The Chanel 2016/2017 Ready to Wear Fall/Winter show featured a
lot of fabulous monochromatic suits, including matching scarves.
What a fun concept! There have been a lot of 1960's inspired knitted
suits out there on the runways in the past year, and one of my New
Year's resolutions was to knit a skirt and matching jacket or top.
http://yarnstylist.com/2016/01/tempting-list-of-knitting-patterns-for-the-new-year.html
This Chanel design was my original inspiration:
However, I am a bit daunted by the task of making a corset
by hand. I think a monochromatic suit with a matching scarf
is a much easier task to handle. I have started first with the skirt:
And Kim Hargreaves' pattern, River:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/river-2
The pattern uses an interesting twisted rib stitch which gives a lot of
texture and stability to the fabric. I added six inches of length to the
skirt, because I wanted the luxury of sitting down without worrying.
I will be adding a silk casing for several rows of elastic bands at the
waist. I don't really love the pattern directions of embroidering a
few stitches over an elastic band to hold it in place, and I have
noticed other knitters using a draw string ribbon instead,
which does not seem very finished, in my opinion.
My River skirt is knitted using Rowan Lima yarn:
As well as Kim Hargreaves' pattern, which you can find here:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/river-2
The next step will be for me to knit the top. I have two contenders:
1) This design is actually named "Leah", and it uses 10 balls of
Rowan lima to match the skirt, which is the exactly # I have in stash:
If my friend's theory that Kim has started naming some of her
patterns after her biggest fans is true, then I should definitely
knit "Leah" as the top of my knitted suit. Likely, however, the
designer is totally oblivious of my existence and I shouldn't take
her sweater names so much to heart. However, it is still a really
fun idea to wear a sweater with the same name as oneself, and
the design is really gorgeous, don't you think?
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/leah-9
2) My other choice is to knit a little retro-inspired jacket to
match the skirt, such as Karen, which I have knitted already
in softknit cotton:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/karen-cardigan
Currently, I am leaning towards the pattern, "Leah", especially
because it is designed for Rowan Lima, but I am wondering
if it might be too heavy to layer a top like that over a knit
skirt. Does anyone has any advice or votes, one way or the other,
about which of these tops would go better with my knitted skirt?
Please comment, dear readers!!!!!
The pattern for the matching scarf comes from the new Rowan Magazine 60:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hartwist-scarf
It is called "Hartwist Scarf", and it is designed by Lisa Richardson
using Rowan felted tweed aran. I have managed to find some more
Rowan Lima to match my blue skirt and top, which is a huge
relief, as the yarn has been discontinued now. I will
embroider flowers on the scarf in pink or red.
Several of my readers had commented at the beginning of the year
that they were considering knitting a suit as well. I was wondering
has anyone cast on for theirs yet?