Fashion: Yarn Style

A Chanel-Inspired Skirt & A Fair Isle Cardigan

 

My one major goal for my sewing in 2019 was to try to replicate a zipper-front skirt I saw in the Chanel Fashion show influenced by computers in the Spring/Summer 2017 show:

 

I just adored these A-line skirts with the zipper in front but had very little sewing experience and was afraid I would completely mess up the zipper. But I kept at it, sewing skirt after skirt, starting with the Hollyburn skirt pattern by sewaholic. 

 

 

After creating several successful Hollyburn skirts, I moved on to McCall’s 7197. 

 

 

This pattern features a central zipper that runs the length of the skirt in the back, but it was easy to flip that around. I added one of the waistband options that dips in the center for more flair and voilà!

 

 

This fabric is a silver laminated cotton made by Joann’s fabrics. I really love it, as it has that metallic Chanel vibe. I then branched out and tried a more challenging combination, using a print inspired by Van Gogh’s starry night. For this skirt, I hand-basted the zipper slowly on before sewing it on the machine.

 

 

I don’t know if you can tell from the photo below, but the zipper is made of black lace, which I thought was really cool. If the zipper is going to be exposed, front and center like this, I feel it should be a statement piece.

 

 

I am now working on a wool version, which is considerably more challenging for me as I only sewed with cotton my first year (which was 2019). However, I really want to create something that reminds me of one of these skirts, which are all in tweed:

 

 

 

Here is the skirt as I have sewn it so far. It is just missing the zipper front and perhaps some bottom trim if I decide to do a black lace feature again:

 

 

I purchased this wool-blend fabric at a discount warehouse in San Francisco that receives leftovers from design houses. I love the pink and silver tones contrasting with the black which remind me of a Chanel textile. I will be sooooo excited if I can just find the right zipper and perhaps matching trim. A rhinestone zipper would also be really cool but I don't know where to look. I hope I will soon be able to finish and wear this skirt while it is still cold for a microsecond in my California climate! Someday I will try a pencil-skirt version of the zip-front skirt. The below image is again from the Chanel Spring Summer 2017 show:

 

 

Isn't it scrumptious? But where to find the pattern?

I feel really excited to have the chance to write a second blog post to kick off 2020. I teach reading and writing one on one to children with dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD, expressive processing issues, etc, and the private school where I mostly work is on intercession this week so my schedule is much lighter than normal. I will try to squeeze a VKL NYC yarn/notion haul post in too before my schedule becomes a whirlwind again! While posting this, I can’t resist sharing my fair isle Eliott cardigan, which I knitted for my birthday in September 2019. It is the cardi I am hoping to match to the zipper-front pencil skirt above if I can figure out how to sew one of those.

 

 

 

I knitted this stranded cardigan designed by Lisa Richardson which is from Rowan Magazine 66 in Rowan felted tweed. I used the same yarn colors in the pattern—watch out, the pattern photo colors have been deepended or altered--the Barn Red color of felted tweed is more orange, and the blue less deep blue than the pattern photo suggests. However, I still love this cardigan. I feel the striped sleeves break up the stranded color work, giving it a more modern feel. And this cardigan goes with so many different printed dresses because of its color range, it is really a versatile piece!

 

 

As you may have guessed, I have quite a backlog of knitted pieces I have not posted here. But actually a lot of the items I knitted this year were simple gifts that created bonds between myself and those I loved without being particularly noteworthy otherwise. I will try to post a few of my favorites in coming weeks, though! Thank you all for your kind, encouraging comments. I didn’t realize my blog was missed and it makes me much more motivated to continue posting!

 

 

Vogue Knitting Live New York 2020 Recap

 

Yarn, yarn, as far as the eye can see! The Marketplace at Vogue Knitting Live New York was unbelievable, and I found some wonderful colors there, such as this Green Dragon Colorway of the Merino Yak yarn hand-dyed by The Periwinkle Sheep. It is hard to find a really good green, and when you have an entire market of hand-dyers to choose from the chances go up enormously of finding exactly the color you want! Not to mention the gorgeous yarn art pieces.

