ever used 'make-your-own pattern' instructions?

[gotta knit]

I'm trying to remake a sweater that I no longer have the pattern for.
I've finished a sleeve & figured out the cable, but it's a raglan, so I'm scared the pieces won't fit together really well after just counting it out.

While looking for a raglan pattern to use for the basic shape, I came across this site: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter04/...bynumbers.html

Has anybody used a pattern like this successfully?
(I saw a similar one for top-down sweaters too, which I would have tried if I wasn't incorporating cables, etc.)

[DorothyDot]

I'm kind of doing the same thing... found a pattern for a nice tunic, but the needle size was waayyy too big for what I wanted. And I wanted it a graciously huge lot bigger.

So I'm looking at the picture and making up my own pattern. Using tons of Fair Isle color patterns iin it, too.

Sleeves? I'm of two minds - whether to knit both [short] sleeves first then cram all those stitches together and knit in the round, raglan style... or do the traditional back-and-forth, bind-off shoulders one. I want to do Fair Isle on the chest area. Can this be done in purl side as well as the knit?

Congrats for venturing on your own. It's really very liberating. Even if you [i] do have to do a couple of serious frogs.

Dot

[suzeeq]

Raglan shaping is generally done with the incs/decs on every other row, at the 4 points where the sleeves and body come together. The percentage system that you linked to works well with a bottom up knit; for a top down raglan you'd have to figure how many sts to allot for the front, back and sleeves. There's some top down pattern generators at knittingfool.com and thedietdiary.com/blog you could look at.

[Plantgoddess+]

I have made a couple of sweaters using something similar. I found the Sweater Workbook at the library and liked it so much I bought a copy. The author Jacqueline Fee has made up a worksheet using EZ's calculations so that you can write down all the pertinent info on stitch # for body, sleeves, increases and decreases as well as yarn info and any pattern work etc. I have started a file with the completed sweater info so I can refer back. I love doing sweaters all in one piece and having only a couple of inches to stitch up under each arm. I have so far found that they fit better as well.

[gotta knit]

Glad to hear others have had success with these kinds of instructions.

Sue, I would have loved to go top-down, but the cables I need to work in mean I started at the bottom.

Best wishes with your venture Dot. Hopefully we don't spend too much time frogging!

[Ellieblue]

I am working on a top down cardigan right now with cables. The instructions are in Patons "upside-downers" book