First Person
The Joys of Off-Road Knitting
Pattern? Who needs a pattern?
There are people who read instruction booklets carefully before assembling, and then there are those who like to grab the pieces and get to work.
I’m in the latter camp, which is why my bookcase shelves had the smooth finish on the inside and the grainy particle board facing out. (I thought it lent a rustic look.)
There are those who will look up tutorials online and learn the ins and outs to ensure something is fully operational. I learn by doing, playing with something until it reveals its gifts—or my lack of a knack for making the thing work.
Knitting was the one time this couldn’t be done. How humans ever came up with this complex dance of string and sticks is still a mystery, one that’s thousands of years old.
When I learned to knit, I learned to learn: how to listen and look, how to mimic what my teachers did, how to see mistakes and, later, fix them. This was a case where improvisation would not lead to discovery of anything other than frustration.
I followed patterns. When I found a new abbreviation or instruction, I looked it up in books or online, or both, to learn how to do it correctly. I was a good little knitter. I made things that were technically correct—and categorically not me.
The finished garments were “right,” but right for someone else. Full length sleeves when I prefer three-quarter, a boat neck when I wanted crew, shorter or longer when I needed longer or shorter.
I spent weeks knitting a top from hot pink yarn that cost a fair amount. I ended up with a gorgeous top that is a) sleeveless, and I don’t wear sleeveless, and b) too short for my torso, and most of my jeans. (Thank goodness for the return of high-rise pants! My sweater has a shot this year.)
When I heard about some of my knitting friends, and even teachers, going off-pattern and creating garments more their style, the little Instruction Ignorer in me hooted with joy.
Knitting, previously a follow-the-rules activity, could be a wild off-road adventure, the equivalent of driving on dirt, sand, snow, or other unpaved surface.
The results have been, ah, mixed. If you see me hitch my arms while wearing a certain sweater, I’m just trying to get the sleeves to look like they’re of equal length. One of my cowls could double as a sleeping bag—which could actually be handy in extreme weather! I know I’m not alone; somewhere out there, a person is cuddling with their Emotional Support Mutant Monster Chicken.
Why go off pattern? Why not just follow instructions and knit properly? Ironically, off-road knitting brings me back to the beginning: learning.
Some learn by reading instructions carefully and following them to the letter. Some learn by playing. Both paths are valid and fine, because at the end of the day, or the very, very long sleeve, we have been knitting. We feel that joy of making stitches, the thrill of creating something where before there was open air—even if you have to rip it all out when you realize you’re just spinning your wheels.
Such play can lead to great discoveries. We learn at an early age to follow the rules, color inside the lines. If we stay that way, we make no mistakes—and what are mistakes but opportunities to learn and grow?
Two kids named Steve began tinkering in a garage. I’m writing this article on the result of their off-road messing around, the personal computer. A young artist learned traditional styles of painting, then began to follow his own radical muse; Vincent Van Gogh’s creations became some of the most revered works in the history of art.
My off-road knitting looks a bit more abstract. But along with the less than successful ventures, there have been successes, like a ridiculously long scarf that was mistaken for a runway piece made by a top designer.
My main off-road knitting triumph, though, is taking that leap. With a mischievous smile, I set off on a new adventure, knowing that something I make could be more than just a sweater; it could be mine.
I never thought of it as “off-road”! I learned to sew and tailor patterns before I started exploring sweater knitting, so it didn’t take too many years to grasp that if I didn’t lengthen the body and shorten the sleeves, I would never wear the finished sweater.
And if I am knitting a cardigan flat in pieces, I knit both sleeves and both fronts at the same time, so I don’t have to figure out all the shaping etc happens on the second one.
Going “off-road” is a great thing!!
The first thing I tell someone who is knitting a garment for the first time is that they can ammend the pattern. You wouldn’t put an ingredient that you don’t like in a meal, so why knit something with the wrong length just because tge pattern tells you to.
I’m pretty much self taught, way back in the 60s as a child I wanted to knit and my mother didn’t so I had a basic lesson from my aunt then had to get on with it. Unless my mother had time to take me to the local wool shop (I was 7) I had to work out things for myself. Nowadays people are (mainly) far too reliant on following instructions on line and not learning for themselves.
I too learned how to sew before I knit. I even have a degree in tailoring and design. So it doesn’t take much for me to what I call alter a pattern. But I do like the term “off-roading” also. Sounds much more adventurous!