 

 

But the greatest aspect of Vogue Knitting Live is the amazing people that attend the convention from all over the world. I have been riveted by Joji Locatelli’s design diary podcasts, and it was amazing to run into her at the Myak booth where she was planning a future project. I did not want to take her time by asking for a photo as she was there on a personal trip, but here is a photo that Joji herself shared on her instagram of herself and her mom in New York which is absolutely adorable:

 

 

 

A huge advantage of the Vogue Knitting Live format over events such as Stitches conventions is that they offer one-hour lectures. I adore the lectures—you get to sit with a knitting celebrity you've have always admired and drink in their personal stories while you knit.  I attended two lectures by Clara Parkes: Straight Talk about Wool and From Wool to Sweater. I was thrilled to obtain her autograph on the fascinating book about designing her yarn, The Vanishing Fleece. But more about that in later posts. The blurry photo below is one Clara Parkes took of us, her rowdy audience, applauding her after her first lecture.

 

 

One of the huge opportunities offered by knitting conventions is the chance to try on samples and determine a) if they work for you and b) what size you should knit the design in. And, as you can see, the Soldotna suits many body types. Below is a photo of my friend Stephanie and I wearing the samples provided by Spincycle yarns

I also attended a wonderful lecture by Aimee of La Bien Aimee yarn: Color and Business Confidence in which she described the founding of her two businesses in France and the way she finds inspirations for her unique colors. Do you know that her yarn company produces 300-500 skeins a day and she now has 14 employees? What a successful business woman! Aimee was wearing the Soldotna crop and she showed how flattering cropped styles are for fuller-figured women. It was really inspiring. Below is a photo of Aimee wearing her Soldotna —you can find more information about Aimee's version on Aimee's instagram here.

 

 

To my surprise, my favorite lecture was given by Stephen West—

I always thought he was a bit “over the top” compared to my more

quiet approach to knitwear but he provided an amazingly inspiring talk.

I almost felt that he was hypnotizing all of us with the following

messages—

“you are creative!”

“you are artists with yarn!”

“You can knit with more colors!”

“You can wear all the colors at the same time!”

The colors in the lecture audience were somewhat astounding—

I was in the “purple” row but pink, lime green and fuscia abounded!

And Stephen encouraged everyone  to parade around the room in their

brightly colored shawls which was joyous and freeing. What a fun experience!

 

Below is a photo of Stephen in one of his wild creations, the wonky starfish, which you can learn more about here 

 

I did attend one amazing, marvelous class, held by Susan B. Anderson: Three French Hens, which features this adorable pattern:

my first French hen

 

Apparently Susan designed this adorable chicken for Taproot Magazine which is read by homesteaders and others who like to live off the land or pursue a natural lifestyle, so she felt chickens were very appropriate. Almost too appropriate, as it turns out, as one of her readers got so excited she knitted 100 of them! While I would have laughed heartily at this fact earlier, knitting these little fair-isle hens is so addictive that I am already on my third hen in only six days! But what a great way to use up your scraps of yarn and fabric! I am trying to use a zero waste approach in my knitting and sewing and I collect all the odds and ends in ziplock bags to use as stuffing for projects like this. I’m finding the jersey fabric scraps are the best of all as they act a bit like polystyrene stuffing.

 

My dear friend Stephanie, the owner of Uncommon Threads Yarns in Los Altos, accompanied me on the trip and she and I had some wonderful meetings with women we have always admired, such as G. G. of  GGMADEIT  and Adella of Lola Bean Yarn Co.

I have never seen such gorgeous, saturated colors as the ones in Adella’s booth! But more about that later--I’ll share my full yarn haul in my next post.

 

Squeeal! I even got to meet up with Fruity Knitting Podcasters Andrew and Andrea again! They are such kind, interesting, delightful people and although our meetup was short it was really inspiring to see how passionate they are about their work. You can watch their video podcasts here—I really feel they are the best that I have ever seen. 

 

Sorry my blog has been very quiet of late --I have been struggling to keep up with my increased work hours [I added 12 hours of teaching a week to my schedule this fall] and balance that with my health needs, as well as my increased sewing activities. But one of my New Years’ resolutions is to squeeze in the time somehow, somewhere for more regular posts!

 

Anyway, my advice for anyone who wishes to attend a Vogue Knitting Live event is to save up your money and wait for the New York convention in January. I’ve heard really mixed reviews of the VKL events in other locations and although the one I attended in San Francisco two years ago was lovely in some respects it did not at all compare to the caliber of the instructors and lecturers, the yarn and notion vendors, and the experience as a whole. I am very grateful for having had the opportunity to participate in this amazing experience. I hope someday I will be able to go again, it was really a life-changing experience for me and enormously recharging of my spirit and creativity.