Fashion: Yarn Style

Walking Paris in Handknitted Socks

 

Indigo Leaves by Joji Locatelli

 

Many visitors think of Paris as a city of major monuments—the Eiffel tower, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe. But we walkers know that it’s the small moments discovered by chance that are the most beautiful. The incentive to lose yourself in Paris is huge because you never know what you will find when you turn a corner—a neighborhood arch? 

 

 

A twelfth century tower around the corner from your favorite bistro?

 

Or a statue, like La Flamme de la Liberté, that you discover when emerging from a metro stop

 

 

It is not just the buildings that tempt one to range through the city, but the architectural details like antique door knobs.

 

 

Spying a grinning face or animal peering from a doorknob, I imagine the hands that have touched them over hundreds of years. And the doors themselves, from all different eras, which have opened and closed on generations of Parisians.

 

 

Is it any wonder that Paris is so tempting to walk through? The narrow alleys, flanked with antique buildings on all sides, enclose you in an intimate atmosphere:

 

 

And the light, ever changing, beckons. Imagine opening a door into a cathedral to find light rays piercing an arched hallway:

 

 

Or illuminating a stained glass window during a quiet afternoon...

 

 

And, finally, glittering through rain-drenched streets at night:

 

 

Then there are the Parisians crowded everywhere, smoking, bicycling, laughing, talking with dramatic hand gestures--the men outfitted in tight brightly colored pants, the women discreet and trendy, and the children prancing through the streets as if they owned the town.

 

 

It is the fault of Paris' siren call that I have become a sock knitter. The hours of walking through narrow cobblestone streets, up and down flights and flights of stairs take their toll. Halfway through my Paris visits, I have to ice my feet and by the end, I can barely hobble onto the plane. So this year, I arrived with a strategy. Courtesy of the Bakery Bears Podcast, I learned that well-fitted hand knitted socks can reduce walking and running fatigue so I was determined to make some of my own.

 

 

 

As a beginning sock knitter suffering from a concussion, I decided to start as simply as possible. I purchased Very Pink’s Learn to Knit Socks pattern which uses worsted weight yarn and is illustrated by a step-by-step video. I found it quite easy to follow and I just added in a little Peerie flooer from Kate Davies hat pattern which I had knitted recently. However, I did not like the shaping instructions which led to a really pointy-looking toe. It's also pretty obvious I was kitchnering to join my toe stitches for the first time. The toes of those socks look rough!

 

 

My next time using the pattern, I was able to adapt the toe shaping somewhat. I did find the socks extremely comfortable to wear, and they truly did reduce my walking fatigue during the Paris visit. So I knitted myself a third pair:

 

 

My only issue with this pattern is that it calls for Cascade 220 yarn, which is 100% wool, and I am already finding my green toe in the pair above showing signs of wear. Then again, I have been rotating these three pairs of socks continuously since the Paris trip and so clearly the only solution is for me to take my courage in both hands and knit fingering-weight socks. That will allow me to use an appropriate nylon blend sock yarn so that they will last. I will definitely be knitting one of Kay Jones's sock patterns like the Prairie Socks once I get up my courage! In the meantime, I've started with Joji Locatelli's Indigo Leaves pattern which uses work sock, a plump sportweight yarn, which feels like DK in the hands. That has allowed me to change down from a size 5 to 2.5 needle rather than a size 1 or 0 I know I will need to knit a bakery bears sock. Eek!

 

 

Next time I visit Paris, I will be fully armed with a wardrobe of socks that will cushion my feet against the concrete. As I slide my toes into their warm, cushy protective shields, I’ll sigh in anticipation of the next walking adventure!

A Relaxing Afternoon at L’oisivethé, Paris

 

During my visit in Paris, I had a delightful afternoon meetup with my Parisian knitting friend, Nicole, and my German cousin by marriage, Annette, who has recently taken up knitting. L'Oisivethé, the teashop that combines the idea of idleness and ease (l'oisiveté) with the delights of tea drinking (thé) was the perfect spot for us to relax. We all brought our projects and had a marvelous time crafting in between eating tiny little scones and drinking green tea.

 

 

You see how cozy this teahouse is. Lots of tiny tables with friends chatting and drinking tea while fabulous yarn surrounds you from all sides.

