Gauge Information

Entry Form for the Sweater Pattern Generator

This version loaded 1/31/ 04 am US central time:

Visit my knitting blog!

If you experience any problems, or think I should add an explanation page of some sort, please email me and let me know. I will be adding better directions whenever the whim takes me. Email tends to induce the whim. (Currently, the graphics aren't working. I need to modify it.)

For other knitting pattern generators-- most much easier to use than this one-- visit ponchos, hats, mittens & gloves, slippers & socks, hats, or the main site. The newer versions are more "pattern" like and also use terminology specific to either machine or hand knitting. This full generator is organized to let you make very customized knitting patterns. If you've never designed your own knitting pattern, you probably want to visit one of the other pages!

Support my site!

Beginners: Read at least the top portion of this page before clicking anything. This is the documentation-- all of it. You can always reload this page by clicking the directions button at the left.

Recommended: Set your browser to accept cookies.
When learning, remember: Don't worry about providing bad data and hurting anything. You can't. You need good data to get a good pattern, but you can use bad data to learn. Just don't knit the sweater!

Look at the left hand frame. You will notice several buttons and menus. There are:
- a 'function' pull down menu,
- a pulldown form that says 'select',
- a submit, a novice/expert pulldown form. You will leave this alone while learning.
- a directions button (which just shows this page again.) and
- a donation button. Eventually, when you are thrilled with the program, you can click on this and donate. I think you can actually change the donation amount at PayPal. So, if you want to give $1 or $1,000, I'll take it! (Actually, I think I'd be afraid to accept $1,000. I also turn down donations for less than 30 cents because PayPal charges me at least 30 cents for a transaction inside the US and a little more for those outside the US.)
Find the the "Function" button. Toggle this to estimate "Estimate". (Do NOT reason that you are unique and decide to skip this step. )
Find heading that says "Forms". Toggle this to "Style". A new form will appear in this right hand frame. Fill out the boxes that say "enter". Watch any boxes that say "TDB" change on their own!
Click the "save/use" button near the top of that form. The form will tell you if it is fully filled out!
When the "Style" form is complete look on the left side of the page. Click the button that says "Submit".
Your data will be sent to a machine in upstate New York. It will estimate a bunch of body measurements and recommend ease values based on the data in the "Style" form you filled out.
Wait for this new data to arrive. When the new data arrives, the "Function" menu will be set to "Pattern".
Toggle the button under "Forms" to "Gauge". Enter your stitch gauge, welt gauge etc. If you are just learning how to use the program, and don't know your gauge, go ahead an lie. Just fix it before you knit a sweater. Enter a welt gauge even if you are not knitting welts. Save your changes.
Click "Submit" again. A pattern will open up in a new window.
Look at the pattern. When designing it's nice to examine the true shape schematics; scroll down to see them. The true shape schematics show the shape of the pices, and also some body information on the pattern. The body information is for reference only! The knitting directions will create a piece with the shape on the true shape schematic.
I suggest printing these out and comparing the true shape schematics to schematics in knitting magazines.

You can stop reading directions, and work on creating your first pattern now. Print out the pattern. Log off and go away. If you set your browser to accept cookies, you can return within 30 days, and your sweater design will data will be read off the cookie on your machine. So, just come back, and read the following directions on how to edit. (Hmmm... I should make these separate pages..)

