You’re so right about no strings attached gifting! This goes for any gift, but especially gifts you poured effort into. It’s important to remember that most people don’t realise the time needed to make something. I don’t just knit, I also spin wool and a home spun, hand knitted lace scarf can take months from start to finish even without side projects. Even if I give it to someone who will appreciate the fact that it’s 100% wool and hand made with love, it can get accidentally damaged, it can get forgotten somewhere, someone might spill wine on it, a misguided housekeeper or relative might chuck it in the washer etc. A few things I watch out for are: Fibre allergies. If someone is allergic to wool, they won’t be able to enjoy that gorgeous merino sweater you made. They might be happier with an alpaca-blend that doesn’t contain any wool. Values systems: someone who follows a vegan lifestyle wouldn’t appreciate something containing animal fibres or silk. Plant fibres would be a suitable option. When it’s a first time gift, consider sticking to something simple. An extremely soft, very comfortable yarn in their favourite colour might already be overwhelming enough without adding to it. Handmade gifts are very personal. A very intricate pattern might be too much. Unless multiple people get the same item at the same time. My go to is to find out what the person’s favourite colour is. Second, I’ll try to figure out what is their favourite type/shape of sweater. I take it from there. Unless they’ve been gushing about something I’ve made. Last but not least: I try not to get roped into having to make something I hate myself. Either because of the pattern, or the yarn, or the project itself. It always ends up showing in your work. Don’t do that to yourself!
I'd love to knit sweaters for people but committing to knitting one for myself is the first hurdle I have to get over. I think getting use out of things especially hand made ones to the point they get the little holes, or the signs of wear is one of the biggest compliments you can get because of the love of wear.
Great advice! Totally agree on letting go of expectations after a gift is given. Also, when I knit for someone else, I keep in mind that I am giving them a gift, not a job, so I choose yarn that is easy care. Instead of giving people a physical after care card, I take a photo of the object and caption it with how to wash and dry it. I screen shot the photo with the caption visible, to make sure it’s a useable photo for anyone, and share it right after the gift is given. I keep a copy for myself so if they lose the photo and want the info, I can access it quickly. ~Brenda
I felt like such a creep when I sneaked through the wardrobe of my friend who is also a coworker and I wanted to crochet a shirt for them and wanted her shirt to measure it 😂 Love your videos, love your voice, love your 2 cents for every subject you talk about 😊
I love this so much! so many good points. I am gift knitting for my husband right now and the only reason I’m okay with spending my time knitting for someone else is because I know I will be maintaining & handwashing it! 😅 I think the main thing is also only knitting a pattern you’re excited to knit as well. so he asked for a collared cardigan, I added a few patterns to a list and had him look through them and also showed him a few yarn fibers & colors! it allows you to enjoy the process & them to love the finished product!
This is very timely, my wife and I picked out a pattern and yarn combo for a cableknit sweater that I'm going to make her literally yesterday 😁We've mostly followed your suggestions, though the pattern we picked is knit in pieces and seamed together 😅 I guess I'll just have to make sure my measurements and gauge are spot on! 🤞
@@BreathingYarn will do! 😂 also I totally agree with what you were saying at the end, about how knits should be loved! If I gave someone something I made and they loved it and used it to the point where it was falling apart, that would be the ultimate compliment!
This is so funny I just thought about making some handknits for my family this year and was wondering how to best go about it. And then you had just uploaded a video about that! I love what you said about unconditional gift giving - that's so true but still hard for me sometimes when I handmake an item ^^
Finland consistently has the best designers! I don’t know how y’all do it. Kutovakika, Molla Mills, minna Metsänen. 🥰🇫🇮 Besides, all my great-grandparents were born and raised Scandinavian. Your corner of the world will always have a special place in my heart. ❤️
I completely agree, I want my gifted knit and crochet to be used and loved!! I made my MIL a blanket and she has it folded on top of her drawers in her bedroom and it has not moved. She loves it so much but is terrified of getting any cat hair on it or hurting it. As the gifter, I am trying to be okay that this is what she has chosen to do with it, but I wish she would enjoy it like she wants to, rather than what feels like gifting her anxiety. 🙃
I love gift knitting but usually go for socks, mittens, hats, etc. The only sweaters I have given are baby sweaters. My rule is I make what I want when I want, I don’t take requests/commissions because it’s too much pressure and I don’t like specific deadlines. I prefer to follow wherever my inspiration takes me.