 

Aimee, the American founder of l’Oisivethé as well as La Bien Aimée yarn company, has carefully curated a jewel of a yarn collection that adorns every wall of the tea shop. Junk yarn hand-dyes from New York and Madelinetosh were featured in the wall photographed above.

 

 

There is also a wall of Wollmeise, and another of Brooklyn Tweed yarns:

 

 

One reason the gals and I had traveled far to this tearoom was to get our fingers on the olann yarn which is stocked at L’Oisivethé, and I can tell that everyone else wanted it too, because the yarn stock looked really depleted! We depleted it further.

 

 

I bought a lovely skein of olann sock lite yarn for myself in muted russet and jewel tones while my husband astonished me by picking a hot pink skein for his own socks!!!!

 

 

While my husband read world cup soccer articles and we all ordered oodles of the scrumptious tiny scones and tea, Annette, Nicole, and I knitted and relaxed.

 

 Those tiny scones were hot and flaky and amazing. The tea was so good that I took a packet of the green tea, flavored with vanilla, home to savor. There is an entire wall of teas at l’oisivethé, which are sold as well as yarn.

 

 

The day we visited, we were served by Aimee's young son, a French boy of probably about 11 who was completely charming. Just keep in mind when you visit any small, family-run business in France that it may close unexpectedly. Our afternoon almost ended before it began when Nicole arrived to a closed shop with a little handwritten sign in the window. Thirty minutes later, though, the shop had re-opened so it all worked out in the end!

 

Paris Gorgeousness: Handknits, Pastries and Strolling in the Rain!

 

We have just arrived, still clutching neck pillows from the plane. We took a taxi directly from the airport to Laduree tearoom. We only had two and a half days to spend in Paris, as the other two days were spent traveling back and forth. So we enjoyed every moment to the maximum, especially the croissants!

 

In case you are wondering what those little green and gold packets are in the pastry basket, they contain perfect room-temperature French butter.  There are also tiny jars of apricot and raspberry jam to eat with the warm rolls. Ah, Lauduree, how I love thee!

 

I packed very light for this trip as we did not check our bags, which was a great exercise in clothing minimalism. Aislinn by Amy Herzog was my best friend on this trip, I really found it comfortable to wear on the airplane and it rolled into a ball and became my pillow while I slept. You can see me wearing the black cardigan outside of Laduree tearoom above.

 

Day 91: Paris

 

It rained a lot on our second day in Paris so this super warm shawl, Goldfish Memory by Casapinka, really came in handy! Just wish we had brought an umbrella, but we ended up hanging around under the eaves of some gorgeous old buildings instead.

 

We warmed up at L’Oisivethé, a combination teahouse and yarn store where I drank a gorgeous, vanilla-flavored green tea accompanied by fromage blanc and discovered this intriguing hand-dyed yarn:

 

 

Day 92: Paris

 

We grabbed a few rainless hours on Boulevard Haussman near the Jacquemart-André Museum, a wonderful showcase of decorative arts. 

 

 

I wore Aimee by Kim Hargreaves and it was just warm enough to keep off the chill! Here is a travel tip: try Sunday brunch at the tearoom inside the Jacquemart-André Museum. It is considered one of the best in Paris because of the gorgeous décor and unreal pastry cart. Their "oefs en cocotte" (coddled eggs) in herbed crème fraîche were fabulous.

 

 

Day 93 Paris

 

 

After strolling through the Luxembourg Park in the rain, Bernhard and I ducked into Cafe Cercle to warm up and share a crispy ham and cheese crepe. There we people-watched for a few hours while I knitted. Here I was wearing the #11 Lace Tank from Vogue Knitting--I packed it because it rolls up into a tiny ball, perfect for travel. I was really impressed by the beauty of the Luxembourg Park, especially in the dusky light and rain:

 

 

 

Day 94 Leaving Paris

 

 

We sadly said goodbye to the gorgeous bell epoch apartment where we stay in Paris each time we visit. For anyone who wants to stay here, the price is extremely reasonable and we adore it:

Le Magenta Apartment

The décor and antique furnishings of the apartment are extraordinary, and it is located in a wonderful location right off a metro stop, just blocks from the canal, and temptingly close to the famous Pain et des Idées bakery.