Customizing and Tips for Later

If you wish to edit the knitting pattern, open the individual forms one at time and find the relevant body dimension or the gauge. Unlike the percentage sweater pattern generators on the web, you can change many body dimensions. Depending on the style of sweater you picked, some body dimensions affect the pattern, some don't. (And yes, you are smart enough to guess that your waist dimension doesn't affect a straight sweater design! ) You may also change the ease for most body dimensions. (You know... I think I actually invented a word! As far as I know, I was the first to use the word generator for these things! Weird, huh?)
As a general rule, it is best to edit the forms near the top of the list first and progress to the bottom later. Sometimes, if a form tells you it is not "filled", the problem could be on another form!
If you are planning a huge number of style changes, it is also best to use Estimate again. The Estimate function guesses body dimensions and also suggests ease values for various styles. For example, if you compare the neck opening for a crew neck to a turtleneck, you will see that the turtleneck is wider and shallower than a crew neck. (The "standard" neck is a nicely fitted crew neck.)
If you have not provided all the data required in the forms, the program will complain. It won't let you create a pattern. (To permit a lot of flexibility in the final design, there is an awful lot of data contained in this sweater program. I advise using the Estimate function a lot-- until you learn to use the cookies too. )
If you have a pattern shape you like, and would like to save the shape while working on a new sweater, you can teach yourself how to use the cookie page. If you think a bit, you can use the cookie feature to speed up creating new designs. Say, you have entered all your body dimensions in one sweater, but want a new one with a few style changes. Just rename the cookie, and edit the new sweater. You'll have the new sweater and the old one saved. You can store several pattern in cookies. However, because browsers throw cookies away when they get old, you will have to visit this page from time to time to refresh your cookie.

Other information.

I am starting to insert symbols next to items that trigger common questions. Click the symbol if you are puzzled by a particular item. (Write me if you think I need to add more information. Common questions are defined as those people bother to ask me!)
Note that there are links to questions in the upper right had corner of each form. (They may or may not answer the question you want. This form is just completed, and I am editing!)

Rant: Why Click Estimate First.

For some reason, some users are stubborn and don't want to use the "estimate" feature. The don't, then email me asking what to do. Then, I tell them: "Click estimate". But they insist they are "unique" and shouldn't use any standard data. Well.. Of course you are unique! But what you do think, the form will become "polluted" if the wrong arm length appears in a box before you correct it??? Click Estimate for these reasons:

It takes very, very little time to use the estimate button. It takes no more time to "prefill" and "fix" than to "fill from scratch". Yes. Even if you are "unique".
If you don't click estiamte, and prefill and email me, I'm just going to ask you if you clicked estimate. If your answer is no, I'm going just going to suggest you use estimate, and see if the problem goes away.
Even if you are unique, the program sugests some ease values. You can change them, but it's nice to know what the "standard" design choices for different sweater types.
If you "estimate" and run a first draft of your pattern. You may be realize you can avoid measuring some parts of your body that don't matter. This saves lots of time. For example: If you design a drop sleeve, straight sweater, your back waist length is fairly unimportant. But, the program wants to know the length so it can draw a line on the sweater showing where your waist falls. If you don't care where the line is on the sketch, and you understand something about pattern drafting, you will reason: So what if the line is in the wrong place! I don't need to measure that value! If you don't use "estimate" you may be tempted to leave the box blank because-- as a human being -- you know the data isn't needed. Well... the program will complain. You need a number in the box-- even if it isn't totally correct! Use estimate and the computer can come up with a number.
Another example: If you design a fitted sleeve, hip-waist-chest sweater, the sweater design depends on needs nearly all the measurements. If it's a long sleeve sweater, you probably don't care about your elbow locations, right? Well, the program wants a number in the box! Using "estimate" first will give it a number. But if your reasoning powers say: "I can't really need that.", just don't bother "fixing" the value. (Or fix it if it bothers you to send a "wrong" number.)

Using Estimate can help you make sweaters that fit people who won't let you measure them! My mom won't let me measureher. So.. I also snuck a sweater out of her closet and measured it to guess her chest size! (I assumed she used the standard amount of ease.) I sneakily asked her to wear the sweater and noted: Sleeves fit sort of... Shoulders....) Then, I've listend to her complain constantly that her back waist length is long for her dress size and she can't get clothes certain types of clothes to fit-- so I add 1" to her back waist measurement when it matters. It may not be as accurate as measuring, but what else can I do? Estimate helps!