You made me smile! Now, back to my sweater
So many kindred spirits! I knit, crochet, sew, and cook, and made baskets professionally for years, things were self taught and like all of us, brought the full range of emotions. Patterns and recipes are suggestions from and for, those who need structure. My hope is everyone will eventually trust themselves enough to follow their own path.
Thank you Suzan for this space for those of us who prefer scribble pictures to coloring books.
I call it “off pattern” or sometimes I call it “going rogue”.
It can be rewarding and it can be disastrous! All part of my process.
Thank you, Suzan. I guess from the start I have always been an off-road knitter. I find a pattern that speaks to me. I sometimes even begin knitting according to the pattern. But then I find I need to begin tweaking it just a little, then a bit more, to make a garment or accessory I like, will actually wear, or give as a gift. And to me that is a big part of the joy of knitting – making something that is “me”.
Another sewist here – it teaches you about fit and garment construction. But in knitting, you are creating the fabric, and you can’t dart/take in/shorten the way you manipulate fabric.
It’s part of why I will not knit a sweater without a schematic. Measurements are important.
Add in being petite (short) and tweaking is always a part of the process. Having a sewing brain helps greatly.
My sentiments exactly. I was brought up sewing at the age of 7 and began to knit on my own somewhere in my teenage years. I enjoy both greatly, but I am far more likely to alter and adjust sewing. I too, am petite so I do adjust length in body and sleeves.
And to Suzan, this was so much fun to read. I truly admire your ability to “free wheel”, but I would have taken apart the bookshelf.
Have you ever knit a sweater from One Wild? It used to just be Jen G but she paired up with someone (Elizabeth I think?) and now they design under One Wild. Jen is big on schematics and designing so you can alter to your own fit – her testers even tweak off pattern and she promotes it.
I haven’t braved the sweater world quite yet (I’ve made one, in a class) but I’m eyeing a few of her patterns to make the jump solo.
Thanks for the intro to One Wild!
Needed this today! Thank you, Diane
Totally. Much more fun and satisfying with both yarn and life.
I love the term “off road knitting”!
I have a head game: Cast on 1 stitch. Knit something from it. With knitting we can go in any direction, stop here, pick up there. Thank you for this article Suzan!
Another sewist before knitter here. Learned to knit at my LYS by making a swtr (still have & wear that swtr 40+ yrs later, classic style). Glad I learned how to read patterns, schematics, etc. Then took a wrkshp in making up my own fabric & turning it into a sweater. That was freedom! I love the term off-road knitting! Exploring for the fun of it 🙂
Love it! Love it! Love it!
When I started knitting at the age of 8, with red plastic needles from a kit I found in the toy section, I had no choice but to learn on my own. My mom took her role as encourager seriously, but she felt helpless when I proudly came home with my new kit.
It took me years of experience before I discovered that my knit stitches were always made through the back loop.
But it didn’t matter.
Mom was so proud of my work, and I was too!
LOLThank you so much for this beautifully written article!
I can relate on so many levels. I will no longer feel embarrassed or ashamed of my beloved mutant creations–
Carpe Diem!
I knit a whole entire intarsia pullover knitting through the back loop! It just has a different texture, it’s not “wrong.”
my Mum taught me sewing, basic crochet and knitting whenI was in my early teens… at the time I did not even know that knitting patterns existed.
It went like this: knit and purl (i.e right sts and/or left sts – that is the way they were called in my country). Make a rectangular scarf to practise basic knitting.
OK, now you are ready for a sweater or at least a vest. So you must make a gauge then measure it. Measure hips or waist depending on the design you have in mind, calculate number of sts necessary to CO for that (mostly it was half of circumference). Keep the front a couple sts wider than the back. Work upwards.
When having a foot or so of material ready start placing it against the body to figure where under arm shaping should begin. learn simple decrease, continue upwards.
do the same with the front. Attach new ball of yarn when splitting the front or back for neck opening, Knit sleeves two at a time. Figure out potential increases for upper arms. Learn how to pick up sts for the neck finishing, learn how to sew the pieces and how to weave in the ends. Sweater is ready. Why would I need a pattern?
At that time, in that country a sweater was the main objective. My Mum worked full time 46hrs a week (and there were no weekends) so there was no time for frivolities of lace or finicky techniques like short rows… These were different times, I wish my Mum could also enjoy all these quite recent “discoveries” of mine.
