Getting Centered
First of all, a heartfelt THANK YOU to all who are requesting the "Permission Denied" chart! Your outpouring of love and interest in this project is proof of the kindness and generosity of knitters everywhere. For those who asked, the e-mail mary@maryscotthuff.com is linked to PayPal, if you would like to send me (your personal knitting friend), a little something because you like the chart. The other question I've been asked is "Can I share the chart with my other knitting friends?" YES! Please do. I think the more Permission Denied projects that get out into the world, the better. And do feel free to modify any and all parts of it to suit yourself, too. My hope is to make this a design that is fun and easy to knit, so your input and modifications are welcome and encouraged. Not sure you want to get involved in this particular circus? Request a copy of the redrawn chart anyway: Comparing it to the original HERE will be fun and helpful for any chart you'd like to modify for circular knitting.
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And now down to business! Now that you have determined your perfect knitting gauge by swatching (remember: we are ignoring gauge suggestions on ball bands and in that other pattern), in stitches per inch, multiply it by the number of inches in your preferred silhouette. Round up or down to get an odd number, and that is the number of stitches you'll cast on.
Casting on! What could be better? Use the diagram above (feel free to print and share) to center each motif. You'll see on the "Motif Repeats" version of the chart I sent you that each of our 6 motifs has its own stitch count, and I've drawn separate versions of each for left, right and center placement. Each time you begin working on a different set of motifs, make sure to count and center them on your body cylinder. Remember: the center motifs may have different stitch counts than the left/right versions, so count carefully.
Getting started can be a bit fiddly ("Crap! I was off by one stitch somewhere!"), but once you have the first set of motifs properly centered, the rest should be much easier. For this part of the project, we are just making a body-sized tube of stranded colorwork: Easy! Enjoy the process and take your time.
Do check in on Ravelry if you need help. If you have a question, chances are good others do too, and it's so helpful to share. Posting photos there is also wonderfully useful, both to me as I help you, and to others knitting along.
Oh, and if you are like me and just can't decide what lower edge treatment is your favorite right now, do what I did and use a provisional cast on to get started. That way you can jump right into the fun part! Knit On, Gentle Readers, and thanks again for the love.