I am totally blaming it on Susan and Mary.
I mean don’t get me wrong I love diving head first into complex color work and cabled sweater patterns. The kind that challenge me to work complex charts, learn new seaming or construction methods, or stitch patterns that keep me on my toes. THOSE patterns always feel like a huge accomplishment when I am done. It is like a runner’s high.
But that is really not how I make my sweaters.
You see Mary and Susan were my first knitting teachers, and they taught me to knit using Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitting Without Tears book as a text book for the community class in Birmingham, AL. We brought in a sweater that we loved and recreated it taking measurements, calculating gauge, and analyzing drape.
In the last 10 years, my sweaters are made to replace what is to be tossed from my closet (let me just say, I am a bit behind of replenishing my wardrobe). And most of the time I use the method that I was taught in Mary and Susan’s class. It insures a great fit (because I am using a sweater that I already know fits me). I have an unusual body shape and have always struggled to get a good fit when using patterns.
But I have to say, as a right brain knitter, Knitting without a pattern is great for working handspun yarn as well as painting with yarn methods. I have found that as I gather my yarn by weight as oppose to by yardage, I had a better chance of not running out as well as compensate for using different yarns with different gauges. I wrote about that here.
Have you ever made a sweater without a pattern? What are your favorite methods? Share your ideas! Leave me a comment below.
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Fiber artist Stacey Budge-Kamison AKA UrbanGypZ lives and works in Cary NC. She can also be found knitting in public, hammering out her latest e-course at local cafés and spinning yarns in her booth at her favorite arts festivals. A designer at heart, Stacey has decided that her mission is to help fellow knitters, crocheters, weavers and felters embrace their own style and creativity by exploring fiber art as it is a part of their everyday life and helping them embrace the title of artist no matter where they are in their journey. 
I almost always knit sweaters without a pattern, like you do. I look for ideas in books, magazines and on the internet and then I take a sweater I like, and recreate the same measurements ( is this good English? My apologies if it isn’t). I am short 1m53 and always have to adapt every peace of clothing I buy, so this works well for me.
What is lovely, is that my daughter is taking over this habit, although she is much taller than I and she has wonderful results too!
Bought EZ books in 1982. Using her methods ever since 🙂
So are you saying you use Zimmerman S book to make your sweaters I stay clear of patters because I hate putting the thing together. Esp the sleeved
It’s good to see that it’s possible to recreate a favorite sweater! I have a sweater that my husband bought for me back before my daughter was born (over 20 years ago) that has finally decided it has had enough. The fibers are falling apart and there’s no saving it. I’ve always wanted anted to try to recreate it. Now seems like the time to try!
I have never even thought to knit without a pattern – I’m 47 and been knitting since I was 6 but don’t think I’d know where to begin…. It’s something to think about for me 🙂