Tag Archives: scarves

New Favorites: A wrap too dear

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amazing seed stitch wrap knitting pattern from the purl bee

Ever since this Amazing Seed Stitch Wrap pattern appeared on The Purl Bee the other day, I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. I’m going to venture a guess that Joelle Hoverson herself is behind this one, and in a lot of ways it’s the embodiment of what I love about The Purl Bee: their dedication to simple, unfussy patterns that are within reach, skill-wise, of the average knitter or crocheter. But while they keep the silhouettes and skills simple, the projects are far from boring. They demonstrate how brilliant it is to choose great materials and then not get in their way. (In all my years as a print designer, I was always more concerned with the choice of paper than what I was going to obscure it with.) This wrap, like I said, is perhaps the ultimate example of that — it’s just a seed-stitch rectangle! But the most stunning seed-stitch rectangle imaginable.

Unfortunately, the flip side of this particular coin is that, in this case, they’ve chosen the materials so well that it’s way out of reach, financially, for … well, certainly for me. They’ve put together a kit of the 11 premium yarns involved, and it can be yours for just $407.40 (plus tax/shipping). So … sad Karen, jealous of (and happy for!) the lucky Purl Soho customers who can actually afford to knit this. I’d say my new mission is to find yarn substitutions that would lower the price tag without compromising the result, but I’m not sure it can be done. It’s just so lusciously perfect exactly as it is.

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New Favorites: amazing colorwork from Brooklyn Tweed

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brooklyn tweed winter 13 adara altair and kimmswick shot by jared

The latest BT collection, Winter 2013, came out this morning and it’s Brooklyn Tweed at its very best. There are eighteen designs presented in the most lavish BT lookbook yet — filled, of course, with Jared Flood’s beautiful photos. (The interlude of Hudson NY scenes is just gorgeous.) Eighteen is a lot of patterns and, while some of them are more to my personal taste than others, there’s not a clunker in the bunch. I’ll be mining this collection for weeks, but what tugged at me most on the first viewing is the colorwork at the front of the book, which isn’t ordinarily even my thing. But this is when I love Brooklyn Tweed the most — when they take classic styles and techniques and make them a little bit sharper, a little bit smarter, but without damaging the timelessness. Pieces worth the precious investment of your knitting time.

— The Adara Turtleneck by Michele Wang puts the colorwork around the waist.

— A little intarsia goes a long way on the Altair Cap by Jared Flood.

— Julie Hoover’s Kimmswick Scarf is miles beyond my skill set, but I would wear it in a heartbeat.

— And I adore both versions of Jared’s take on the lopapeysa, the Grettir Turtleneck and Crew (contained in one pattern).

grettir turtleneck and crew pattern and photos by jared flood

Knit the Look: Hanneli Mustaparta’s sweater, Kate Bogucharskaia’s wrap, and more

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The web is riddled with street-style blogs at this point, but my favorite is Vanessa Jackman’s. Not only does she have a great eye, but she makes it a cross between useful and aspirational with her “recreate the look” posts. So I’m thrilled that she’s consented to let me use her photos for a new feature here on FA which I’m calling Knit the Look — putting a DIY spin on things. I’m kicking it off with pattern and yarn recommendations for a trio of looks, but expect one rec at a time in the future! I hope you love it —

KATE BOGUCHARSKAIA’S SILK WRAP

knit the look kate bogucharskaia's black silk wrap

For a knitted version of Kate Bogucharskaia’s silky black shawl, you could knit Grace Anna Farrow’s Ferrous Wrap or Whitney Van Nes’ Whisper Wrap, using Anzula’s Mermaid silk-blend yarn in Black, (held double for the Ferrous Wrap). Or, for a heftier version of either, use Blue Sky Alpacas’ Alpaca Silk yarn in Night. See Vanessa’s recs for the rest of the ensemble.

