Tips of the Trade

There are a few habits and/or tricks I've picked up along the way. Some are just good, general ideas for knitters. Others are specifically about the design process. I don't think I could possibly list them all out here on the fly, but as they come up in blog posts, I'll be sure to cross-post them here. If the tip can use a little more explanation or fleshing out, I'll do that here, too.

For All Knitters

For Designers

• Knitters Graph Paper - 
•  you can buy it, you can download it for free from the internet, or you can make your own. I prefer the DIY route. Even though I own fancy charting software, I create most of my charts in Excel. Making my graph paper in Excel ensures that what I draw on the paper will have the same proportions on the screen. Just change the cell size to match your gauge (or if you're so excited to get down to the business of getting your idea on paper that you don't have time to swatch, a good estimate for stockinette stitch is a ratio of 1.4 to 1. My go-to cell measurements are 28 x 20 pixels). Then select a print area that has enough cells for your plans, click on "print gridlines" and you're all set!
• (Tip from Evolution of a Design (part 2): The Image)