The Knitter's Computer Workbook:

In this book, we present five tutorials designed to acquaint you with the considerable power of your Windows 95-based computer in designing your knits. We introduce you to Microsoft Paint and teach you how to run it, so that you can quickly achieve the special motif effects you want. Then we show you how to import pictures from the Seedling knitting programs. From there, you will learn how to do the following design tasks.

Special Bonus!

This book comes with a diskette containing many of the bitmap files you will need for the tutorials and for future knitting projects. Saves you hours of effort and gets you started with designing more quickly.

What are the tutorials?

Here is a brief description of each tutorial, along with some of the files you'll use in each.

Tutorial 1:

Experimenting with Paint:

Colors, Fonts, and Fills

Unlock the secrets of charting fantastic drawings using only two colors (black and white). Experiment with Paint's 28-shade-of-gray color palette. Apply them to your knit motif to create wonderful shading effects. The images below show you what your drawing looks like when you start, and how it could look when you're done. All in just two colors: black and white.

Balloons.bmp, From this--

Gray Balloons.bmp  to this!

Tutorial 2:

Making a Grid to Save and Use for a Template

Draw a gauge grid to overlay atop your One-pixel-per-stitch drawing. Ensures all color charting is absolutely to scale and accurate. Here are just two of the grids provided for you.

Grid7x10.bmp

7 sts = 10 rows = 1" 8 sts = 12 rows = 1"

Tutorial 3: Blending Garment Shapes

Use the drawings from Seedling knitting programs to form new and unusual shapes.

Tutorial 4: Charting a Single Motif

Chart a single bitmap image on the front of a sweater. Overlay a grid atop the sweater for a quick, accurate knitting reference.

This drawing is included as part of the single motif tutorial. Imagine how stunning this butterfly will be on your next sweater!

Swallowtail.bmp

Tutorial 5: Charting Multiple Motifs

Import a sweater shell and a bitmaps drawing into Paint. Duplicate the image until it fills the whole shell. This technique gives you a preview of what your sweater will look like before you knit it. The technique is demonstrated with the drawing shown below.

ripple.gif
This little drawing doesn't look like much all alone. But when you repeat it over an entire sweater, the pattern is very striking.
Ripple Sweater.gif