Other Info About mini mae patterns - Sizing

Just a few bits that will help when working on a mini mae knitwear pattern.  Firstly, I go by sleeve length as well as the child's height to determine the size of the garment I'm going to knit. This is because a jumper looks obviously wrong, if it's too short in the sleeves.  The sleeve measurement is taken from the top of the shoulder down to the bottom of the cuff. 
I have allowed ease in my knitwear because it is designed to be worn over the top of another long-sleeved garment.  This is because all my children (so I suspect other children also) hate the feel of wool on their skin.  Consequently, you won't see any high necklines or woolen scarves in the mini mae collection.  Also, my girls are very lean (the eldest in particular), so I've designed the jumpers to look good on them, but also have enough room for more average sized children.  To get he measurements for chest & height I used a combination of measurements from a children's knitting book I had, and Pumpkin Patch (retail clothing).  I hope this helps, when trying to work out the sizing.
I will be doing some slimmer 'no ease' garments (dresses, vests) soon as well.  I will be doing a slimmer, improved version of the One Knit Wonder Dress as part of this collection.  So if you're wondering where that design went....now you know!

Local Flooding

The past week has seen my town of Horsham experience the worst flood in it's history.  Our street was flooded 3 times last - twice due to rain & storm water and Saturday afternoon's flood was a by-product of the Wimmera River & Burnt Creek flooding. It was fantastic to be out Sat sandbagging with everyone else in the street.  It was kind of like a street party, but without the food!  Having said that, we did eat pizza on the front verandah with the neighbours. So far I haven't ventured out in the car yet(just walking down to the River to see it flowing) as the streets and Highway have been blocked.
Since posting mini mae knitwear patterns on Ravelry I have sold @ this point 11 patterns, with all profits going to the Queensland Flood Appeal.  I hope to sell quite a few more in January to boost this total!!! So thanks to all those who've bought a mini mae pattern.

Queensland Flood Disaster

While we have experienced minor flooding in our area - yesterday the kids used our street & surrounding neighbourhood as a swimming pool, it's nothing compared to what's been experienced in Queensland.  It's such a huge national disaster.  It's hard to comprehend the amount of clean-up required, the re-building of infrastructure, businesses and homes.  I've decided that all profits from the sale of mini mae knitwear patterns in January will go to the Queensland Flood Appeal.  The only money not going from the price of a pattern is the Paypal charge.  So everything that I would usually get will go to the Appeal.

So Where to Begin With Colour...

Obviously if you like the design as is, just use that colour combination.  Of course, it isn't always possible to get the same colour yarns as those pictured, but you may be able to get similar.  If not, there are other ways to help you choose:
* Start by selecting colours that suit the colouring of the child who will wear the garment you are knitting.  For example not all little girls look great in pink, so choose another colour for the main part of the garment and just add in a little pink to keep it 'girly'.  I've actually avoided using a lot of pink because it's always available in ready-made clothing, whereas other colours are harder to come by.
* Swap the colours in a garment to better suit the child.  For example, the mini mae knitwear Bolero Jumper (see website) has a pink top and red bottom. It would work just as well with the top red and the bottom pink.
*  Look at the other designs.  There may be a combination of colours, for example chocolate brown, latte', and pale pink, like the Garter Stitch Striped Tunic, which would work well in other designs.  Just keep in mind proportioning.
*  When selecting colours to combine I usually choose ones that have a similar hue or 'value' -one colour doesn't jump out in front of the others, they all blend.  An example of this is the mini mae Crochet Trim Dress with Pockets and Hat.  It is an unusual soft mid purple (iris)colour combined with a slightly washed out burnt orange.  The two colours 'sit' really well together.
I hope that this helps you get your garment colours right.  You don't want to spend hours creating something, only to be disappointed because the colours aren't the best.  Happy knitting!

Choosing the Right Colours for your Garment

The aim of this blog is for me to be able to express thoughts, hints and ideas that may help other knitters out there, particularly when creating a mini mae design.  I can't contain it all on my website so...

Something that's a bit hard to explain, let alone get right in reality, is the importance of choosing the correct colour yarns with which to create a garment.  The colours chosen can make or break a design.  I know because I've done it!  Even if you get the combination of colours so that they look great together, there is still the balance of quantity that needs to be right also.  Take the Random Stripe Jumper, pictured.  I love it, but I had my doubts as to whether it would work out or not.  The colour combination of red, orange, pale pink and blue, is rather unusual to say the least.  It didn't look good when I held all those balls in my hand.  The reason was that the quantity of each colour was equal.  For the combination to work, certain colours had to diminish (pale pink & the burnt orange colour) and others- the beautiful tangerine, had to increase.  The only reason I chose this combination at all was to match the ball of 'Cinderella' I had chosen to make a scarf out of.
I had the same jumper knitted up in another size, but substituted the tangerine for the burnt orange and vice-versa. While it's not completely terrible, it looks like something that my gran would have knitted for us in the 70's -just NQR!  So choosing the right colour combination is important.