Cat comment: I have one cat I wouldn't want to wake up and one cat who would start purring if I scooched him over to sit with him. Gift-giving comment: I've been thinking a lot of good handmade gift-giving practices, since my cousin is having a baby. It would be cool to knit some baby clothes, but babies are messy and grow so fast. I do plan on making the adorable sleep suit by petite knits, but I'm using a mostly cotton yarn in hopes that it will handle the washer better. I liked the care instruction card. I was thinking of doing something similar. I also would hate if someone kept something they didn't want or need anymore because it was a gift from me, so I plan on suggesting they re-gift it if they don't have more kids. I don't think I'd give a surprise sweater for a not-baby with opinions, though. I made my first full sweater for my sister, and I liked being able to ask if she wanted anything changed. I almost duplicate-stitched too big a heart to the front of it, before I got her to show me an example of what she actually wanted. I've also took requests for her and one of my brother's birthdays, but those were amigurumi things, not sweaters. Letting them pick out what they wanted, and even the patterns, made actually giving them a birthday present a lot easier.
this is great! Now I just have to actually knit a jumper for myself before I can do other people xD I did buy a handknit jumper in a second hand shop a couple of weeks ago, in a colour I've been looking for since forever, with a hood and really cute buttons. It's soooo lovely! Some day I'll make my own!
Pro tips w kids/baby clothes: - Make it a size bigger - Do not block it at all, make it true to size and then the parents can block it 1-2 sizes larger as the kid grows - when in doubt make the neck line a little looser or have a button closure (kids have big heads compared to their little bodies) - ALWAYS use washer/dryer safe yarns for kids. They make so many cute kids yarns that arent washable and it would be a shame if something got ruined in the hustle of parent life/keeping up with chores.
Great info! It reminded me of someone I know who knit herself a beautiful light & airy cardigan. I think it was her first wearable. Anyway, the weekly housekeeper put the cardigan in the washer with all the other clothes…….it felted 😱
So far I have gifted one sweater! [Will likely not be doing it again]. I think [hopefully] we avoided the sweater curse by machine knitting it on my flatbed rather than doing the entire thing by hand. Still took a lot of time and trial/error, but was a lot of fun and good practice. I taught my partner how to knit, so he was at least aware of different yarn types and weights before I helped point him to some yarn options for the machine. Your tip on top down is KEY. I think so many bottom up patterns are lovely, but I refuse to make them because [busty] I want to try them on. I think if you're gift knitting, you also need to consider bust differences if you're knitting for a friend or family member with big ol tiddies. [Think of adding short rows or bust darts so their sweater you lovingly knit for them isn't a crop in the front]
I have not reached the gifting stage of my crochet and knitting yet, other than a bunch of crochet hats I made for Christmas for family. Maybe one day I will reach the sweater gifting stage
What great timing for this video! I'm semi-secretly knitting something for my partner. Luckily, we're almost a one for one on measurements. I approached them with the conversation by saying, in the event I were to knit something for you would you feel comfortable with me getting various measurements from you? (Then I made a joke that if I got them now, they might forget I have them when I decide to make something.) Then I asked the following questions: - Do you typically wear plain or simple fabrics? Like colour-work or texture? - What colours do you gravitate towards? Is there a colour you'd like to add to your wardrobe? - If the item is not an accessory (like gloves, socks, hat etc) do you prefer oversized or fitted? - Are you comfortable with the idea of it being a hand wash item only? - What's something you feel is missing from your wardrobe? - In the event of a scarf or top item, is your neck sensitive to specific fibers? Are things like scarves or crew neck sweaters too close to your neck / cause sensory issues (like stress around breathing)? Now I can sneakily plot going forward on my own timeline, with misc measurements if I wanted to knit them a sweater, or hat, or.. I don't know.. overalls? Haha Loved the video! A beautiful reminder on the sewn on tags!
