Fashion: Yarn Style

Kim (Hargreaves) Krazy!

 

I am so excited that my favorite designer of all time, Kim Hargreaves, has been nominated for the Sexy Knitter’s Club KAL! Yes, I admit to being a full-blown Kim Hargreaves obsessive. I have knitted no fewer than nine of her patterns over the past few years, and I simply haven’t found her equal for clear pattern design, flattering waist shaping, and detailed finishing techniques. But now I won’t be alone in my infatuation. I just can’t wait to see all the beautiful projects that the Sexy Knitter's Club gals come up with, and this is giving me an extra boost to knit more myself. Finally, it’s time to execute all those patterns that have been hanging around in my queue for years! The best part about this is Hargreaves’ new book, Misty, has a ton of gorgeous, feminine designs perfectly suited to the Rowan 4-ply cotton and handmaid seasilk yarns I’ve been hoarding!

 

The first project up is Embrace

Now, I know when those asymmetrical cardigans with handkerchief hems made their debut early this year I scoffed at them, much as Mr. Darcy labeling his Elizabeth as “only tolerable.” But the more I have seen them in company, the more delightful they have become, until it became a full-scale infatuation. When my husband left me for 2 weeks to travel in Germany for a family reunion, he hid a gift certificate to my LYS in the kitchen to keep me company! I used the sweet gift to buy some shiny white pima cotton by Berroco, which is feeling wonderful in my hands as I am knitting up Embrace. I suppose this means that my obsession with knitting in white as a form of silent meditation is still going strong. What with 2 homes I am listing on the real market at the same time I have to travel for business for two weeks, I need all the calming I can get!

 

Another of my favorites is the Darcy pattern, which fits so well into the delicious fall trend for female dandy looks:

 

 Note the detail of the knitted "cravat"-like scarf she used to style the photo? I will be knitting this one in the ultra scrumptious Karabella Aurora 4, fine Italian merino that I have found to be unequalled in quality, hand feel and durability. I’ll be knitting it in black, in keeping with the design photo.

 

But Arielle is the most exciting choice.

 

 I am saving my ultra special, gorgeous, handmaiden seasilk yarn in sky blue. I fell in love with this yarn on sight and bought one ball of it just because it was so scrumptious. Then I searched ravelry until I could find a pattern that would take just the one ball, and ended up with this:

Actually, I didn’t have enough yarn as it turned out to finish the camisole, but in some strange twist of fate the woman who had bought the other two balls in this dyelot took one back to the shop, a few days before I happened to ask about it! So I was able to finish my sweater after all. As lovely as this camisole is, I find I never wear it because of the see-through lace and spaghetti straps, so it has been frogged to become the lovely Arielle instead. It's a tough life for my hand-knitted sweaters, I tell you. If they don't get  worn at least 4 times a year, they are frogged and converted to something else. No knitted parasites allowed in my wardrobe--there simply isn't enough room!

Petals of Alyssum

 

The texture of this sweater really does make me think of a bed of alyssum flowers!

I am really happy with the way this sweater turned out! The lovely details of the cluster stitch, side and sleeve buttons and lacy bottom band make this a unique sweater—classy, but shapely at the same time! 

 close up of rose button

I am happy with the fit, achieved through extra waist shaping, and I think the positioning of the bottom band is flattering. My hips are actually wider than any other part of me but my shoulders, but you would not think of that, looking at this top. The magic of a flattering silhouette! I’ve gotten to the point where I won’t knit anything that doesn’t actively flatter MY body, no matter how pretty the design is on some other model. I actually determined the width I wanted for the bottom band by trying on a “template” sweater that fit me well. I measured the band on that, and determined it was two inches smaller than my actual dimensions. Since I was working with fine cotton yarn, I decided to apply the two inches of negative ease to the whole sweater, and I think that helped to create a good silhouette.

 

The toughest part about knitting Petal was figuring it what to do about the neckline. The square neckline Kim Hargreaves created for the pattern looks great on the tiny model, who is super tall and slender, and probably wears an A-cup bra:

 Not all of us have that figure, though, and a high square neck doesn’t usually flatter those of us with a C cup and above. In fact, perusing the finished examples of Petal on ravelry, I noticed the busty knitters who modeled their finished sweaters looked very bulky on top.  They also seemed to be actually hunched over. If you look closely at the design photo, you can see that that unusual cut-out pattern around the shoulders can actually make the wearer looks as if she is slumped forward, and the photos of real women on Ravelry looked as if their posture was off. I don't like to tamper with patterns, but these were too many problems to ignore. 

It was vital to break up the busty impression of heaviness created by the high neck, and my extra-broad shoulders and square jawline were additional factors to consider. Have you ever noticed that if you have a square jaw, a square neckline makes your face look even squarer?

  

 The solution is to reject this kind of neckline and choose instead an elongating shape that balances out the square, making it resemble more of the oval that is the “platonic” face shape form, according to most experts.  So, in the end, I created an oval neckline, by making a narrow V-neck and then decreasing less for the back neck, bringing the top of the V in to form the oval on top.

 

Although a deep V would have been more effective in mitigating the bulk of the bust/shoulder area, that element, combined with the waist shaping, would have created a sexier look than I wanted for this summer sweater, which is meant to be worn at work. The higher, oval neck is almost a preppy finish that satisfies me in being work-appropriate but flattering. Overall, I think this sweater will get an enormous amount of use, as I have very few white summer tops, and this one was desperately needed!

  

Thanks to Kim Hargreaves for another fabulous design! If I can ever figure out how to sew all these little rose-shaped buttons into a symmetrical line, I will add the buttons onto the other side of the bottom band, but I think I need help figuring out what sewing technique to use!

White Petals of Summer

 

 

Summer is all about light! Dazzling, blinding, sending curious shadows across my garden wall, like this silhouette of my miniature peach tree, Baby Bear. 

Or this reflection of a garden trellis falling onto my living room floor:

 

But nothing reflects the dazzling light of summer better than the color white.

 

 

I am immensely enjoying knitting with my white version of Kim Hargreaves' Petal, feeling the soft texture of the 4-ply cotton flow between my hands, seeing the flower-on-flower texture of the alyssum petals take shape on my white canvas:

There is something so calming about knitting white yarn, facing the complete absence of color—like a meditation on purity. As I sat knitting, the row repeats felt as calming as a ritual of counting a rosary. The words from this Buddhist poem repeated in my mind: “form is only pure, pure is all form; there is then nothing more than this. For what is form is pure and what is pure is form; the same is also true of all sensation, thought,  activity and consciousness.” Truly, the activity of knitting with white yarn does feel purifying. As I gaze at the light canvas taking shape, all chattering thoughts fade away, and I am left with a blissful sense of stillness. It is the simple things that can fix us in one moment, yet too often we are too busy, our minds racing with our to-do lists and worries. It is the color white only that seems to have the power to still me with its simplicity, awakening me to the garden outside dotted with golden roses, two moving needles, the skein of yarn, and a remote bird singing. The poet Neruda’s elemental odes capture the beauty of the every day things that we ignore. Here is a quote from his ode to salt:

 “This salt

in the saltcellar

I once saw in the salt mines.

I know

you won't

believe me,

but

it sings, salt sings, the skin

of the salt mines

sings

with a mouth smothered

by the earth…the mountain

of buried light,

translucent cathedral,

crystal of the sea, oblivion

of the waves.

… on every table

in the world,

salt,

we see your piquant

powder

sprinkling

vital light

upon

our food.”

At the moment it is Petal that is sprinkling vital light upon my summer knitting. And I’m enjoying every minute of it!