Pattern Placement and Siding

I think it’s wonderful how God uses one thing to teach us how to do something completely different.  I was hoping to have more knitting completed on the sweater, but summer heat without A/C put it away until a cooler day.  So instead, I wanted to zoom in and talk about pattern placement… and in an unusual turn of events, how that helped the Meanwhile in Maine build project!

There are 3 distinct pattern details on the Meanwhile in Maine design – I’ve talked about darts and shoulder detail in posts past, but what about the bottom of the center back detail.  This panel was worked in reverse as I wanted all sizes to end on a certain row so I could create 1 transition.  It might seem odd that the base was where I wanted patterning cohesion, but think about wearing the sweater.  The upper back / first few rows of the cable design will eventually be either fully hidden or at least obscured by the collar (depending upon how you choose to fold it).  So, electing to have the same start point here would mean breaking out individual sizes for the transition round at the end. 

Working backwards began by figuring out total length and counting (in excel) to what starting row each would have.  A quick glance to make sure it wasn’t going to be wonky under the collar and an easy direction of “beginning on Row…” made this decision easy, comparatively. 

Meanwhile in Maine or rather What God Taught Me Through Knit Design

Camera dad spent weeks figuring out the siding material order.  Then asked me to join him so we could compare the numbers and see if we were close to one another.  He told me how to do it and at the end when we compared; we were WAY off. 

Then God turn the lightbulb on.  Don’t approach this like a calculation, approach it like applying a pattern to a knitting garment!!

I pulled open my drawing programs and set to work.  The “inputs” or in knitting terms, pattern details: each plank is 10’ x 10’’.  There is a determined right side and a determined left side – that is, planks cannot be rotated or they won’t snap together correctly. 

The Swatch – much to his chagrin, I sent 70-year-old camera dad outside in the sweltering heat and swarms of mosquitoes to physically mark 10’’ all the way across each wall being sure to start a the right and work left.  He complained and argued, but in the end he did it.  (Aside, I told him he didn’t have to squat or reach, whatever vertical level was fine with me, just tick 10”.)  It was just like having a swatch! 

Swatch in hand I laid out the first row.  Then the fun part!

Cutting out the windows and doors and seeing what I had to work with.  Remember only full 10” wide pieces were reusable due to the way they click together. 

In the sketches – the numbered planks are the full board counts and the colored planks are using the cutoffs to fill in more areas. The numbers with the letters show what cutoff piece is used where. The blue is scrap. How’s that for low waste!

Success?  We’ll see when the materials arrive and are installed!  Cross your knitting needles for us!!