your cardigan is beautiful.

saraq said...

wowww! congratulations!! this pattern is very pretty and you are great!
p.s. i knit since when i was fifteen, but ... now you are my GURU! :)
i'll show you soon 2 works that i knit ispirated by yours.
sara- magliamagia.blogspot.com

Julie said...

Hilary, that is such a gorgeous cardi!! I'm really happy for you- your designs are awesome, and it's wonderful to see your FOs and designs coming to life on your blog. Congratulations!! I know there will be many more published pattern in the future for you. :D

Now..... to go and purchase the pattern.....

Kathleen Dames said...

Congratulations! Love the details and much as I like the idea of sweaters with interesting techniques, the FOs I reach for are the stockinette ones. Checking out the KP program has been on my list - guess I'd better get on that.

Karina said...

Congratulations! Off to Knitpicks to get yarn and pattern.

Jeanie said...

Awesome!! Congratulations:)

Cambria said...

I'm new to your blog, but I've found you via my "friend's activity" page on Ravelry and I'll be keeping a close eye from here on :). Your designs are beautiful and I've qued this right up. Congrats!

a friend to knit with said...

wow. hilary! it is gorgeous! you are gorgeous! the photos are gorgeous!
i absolutely LOVE this design. wonderful, wonderful job!!!

Mary Lee said...

How exciting! I immediately logged on to Knit Picks to check it out. Can't wait to see the next patterns.
ML

Dorothy said...

I'm thrilled for you!! Lovely job on this sweater. Can't wait for the next two patterns.

Maryse said...

Congratulations! This is a very nice cardigan! Good work! And best of success (just between you an me, I think it's just a beginning!) ;-) Have a great weekend!

Clumsy Knitter said...

Yay for you! I queued this as soon as I saw it on Ravelry. Love it! I can't wait to see your other designs, too. :D

the Lady said...

Congrats and I heart the pictures.

Aesderina said...

Congratulations on getting published!! that is so freaking cool and fantastic! great pattern and I had no idea that knitpicks support new designers like that!
Congrats again and GREAT photos!

Philigry said...

this is so great! I am so proud of you! i love the sweater, and i can not wait to see what else you have to show us! great job, you totally deserve this! These photos are so beautiful.

jennifer said...

Eep! Congratulations!!!

Heather said...

so gorgeous! added to my "when im brave enough to try a sweater" queue.

Susan said...

Congratulations! How fabulous.I just looked at their indie patterns last month. Your new one will be on my queue list for sure!

Julie said...

Congratulations, Hilary! KnitPicks is lucky to have you designing for them, and it's great to see you developing confidence to get your designs out there for the rest of us to enjoy.

Jacey said...

It's really lovely. The detail at the collar is a wonderful touch. I think it makes it feel fancy.

Slauditory said...

This is a lovely sweater! I plan on making it once I'm done with the two I'm working on now.

Barbara said...

I am in the middle of this cardigan and I must say it's the best pattern I've EVER worked with. Easy to read, with the stitch count after every decrease / increase. I've never made a cardigan before and I am SO PLEASED I chose this one first. THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

katiebird said...

I want to make this lovely sweater for my daughter.

But, we're worried about her measurements.

She's 34 across her breasts & 31.5 around & up under her arms.....

This is my first sweater project and I'm not sure which size to knit for her.

Do you have any advice?

Laura Altes said...

Any ideas on how I could "draw in" the neckline on my Gemma? It is all done, but the neckline is way too big, the sweater keeps trying to slip off my shoulders and too much of my shirt underneath is showing. I like the cardigan, but that neckline has really stretched out too much. I used KnitPicks Cotlin to knit the sweater in the 40" size.

Nancy Bollingberg said...

I just love the lace work at the neckline of this cardigan! My daughter has begged for it too! So, I purchased it off KnitPicks along with the yarns and was so anxious to start it. I have knit the neckline 3 times and the Diamond Mesh pattern is not working for me. Were there any corrections to that pattern? When I slip the stitches for ssk and sl1 I am slipping them as to knit. Is that correct? I appreciate any help with this as I really am anxious to knit this.

Hilary said...

Hi Nancy -- I'm so sorry you're having trouble with the lace! No errors/corrections have been found with that part, but I'd suggest practicing the lace over a smaller number of stitches, maybe just one or two repeats, to test things out and figure out what you might be doing wrong. Sounds like you've got ssk just right.

katiebird said...

Hilary, I'm just finishing (finally!!) my Gemma. But, I'm having a terrible time sewing that row of knitting to the first row of lace (across the back)

Do you have any hints for holding that thin row in place as I sew so it doesn't look ragged?

Any help or advise would be wildly appreciated!!