I really enjoyed this article and the comments that followed. Awesome! I, too, had started sewing at the age of 8 because that’s what my mother use to do. She made everything, curtains, purses, clothes for me, herself, my brothers. Wow. So I took up knitting before retiring because I could take my yarn anywhere to make material to make a top. Also because i felt I needed something to keep me busy after retirement. I love it so much that every time I sit down I have to knit and yes knitting by trial and error for many years and still learning.
Great article — always love your outlook and humor.
Another knitter here who learned to sew 15 years before I taught myself how to knit. In both crafts, it helps to have learned the basics before one turns down that unpaved road. My niece once asked me for help with a dress, and I discovered that she was trying to make a complicated pattern without paying attention to the markings or instructions! I was mystified at her approach. She was happier after I pointed out the need to mark dots and notches to help with the assembly and to pay attention to seam allowances. There is a struggle between wanting to just dive in and having the patience/focus to (dare I say it?) read the map first.
Inventing on the needles is one of my favorite things! Sure, often it doesn’t work, but sometimes it does, or gives me another idea. At least I get experience making fabric to see if I like it or not. I love doing random stranded knitting, where I decide as I go when to change colors: no graph! No charts! So freeing! (this works best in a shawl where fit is not an issue) Some of us don’t come from a sewing/tailoring background and have different needs. Some of us do and their work is gorgeously precise and accurate.
I’m definitely an off road knitter. Makes every pattern an adventure
Wow, I have never seen this before!
Loved this article. I do go off on my own way of knitting quite often. Lots of fun!
I love this! (It reminds me of The Fool – that wonderful let’s-see-what’s-out-there energy!)
For years, I have had Cat Bordhi’s Rio Calina Cowl, a “Let the River Carry You” Design. I hesitate to call it a pattern. You cast on stitches and knit in 2×2 ribbing until you are moved to make a cable. There’s a little more to the instructions/suggestions than that, but you get the picture. Finally, put two cowls on my needles last week both in fingering, but 2 different needle sizes. Instructions are for worsted, so some swatching ensued. Greatest thing since garter stitch for a relaxing and/or travel project, where distractions won’t cause you to skip a row of that lace pattern or make arm hole decreases on the wrong edge. And it’s all for you to decide. Having a ball with it.
I agree with you I find there are basics for sizing & that’s fair but i like to mix the stitch designs &lengths & colour combinations the way I like ☺️
Wonderful article. I learned from a great aunt who mixed both approaches. This was in the 50’s. So much has evolved. Both approaches have value in getting a great creation.
I like this post because I am crocheter.
Hi! I create tiny knitted garments for card making. Some are transferred to tiny hand made needles & others using fine cotton are cast off & adhered. I love creating my own patterns.
Hallelujah you have unravelled my process…it’s all about the joy i find in the yarn sourcing, listening to the yarn speak, playing around with ideas, marvelling at the outcome…allowing it to tell its own story once completed.
I genuinely hate following patterns. The rest of my knitting group think I’m mentally unhinged, but at least I’m making stuff I like. I’m getting up the gumption to wing a sweater soon!
Oh my l think you’re my long seperated twin !!
Luv to knit this way and shall now call it the same.
I’ve always broken down items lve seen in the shops /books into simple shapes ….as in surely this is just a rectangle twisted n sewn tog voila a cowl !
I apply this to everything l knit n luv to do so however l follow patterns for sox
K1 p1 ohhmmmm
I guess I am so far off road as I am a left handed knitter, crocheter (I have managed to go right handed there), still working on the knit.
Like others I started out sewing but my dilemma is that I can’t take my sewing machine outside, I love to take my knitting outside. My first ever pattern had one colour, I changed it to stripey then a ball of wool went missing so I made the sleeves a different colour which compounds my desire to go off road!!@#*
I love this as I am a learn by doing soul as well!
I just wish my yarn choices weren’t so costly
Thanks for sharing.
I very much appreciate both styles of knitting–pattern and off-road. I have mostly knit to patterns, with the success depending on my attention to it, lol. Over time I have tweaked a pattern or two to adjust to the yarn weight I have on hand. My current project has challenged me in several ways–learning to read the pattern carefully in conjunction with working with a yarn I have not used previously, Kidsilk Haze. It has given me moments of joy and also moments of wanting to toss it out the window. 🙂 Now I know that all aspects take thought for me, down to the needle I am using. I think I have reached the pace and lighting needed for success without constant frogging. I would not have made it this far with MDK and all the wonderful site contributors. Kudos to all.