Perfect timing of the video! I'm slowly working up the courage to knit my boyfriend a sweater (totally not scared of the sweater curse or anything..) so this is super good information to have!
Oh! I felt so judged by pippin! 😂❤ My respect for sitting on the floor and letting merry sleep ❤ love your content, btw. i've been binging while crocheting.
I have an easier time making gift sweaters (and shawls) than gift socks. No surprises though, they always know it's coming, have to provide measurements and have a say regarding color and some preferences. A frequent recipient is one of those: " it is lovely, amazing, love it... buuuuut if only was a bit this or that"- a bit longer, a bit wider, just that hair in the soup. As it is my mom and I wanted to giftknit for her again, I cut out a piece of cardbord to the measurements of her torso to test for fit 😅 With the next sweater there were no "if only-s"
In my experience of showing friends pictures from knitting patterns, they make choices purely based on colour and completely can’t imagine that it can be any colour they like. My mum who knows how to knit can imagine them in a different colour but still feels that it should be the same colour as the designer’s sample. This has stopped me from intentionally gift knitting any sweaters but I have gifted a few that I made for myself to family/friends who like them 😆
Oh, I have that with crochet and cross stitch patterns :P. But now I am wondering if maybe printing / showing black and white versions of a pattern would help with this issue? 🤔
Sometimes I want to make a specific thing and then find a person for it. Like, there is a full body colourwork sweater where I definitely want to knit this pattern, but specifically for someone who is a size 8 not 18 like I am. I will make it for my cousin or sister. Probably the cousin, with her smaller arms and torso.
Thank you so much for the video! I will also use your suggestions on how to get measurements 😂 could you make a video about the finishing touches of knitting, specifically on how you hide all the loose tails, please 🤲 have a great day!
I’ll be honest, I don’t do anything particularly special when it comes to weaving in ends. Nimble Needles has a great video specifically on that and I’d highly recommend it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aa59mMrgmCQ.htmlsi=hONBURW-kIXWF6a2
Thank you so much for this guide!! I am actually in the process of deciding if I want to knit my fiancé a sweater and I was struggling with exactly this! PS I mentioned your channel in a comment on the last video from The Stitchery and she said she loves your channel!!
Thank you and omg I love her channel!!! Also, good luck if you decide to make a sweater for your finance. I’m really glad I ended up making a sweater for my husband.
Would you be willing to do a video on your self-drafting process for knit sweaters or some resources to learn? I feel like I've heard you mention that you make pattern adjustments or have self drafted some of your own pieces. I've been dreaming of having the capacity to start a sweater from scratch myself even though I've been knitting for years, but I've always been too intimidated to start. Any advice on starting points or recommendations? (Never commented before but have been watching since some of your very first videos. Love your work, thank you for the amazing cozy and creative corner!)
One of my guidelines is if I don't know them well enough to easily figure out their size for a surprise sweater, then they're a good candidate for a hat, scarf or other accessory.
Thank you 😊 and the sweater is the Sibling Sweater by Laura Penrose. It’s a very easy/mindless sweater pattern with some really lovely shoulder shaping.
I would rather someone know I’m making something and get their measurements and sometimes color preferences. That way I can make sure they’ll enjoy the color and it will fit without telling them anymore details. Or sometimes I’ll just collar with them bc the anticipation hypes them up.
@@saraha.7303 you can check out this video for a little bit more info on that sweater: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O2Q30oPRY6E.htmlsi=t-pXbyhLijlOZePQ
