Top 10 Patterns: Number 1, Ama Sweater

I almost didn’t publish my Ama Sweater pattern, which seems ironic as it’s my best selling pattern and number 1 on my Top 10 Ten Countdown! The pattern is built on the back of a moment of crashing self-doubt.

I had what I thought was a great idea and I’d worked hard on all the little details: getting the raglan increases to sit nicely with the ‘string-of-pearls’ stitch; making sure the over-sized raglan shape didn’t mean huge sleeves for the upper sizes; and working out how to make the least fussy neckline possible!

Then, bam! I was hit with a horrible wave of self-doubt where I questioned everything about the pattern and couldn’t see a way forward. I put the design on hold for months and told myself that I’d just have to forget about it.

However, there was a little niggle in the back of my mind telling me to ‘just do one little thing at a time’, so that’s what I did. I strapped numerous pillow cases around my tailors’ dummy’s chest to help me check the measurements for all the sizes and I started to learn how to use excel for some of the maths. I had some very welcome support and friendly nudges from my knitting friends and yarny colleagues … and do you know what? It worked. The pattern was in good shape and when I had it test knitted, I received the most fantastic feedback.

My Ama Sweater pattern has gone on to be, not only be my best selling pattern, but also my most knitted pattern: at the time of writing there are 74 projects on Ravelry and 354 uses of the hashtag #amasweater on Instagram.

So in light of all that, I’m pleased to let you know that I’m planning to release a flurry of new garment patterns over the coming autumn and winter!

Now would be a perfect time to sign-up to my mailing list. Not only will you be able to buy all of my Top 10 Patterns with 15% off, but you’ll also be the first to know when new patterns are released and the first to find out about preview knitting opportunities. Plus it’s the only way to receive exclusive discounts on all my new designs. Click here if you’d like to sign up

There’s also a video tutorial for working Ama’s decorative ‘string of pearls’ stitch, which you can find on my Tutorials page or by clicking here.

The Ama Sweater pattern is available to purchase by clicking here for my Ravelry Store or clicking here for my new Payhip Shop.