Modifying a pattern is a legitimate and useful thing. Your tinkering with the pattern will be more effective and less frustration riddled if you learn 2 things, first something about how yarn is made so your substitutions of prescribed yarns can yield more predictable results. Wool acts differently than same weight silk Nd how it is slin makes a difference even with identical starting fibers. Second understand gauge. If you know you stitches per inch with that yarn and that equipment, you know to get this many vertical and horizontal inches you need this many stitches in this tie and this many rows. Think of it as similar to how big is the brick or paving stone and how big is the wall or walk with twist and it being 3 d. Knotters are told to match the gauge of the pattern which fir about 6 reasons might be impossible or difficult. So if you know your own personal gauge in your comfortable usual style of knitting, you can instead change the numbers in the written pattern and make the fit and shape be what you want. Most who try to knit to a gauge not naturally theirs will not be consistent with that. And that is only one of the six reasons that modifying the numbers in the pattern is better than trying to modify your natural gauge. After you learn to measure gauge you can do that. Even the prescribed yarns might not be fatter or thinner or more tightly spin or more loosely spun than that batch used to make the sample. A few written patterns were even found upon investigation to have had the sample made on machines with the pins 90 degrees different from hand knitting needles. Now in that case, no one could match that gauge. Look at the math you might use to plan and build with paving stones, and a free brochure from where they sell paving stones would give you that info; the knitting gauge calculations are very similar except that fiber stretches and shortens and twists adding a few more considerations and fiber material needed therefore will never be as exact a calculation as with paving stones which do not go more tightly twisted or the opposite and fatter or the opposite. And it sounds harder to do than it is. And typing out how to do it is harder than doing it, as are many skills done with the hands. Keep going.
What a lovely Read! You made me Smile, Laugh, and think a lot! You make sense to me Thankyou as a child would wait until everyone was asleep then get in my Wardrobe with a Touch and knit
Yes!! After all, patterns are just suggestions!!
So many kindred spirits! I knit, crochet, sew, and cook, and made baskets professionally for years, things were self taught and like all of us, brought the full range of emotions. Patterns and recipes are suggestions from and for, those who need structure. My hope is everyone will eventually trust themselves enough to follow their own path.
Thank you Suzan for this space for those of us who prefer scribble pictures to coloring books.
Great!
I don’t follow any patterns. I experiknit (experiment with the knitting) till I get what I want. It works out well for me and I have learnt so much along the way, about myself and about learning itself as well as about knitting
Loved the chatter. I too knit and stitch and cook. I love to cast on and see where it takes me. Made loads of stuff because I wanted to try a new technique but didn’t like any of the prescribed patterns. Some of it even fits,! and looks like the picture in my head. This style of knitting I call ‘off piste’ same as off road just more snow! Patterns are directions not directives. Cast on people there is nothing that is a mistake just a design adjustment !
You sound like me. I always tweak things. Even in a restaurant I rarely stick exactly to the menu!! I’m currently knitting a toy dog for my grandaughters w without a pattern
Love this! I have been knitting for over 50 years and haven’t used a pattern in decades! Way too confining! Go, girl!
I am on my last day in Britain today, before I head home to nz.
I happened upon your article this morning, with sitting with my early morning cuppa, looking out at my view of euston.
What a shame I didn’t see this sooner on my travels around Scotland, Wales & England.
My whole trip I have been looking out for wool/craft shops. I am an avid knitter, all my life. Invariably I alter a pattern to suit my needs( sometimes they turn out, and so m etimes not) but I always felt I should just do it and knit as I think, and make my own patterns- but have never felt confident to follow it up. I would love to have taken some knitting wool home with me as a project, but as I say, the opportunity never arose.
I would love to hear more of your projects etc. And also costs of your wool. I have a daughter living in edinburgh, and may find a way to get some brought home next time they come.
Totally!!! Grab the yarn and the free expression, embrace the unknown and ‘could be’ and dive into non judgemental efforts of vision and hope. Xxxx
You made me smile! Now, back to my sweater
This is really strong copy and an inspirational analogy to begin Autumn, thank you!