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.

View fullsize

CLICK TO ENLARGE

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.

Permission Denied.

Hello, Friends! Madrona was a complete delight, and I "may" have recruited a few more brave souls for our big knitalong. Yay!

I've hit a bump in the road, however, by being honest. To understand this, you must be aware that:

A. I am in no way affiliated with Rowan, so when you buy the original pattern, I don't receive any payment.

B. Because I didn't create the original design, even though I paid for my own private copy, I have no right whatsoever to tamper with it for anything but my own personal use, without express permission from its owner(s).

I sent a request to Roan for their permission to publish my redrawn chart for you:

Dear Rowan;

I seek permission to use a Rowan pattern as the basis for a newly reinterpreted design. To whom may I address my enquiry?

I have been asked by my students and followers to rework Martin Storey's "Roan" so that it may be constructed circularly, with steeks, rather than knit flat. I also will be altering the silhouette so substantially that it will bear little resemblance to the original. This requires me to redraw the chart, to which I will make other modifications that will allow my students to knit it more easily. Having invested many hours in this project, I would like Rowan's permission to charge a nominal fee for the new chart and instructions. I intend to fully credit Storey as the original designer, and Rowan as its publisher. I believe that my modifications to the design will be substantial enough that it may be considered a different pattern in its own right, simply "inspired by" the original. I'd be delighted to send a digital copy of my work for your consideration, if you agree. Please let me know with whom I should correspond in this matter, going forward.

Thank You Sincerely, Mary Scott Huff Independent Knitwear Designer and Author, USA

And finally, here is their response:

Thank you for your enquiry.

We have consulted both Martin Storey and the Rowan Design Manager and on this occasion, they feel that this would breach our copyright too much for them to give permission.

Kind regards

Knitrowan

Which means that not only have they denied permission to me, but also that Rowan is now aware of this project, and they are likely to check up on me.

It also means that I may not put the redrawn chart anywhere online, and I can never be paid for it.

Having already done all the work to redraw the chart, and promised you to deliver it, I now have only one option. I must, as your casual personal knitting friend, send the chart to you individually via e-mail, free of charge.

While I'm happy to still be able to share my work with you, I now am prohibited from posting it anywhere online for future knitters. And of course, I am forbidden to be compensated for it.

So here's how it has to work: If you would like a copy of my re-tooled Roan chart, please send me a personal e-mail at mary@maryscotthuff.com. The "contact" button on my website also goes to this same address. Please put "Permission Denied" in the subject line, which is what I am now naming my chart. I can't reference Rowan or Martin Storey regarding this project any longer, because to do so opens me up to legal action. You can now search here for all the blog entries about it by typing "Permission Denied" in the search bar.

If, after you receive your copy of "Permission Denied", you like it and think I deserve to be paid for my work, you could maybe sometime take a class from me, or buy a book of mine, or download a pattern I DO own from HERE. I'm sorry to make the delivery more complicated, but it's the best I can do to keep being honest, and keep myself out of trouble. Thanks for your understanding, and of course feel free to tell your knitting friends how to obtain their FREE copy of "Permission Denied".

The Shape of Things to Come

Hopefully all of you who have your yarn for the Roan knitalong are happily swatching away. For those of us who don't (yet) it's okay: We still have some brain work to do. It's time to put our imaginations to work, and possibly drag out our sweater collections. Today, I'm challenging you to imagine the shape your Roan will take, in terms of its actual, well, shape.

