My name is Cheryl Brunette and my goal as a knitting teacher is to help people understand how to knit simple, classic sweaters that fit themselves and their loved ones. Most people try to learn by using patterns but patterns are not teaching devices. I want to share a simple, coherent, sweater-making approach with as many people as want to learn it.
I also believe that the homely crafts that nurture a family, support creativity and build community need to be passed on from one generation to the next. Knitting is one of those crafts.
My goals are to empower knitters in a short amount of time (that is, efficiently), and to get people excited about knitting gauge swatches. (That last one might be a tall order.)
Hi, Cheryl-
I found your website while researching knitting machines. I ended up getting a Passap M 201- yes, really old but in good condition, I hope and think. I’m going to follow along your “meet your bond” workshop tonight. My machine didn’t come with a weighted hem or any claw weights. Nor does it discuss the waste yarn. Why the difference do you think? So far they are not mentioned in the instruction book (yes, it came with the originals!). I know I can buy the claw weights, just not sure about fashioning something for the weighted hem. Thanks 🙂 Courtney
Hi Courtney,
I don’t know anything at all, at all, about a Passap, but I’m guessing that it doesn’t need a weighted hem. Years ago I had a used standard machine that I got rid of, but it seems to me I just knit with it and it didn’t need weights because the brushes took care of it. I hope you can find someone who has more useful information on this. Maybe Diana Sullivan on YouTube? I know she does a lot of machine knitting and members of my FB BOND group think she’s really good.
Cheryl, I am so glad to have found you again! You taught me the Seven Dwarf sweater years ago and I recently watched your VCR tapes again (glad we kept the player!). I recently retired so I’m ready to go again and this morning I purchased the e-version of your Sweater 101. I have already made a pattern for a drop shoulder that I know will fit my out-of-proportion body perfectly. Thank you so much for a wonderful, comprehensive, easy-to-follow guide to a fun hobby.
Mimi Cluff
p.s. Can you tell me where I could get a pattern for the beautiful blue “lace” sweater you wore in your video “Your First Bond Sweater”? I have never forgotten that gorgeous design and would love to duplicate it. Many thanks.
Hi Mimi! How fun for me to have reconnected with so many old knitting friends. The video was shot in January 1988 and the sweater was a couple of years old already. It was actually a man’s sweater and I think a Filatura de Crosa design. I still haven’t dug out all of my old notes from storage to get them to my studio and I’ll see if I still have a copy of the pattern or can track it down. The problem is that even if I have it, it will still be copyright protected but I think the lace design is not uncommon. The yarn I used was a dk weight alpaca, one of the first brands to be imported. I recently got the sweater back after having given it to a friend some years back when I downsized.
Cheryl
I would like to make a donation to your kick starter but can’t find the link. I know it showed up on one of the videos but I can’t seem to get back to it.
Thank you Lynn!!! Here’s the link plus I’ll email it to you. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/143651703/cheryl-needs-a-studio
I have a question regarding picking up stiches on a chain edge. When we skippe one row to attain a nice edge, how do we make up for the missing row if we want to pick up the stiches and continue in the opposite direction? YO is a possibility, but I don’t like the holes. Please help!
Liz. I never recommend making a chain/slipped st edge when you are to pick up sts along that edge afterwards. If it were a plain stockinette edge you could pick up 3 sts for every 4 rows if you were knitting outward with stockinette but if you only have 1 edge stitch for every 2 rows that certainly won’t work. Who recommended such a thing? That’s the person to consult. Perhaps she or he knows of a way to do this that I don’t know.
Meanwhile, if this is a done deal and you need a remedy, try knitting into the front and back of a single st for your increases. Also . . . if you can explain what you’re doing in more detail I might be able to address it in a video. What pattern? What edging? Who told you to do a chain edge and then pick up after? If it’s your own design, why did you think a chained edge would work? We might as well turn this into a learning experience if you’re willing.
What