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HANNELI MUSTAPARTA’S WINE-SOAKED SWEATER

knit the look hanneli mustaparta's wine sweater vanessa jackman

I think there’s actually some very subtle colorwork going on in Hanneli Mustaparta’s [2019: link no longer available] fuzzy wine-colored pullover. But you could get a similar depth of tone by knitting Julie Hoover’s Garance using Shibui Heichi silk tweed yarn in Graffiti held double with Shibui Silk Cloud mohair-silk yarn in Bordeaux. I might have to do this one. See Vanessa’s recs for the rest of the outfit.

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UNIDENTIFIED MODEL’S GIANT RIBBED SCARF

knit the look giant ribbed scarf vanessa jackman

Child’s play: Using Malabrigo Chunky in Burgundy and 6.5mm (US10.5) needles, cast on 38 stitches.

Row 1: [knit 2, purl 2] across 36 stitches, knit 2
Row 2: [purl 2, knit 2] across 36 stitches, purl 2

Repeat these two rows until scarf measures 72 inches (or your desired length). Bind off in pattern and weave in ends.

Of course, you might need 5 or 6 skeins of yarn to make it that big! See Vanessa’s recs for other elements of both looks.

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Street style photos © Vanessa Jackman; used with permission

New Favorites: Julie Hoover’s latest gems

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julie hoover knitting patterns becot garance driftwood doux

You know how everyone’s always asking what one book you’d want if stranded on a desert island? Or what you’d choose for your last meal? Well, what if you could only knit from one designer’s patterns for the rest of your days. If someone asked me that, the words “Julie Hoover” would probably be out of my mouth before the question was finished. I’ve had my eye on her for awhile — ever since dropping 9 bucks for a hard copy of Chaleur when I was at Knit Purl last winter — but lately she’s really been hitting it out of the park, releasing one gorgeous pattern after another. Her designs are understated, which of course I love, but the shapes, textures and attention to detail are superior. In a marketplace full of fussy, overworked stuff, she’s creating patterns for seriously wearable clothes and accessories that will stand the test of time — from a beautifully shaped pullover to that perfect slouchy Saturday turtleneck. Great, great stuff.

1. Bécot hat (in mink and cashmere!)

2. Garance pullover

3. Driftwood turtleneck (from Brooklyn Tweed Fall 2012)

4. Doux scarf

Jo Gordon and the “wrong” side of the knit

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jo gordon lice dot knitted scarf

There have been a lot of images of Jo Gordon knits floating around Pinterest lately, but this Dot shawl (via Nicole Dupuis) was the first one to stop me in my tracks. I’m always seeing people touting “completely reversible” stitch patterns and I find it mildly perplexing, since most stitch patterns, to me, look equally interesting from both sides. But I’m weird. Regardless, I love love love the embrace of the “wrong” side with this scarf. The “lice” pattern, as it’s known, where individual stitches float in a field of a contrasting color, obviously requires a lot of carrying that second color on the back and up the sides of the work. But, done neatly, that’s an interesting pattern unto itself. So why not show the world both sides, and let the two different patterns play off each other? It’s divine.

(Also, I am totally knitting a headscarf. ASAP.)

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Cirilia Rose, evil temptress

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harpa scarf pattern by cirilia rose

In all honesty, my never having done any colorwork knitting has at least as much to do with my being a minimalist as with the technical challenge of it. If you look in my closet, you simply won’t find a lot of color or pattern. But I’m not totally averse to it — I do own a few patterned things (mostly camo, but still!), and I’ve always assumed sooner or later some knitwear design would come along that would tempt me to try colorwork. That design might be Cirilia Rose’s new scarf, Harpa, which she’s wearing in the photos above. (Of course, I’m picturing it in black and white or tonal neutrals.) In addition to the wonderful tile-like geometry of the stitch pattern, the scarf is a tube, knit in the round, which I suspect would make it a better candidate for a first colorwork project than one that’s worked from both sides. Am I right? Anyone know a particularly great online video/tutorial?

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Jess Brown’s fringe

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jess brown shawl detail

jess brown fringe shawl

I’ve been thinking of tampering with that Applewood garter triangle, maybe putting a different edge treatment on the long side. Fringe keeps catching my eye lately, and I don’t know why I didn’t think of that until gazing upon this charming  ($296!) Jess Brown shawl. But that could happen.

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