Designing While You Knit

Or why “random” doesn’t always mean unplanned

There’s a point in some projects where you realise you’re no longer just knitting a pattern. You’re making decisions. Almost designing as you go.

That’s very much where I am this week with Mark’s Penguono.

The body is finished and I’m just about to start picking up for the sleeves. It already feels substantial, the kind of garment that you can hold up and think, yes… this is becoming something. But the most interesting part hasn’t been the construction. It’s been the colour choices.

When we started, Mark said he wanted the colour placement to feel “intentionally random”. Which sounds chaotic, but in reality is anything but. There’s been a lot of thought around balancing light and dark, keeping things slightly asymmetric, making sure it feels interesting without being overwhelming. It’s considered placement, not true randomness.

And that’s where the fun begins.

We have plenty of yarn left overall. Plenty. But not necessarily enough of the right colour for how the design is evolving. One sleeve, at least, is likely to be a solid mid-grey… and I’m fairly certain we don’t have enough of that shade to make it work as planned.

Which means more yarn will be needed.

And honestly? That just makes me smile. When the advent has enough yarn… but not enough of the right yarn!

This is exactly why we make our own clothes. Because we can change our minds. Because the design can evolve once we see it taking shape. Because we’re not locked into decisions made before a single stitch was worked. The pattern gives us the structure, essentially, it’s the schematic. But the personalisation comes from the choices layered on top.

It’s also what keeps me invested. Every section feels deliberate. Every row feels like part of a conversation between the pattern, the yarn, and what Mark actually wants to wear. I might be leaning into the chaos instinctively, but this is his cardigan, so there’s been a lot of laughing at how controlled the “randomness” actually is.

Knitting for someone else doesn’t change that process for me, but it does highlight how personal handmade clothing really is. What I like, what Mark likes, how we respond to colour and balance… it all feeds into the final piece. And that’s something you just don’t get with shop-bought clothes.

At this point, I absolutely see this as designing while knitting. The Penguono pattern is the perfect one for this personalisation. The yarn choices aren’t an afterthought. They are the project.

So yes, more yarn will be ordered… No regrets. No apologies. This is how it’s meant to work. And who doesn’t love the excuse to go yarn shopping!

And if you’re curious about this kind of creative decision-making, or thinking about sharing your own making online, I’ll be talking about exactly that at Unravel on Saturday 14th February at 11am in my From Skein to Screen workshop. There are still a few spots left if you’re UK-based and fancy joining us.

I’d love to know… do you plan everything before you cast on, or do you let a project tell you what it wants to be once it’s underway?

I have a feeling I already know the answer for most of us.