Week Five: Knitting

Monday and Wednesday

This week were split into two groups and I chose to join the knitwear group. On our first day we learnt the basics of using the knitting machine such as how to cast on, how to set up the machine and then how to knit. We were also taught some knitting techniques such as honeycomb, weaving, drop stitch and making lace holes. I did an internship last year where I learnt how to use a knitting machine so I already knew some of the basic skills. It had been a while since I used one though so I found it difficult to remember all the little things you have to do to but after about an hour or two I got used to using the machine and it was fairly easy to do the tasks after that. On Tuesday we learnt more advanced techniques such has how to create shapes using the bubble and mountain technique. We also learnt how to change colours and how to put one knitting sample onto another. I found the mountain and bubble technique quite challenging at first because there's a lot of things to remember and if you forget something it can go completely wrong. I asked out teacher to show me how to do it again and after practicing a few times i found it easier to do. I enjoyed Wednesday session really fun because I felt like I really knew what I was doing which made me more confident. It surprised me how quickly I was able to pick up most of the new techniques we were taught.

Friday

On Friday we were given the freedom to use the techniques we'd learnt in the past week to make a4 sized samples which related to our project.

I found it hard to use shapes which related to my theme so instead I focused on the colours that I was using. In my mood boards my main colours were dark red, chocolate brown and cream so I focused on highlighting those colours. I wanted to create quite textured samples so I chose to use the fringing technique. If I developed this further I think it could make a really interesting jacket or even a small detail like a pocket. I also enlarged one of the smaller weaving samples that I did on Wednesday but I don't really like how it turned out mainly because of the colours I used. I think if fabric was a similar colour to the yarn it would look better on a large scale and the focus would be on the texture the weaving creates rather than the contrasting colours.

I really enjoyed learning how to use the knitting machine and it is definitely something I'd like to do in the future. However, I don't think I'll do a knitted garment for my final piece because it would be quite a long process to learn how to use knitting pattern to create a garment.