The original Roan was conceived as an extremely loose-fitting, open-front kimono. Not unlike this in silhouette:

If this is the shape you love most for your Roan, then your decision is already made: Kimono it is. The only mystery left is how much wearing ease will be in YOURS. To figure that out, you'll need to take a look at the completed measurements in the Roan pattern, but don't let that be your only source of input. I'd also like you to look at the sweaters (and jackets, and even bathrobes) in your wardrobe. Take these things out and try them on. Take note of those that really fit the way you like. Are they as loose as the Roan? More so? Flatten them out and take their measurements (circumference only for now). Now take your own measurements (get help from a friend if you can). We need the largest part of the body, so if that's the bust, measure there. If it's the hips, take that one. Now compare the measurement of the garment you liked the fit of to your actual body measurement at the widest point. The difference is your wearing ease. If you like the super-loose kimono fit of the original, I'm guessing you'll have a wearing ease of at least 4", and it could even be 6" or 8" if you really like it loose. Not to worry. The only number you need is the widest part of the actual garment you like the fit of. Got that? Great! Hold on while I talk to the rest of the knitters.

Now, this is for you troublemakers who, like me, love the motifs on the Roan sweater, but couldn't care less about the kimono shaping of the original. We who prefer a more traditional silhouette might be pulling something out of the closet that fits like this:

This is a traditional drop-shoulder shape. It skims over the body without hugging tightly anywhere, but without the volume of the loose-fitting original Roan. If this is your preferred look, find the things in your closet that fit like this and measure their circumference. Compare that number to your body measurement at its widest point and you're likely to get a smaller ease number. Yours will probably be less than 4", possibly 2" or 3". Just find the actual circumference of the sweater or shirt that you like the tighness/looseness of. Write that number down and hold on while I address one more group of knitters.

Not into the loosy-goosy look? Want something a little closer to the body? How about this:

This one, while still a drop-shoulder shape like the other two, fits a lot closer to the body. This one has just about zero, or even a slightly negative ease. The distance between this sweater and the body at the widest part of the body is at or close to 0. It could even be a little less than 0, which would make it a negative-ease garment. For you knitters who like to keep it close, this is your fit. Measure the circumference of the garment that you like best and compare it to your body measurement. If the difference is 0 or the garment is a little smaller than your body, you fall into this group. Write down the number, and then rejoin the rest of us.

Now, even though I had you check it, don't worry about which size in the original pattern is yours. It's only a jumping-off place. We're going to abandon the original Rowan sizing, along with the original chart. That's the reason I'm being such a spaz about getting your own personal, accurate gauge.

If you have your magic number (the finished garment circumference) and your actual preferred gauge (stitches per inch of knitting) you are now in total control of whatever happens next. Doesn't that feel awesome? Take a minute to allow yourself to feel drunk with power.

The next step is to figure out how many stitches you'll be casting on. Take the magic finished circumference number (let's be math-y and call it "A"). Multiply that by the number of stitches per inch in your gauge ("B" to us smarty-pants people). So that's A x B. The result is the number of stitches that will be in each round of your knitting. From here on out, let's call that resulting number X. X is our new best friend. X is the number of stitches we will base our whole sweater on, independent of steek stitches (more on that next time), and totally separate from whatever our friends at Rowan may have told us would be in the sweater. That's dead to us now. From here on out it's YOUR Roan sweater. It's good to be King! Now hang on to your beautiful new friend X. Write it down. Embroider it on little hankies. And start thinking about what length of circular needle you'll need to find/procure.

Don't try to cheat with the needle; the wrong length of circular needle can really screw with you, gauge-wise. Too short and you'll have to scrunch up your knitting, which can result in an unintentionally firmer gauge. Too long and you'll be stretching your knitting around it, struggling to move it along, and possible enlarging (loosening) your gauge as you knit. Now is your chance to buy a shiny new circular needle, just for this project. Go crazy and get the one you've always wanted but talked yourself out of. You're going to spend a lot of quality time with this needle, so don't skimp on it. If you already have the perfect one, take a careful look to make sure it's not bent, chipped, splintered, or loose at the joins. Even the best needles get loved to death, so thank it for its service, and replace it if you need to.

I'm traveling to teach over the next few days, so if the blog goes quiet, don't panic. I'll be back soon with the next steps, and hopefully my own Roan yarn will be here waiting for me!