Michelle Obama wearing J. Crew beaded cardigan, 2009
Remember this fabulous beaded cardigan that Michelle Obama made famous? J. Crew sold out of this cardigan a few hours after this press photo of her appeared. Ever since I saw this dazzling piece, I have been contemplating making a beaded sweater of my own. My first step towards this goal was to register for Stitches West. That knitting conference was a true extravaganza of fabulous yarn, designs, and knitting celebrities! But the best part was the class I took on Knitting with Beads by Karen Frisa. As an instructor, she was extremely organized, and to the point. We learned how to knit a beaded purse using 4 different techniques, including “hooking” a bead onto your yarn as you go using a tiny crochet hook, which prevents the need to prestring the yarn.
I learned that beads that are hooked on with a crochet needle sink into the fabric, so that they are less visible on the surface. In contrast, the beads which are strung on the yarn beforehand tend to stay at the top of the knitted surface, and are more prominent. It was really interesting to compare these different techniques. I have dabbled with incorporating beads into my knitting before, but was scared off by the reports I heard of how difficult it was. I was also deterred by the fear of turning out nothing but a “craft” project, as many of the beaded projects that are available seem more fit for summer camp 101. But these gorgeous beaded sweaters by Naim Khan kept haunting me:
Last year, I decided to pay a tribute to Khan by attaching beads to the neckline of my sweater by choosing a strand of beaded lace that harmonized with my yarn. This way, instead of knitting beads into my fabric, I simply attached the beaded lace to the finished knitted surface using a whip stitch:
While I liked that effect, I am a magpie at heart, and strongly attracted to shiny, glittering things. According to Susan Caygill, the inventor of color analysis, this is part of my coloring. The winter color palette involves not only blue-tinted hues, ranging from white to black and pure pigments, but textures that are particular to their dramatic coloring.
Just like the glitter of ice on a pine tree, Winters are attracted to textures that shine—crystals, silks, and beads. I got really excited by Caygill's theory, as I have always been more drawn to lush and shiny fabrics such as silk, velvet, sequins and beads. My challenge has always been to play these shiny elements down in my wardrobe by pairing them with tweed or denim or cotton to prevent a perpetual opera look.
I remember the first time a fashionable friend of mine took a tour of my closet and gasped in astonishment when she discovered I had half a dozen vintage gowns, but not a single pair of jeans. Shaking her head, she said, “you just can’t wear these romantic textures together, it’s not modern. What are you going to wear your velvet to work with, silk? You need a way to tone it down!”
Well, I have dutifully followed my friend's advice, and spent the last few years knitting tweed and textured jackets to pair with the retro pieces I love:
As you can see above, the understated cardigan, Alexi, tones down the printed silk blouse and pearls.
The moss stitch Cardigan, Darcy, also allows me to get away with wearing this outrageous Italian skirt, grounding it with a monochromatic texture that tames the audacity of the design.
My friend’s advice has proved valuable indeed. As a result, I now own a wardrobe full of practical, modern cardigans designed by Kim Hargreaves, which I can wear to work:
These solid pieces allow me to sneak in a glimpse of silk or lace, or a bold pattern. But I am starting to feel like it is time for me to break out of this mold! I have so many great cardigans now that I need some fun pieces I can play with, and what better than some of the silks and beads I adore? Beaded knitting, here I come!
I took Karen Frisa’s beading class at Stitches with a strong bias towards the technique using a crochet hook, as I had heard it was the easiest way. But I discovered to my surprise that I liked the visual effect of pre-strung beads much more, as they sit on top of the knitted surface instead of sinking into the fabric. Once we learned to string beads on the yarn before starting to knit, I was excited to discover this technique is not nearly as difficult as I thought. All you have to do is use a normal needle and loop of thread to work each bead onto your yarn, and the process goes quickly. To see a visual demonstration of this technique, check out this excellent article:
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/FEATseducedbybeads.html
Within thirty minutes one evening, my mother-in-law and I were able to string 680 beads total onto 3 balls of yarn, almost enough to complete a knitted vest. She found it just as much fun as I did. Pre-stringing beads onto a ball of yarn takes about the same length of time as winding a skein of yarn, and once I realized that, beaded knitting lost its terrors for me. So I immediately started into the project, Glisten, by Kim Hargreaves:
As you may remember, the feminine dandy look has been hot
since fall, 2010. Being an author of Regency fiction, how could I
resist the chance of making a waistcoat? This beaded number
promises to be very flattering on the body because of the
fineness of the 4ply yarn and the deep V-neck, which elongates
the body and minimizes any width in the bust or shoulder area. I
love the way the design incorporates beads without being over
the top. The beads are used as a subtle design detail without
distracting you from the elegant silhouette overall. To knit this
pattern, I chose some beautiful charcoal-colored Rowan 4-ply
soft, and some silver crystal Japanese seed beads in a size 8mm
to contrast with the yarn. The crystal gives the beads a stunning
brightness as they catch the light, but their overall silver tone
allows them to blend with the charcoal yarn, creating a
marvelous fabric:
It took me a week to knit the back piece, beads and all, on a size 2 needle. That just goes to show that once you string the beads on your yarn, you are ready to go. For me, handling the beads as I am knitting doesn’t take any more time than executing a lace or cable pattern. This really leads me to believe that all I have heard about the difficulty of knitting with beads has been exaggerated. At least in my experience of using a nice twisted 4ply merino, the beads went quickly onto the yarn, and once I got used to handling them, the fabric shaped up quickly. My only complaint is that the beads make the yarn heavier, so I am alternating my beaded knitting with a different project to keep from straining my fingers, which are unused to the extra weight of the beaded yarn.