Ideas
Inspiration
There are lots of ways to get ideas, but depending on your skill level of converting ideas in to finished items, here are a few thoughts:
- you could start with small toys, which are quick to make if you want results fast
- the obvious would be to find a beginners book and work through some of the projects to give you an idea of what you like doing and do not like doing and then follow your chosen route.
- try baby clothes, where there is not much shaping
- use chunky yarns to make up items quickly
- for the more experienced knitter, try going though your Mum's or Gran stash of old magazines and seeing what designs you can find. This particularly good for retro stuff from the 60's and 70's.
-Or try Vintage clothing sales, they have lots of old patterns or clothes that you can take certain features from and give a simple sweater a special twist.
Take inspiration from nature
- one of things I have learnt, is to look closely at nature, the bark of a tree, the moss on an old stone wall and see if you can adapt the difference in texture in to your knitted item. Using blocks of different stitches is good for this. Be bold and don't be afraid of unravelling and starting again but with an even better idea.
Become a recycler
- try taking some old clothes, yours or from a charity shop and using only bits of them and combining them with a new piece or with other textiles. Be careful to have knitted edges well bound, to prevent fraying of your beautiful creation later.
Use the internet
- lots of designers show some of their collections of the web
- Ravelry.com is a website where you can look at what other people have knitted, how they turned out, what issues they had and you can also post up your own projects if you join their mailing list.
You can find inspiration from anything - take a good look around you.