 

 

Unfortunately, Bernhard was unable to pick up croissants for us on our last day there because there were 50 tourists thronging outside. So we picked out a chocolate éclair and puts d’amour at Stohrer instead. It seems our trip to Paris ended just as it began, with a few luscious pastries!

 

 

Paris Purses: Handcrafted Inspirations, Exceptional Style

 

 

Paris has its problems, as humorously attested by The Sweet Life in Paris, A Year in the Merde, and other delightful accounts of the ups and downs of living there.  But there is no other city in the world that knows how to beautify the ordinary and elevate mundane moments into a world of fantasy.

 

 

Take, for example, this window display at Louis Vuitton.  This handbag, emblazoned with the Mona Lisa painting, is the accessory where art and commerce meet. Why carry an ordinary handbag when you can carry a work of art? In the next window, a purse that is a Vincent Van Gogh landscape reinforces that message.

 

 

The everyday items we use could, and should, be works of art, in my opinion. This is the reason that I knit and write posts about “heirloom knitting”, which you can find here:

http://yarnstylist.com/heirloom-knitting/

Knitting isn’t just a relaxing hobby to me. Handcrafting allows knitters to make exceptional items, bringing moments of beauty into our every day lives. I study couture finishing techniques, beading, and stranding in order to hand-make useable items that, to me, feel like works of art. This goal is visible everywhere in Paris:

 

 

If you’re going to make a pillow, why not make it a Picasso? No wonder window-shopping—in French, “lèche-vitrine” or “window licking” is so irresistible! Why not step into a painting for a moment and experience that kind of beauty? My favorite example of this elevating style is in the “purse garden” I saw at the Galleries Lafayette. 

 

 

Smack dab in the middle of this bustling department store, I discovered an ornamental garden, where pastel purses seemingly basked in the sun or gossiped in colorful little groups of friends.

 

 

How I wanted to join them! That is the genius of Paris style. The creation of a visual paradise that offers a tempting escape from the dirt, banality and disappointment that haunt our everyday lives.

 

 

“Wouldn’t you rather be here than where you are standing now?” The glossy handbags in their dainty world of leaves and flowers called.

“Yes,” my heart answered wistfully. So instead of pulling out my knitting needles and crafting a moment of peace, I just stood there. In the fabulous make-believe garden of Galleries Lafayette, I sniffed in the delicate scents of perfume nearby.

 

I observed the shifting colors from lacy tops and chiffon skirts as a throng of fashionable Asian women rushed by. A moment of stillness when I saw my inner world reflected in the world outside.

 

Yarn Shopping in Paris 2017: Lil’ Weasel Boutique

 

Le Passage du Grand Cerf

 

Hidden away in a 19^th century passage is Lil’ Weasel, an exquisite boutique selling yarn and Liberty of London fabric. 

 

 

It is best to consult a map, as I have been here twice over the past seven years and neither of my taxi drivers has been able to find the store. Luckily, I had just debated in French with my cab driver about the evils of capitalism and high-paced living (him) versus the slow process of hand-making clothes (me) ---so, as I had established my credentials as a civilized person, the driver was now on my side and refused to abandon me on a corner somewhere in the district. Instead, he stopped random passersby until someone gave us detailed instructions on how to find the yarn store.

 

Patisserie Stohrer

 In future, when I go to Lil Weasel again, I will take the metro to Les Halles and walk down rue Montorgueil, the legendary market street which houses Stohrer’s Patisserie, among other fabulous finds, and make my way the boutique close by. I had no idea it was three blocks away until now. My Parisian friend Nicole, who met me at Lil Weasel, blew my mind by walking us over to Paul’s Boulangerie on rue Montorgueil a few minutes away from the shop so we could have coffee and chat, which just proves that the best way to learn how to navigate Paris is in the company of a local.

 

 

Lil Weasel organizes yarns by color rather than by weight, which is great for color-oriented shoppers. I prefer to see yarn organized by brand or weight but I know I am an exception. The color arrangement does create a visually stunning environment, and the boutique also had an interesting selection of hand-dyed yarn, both foreign and French:

 

I was most interested in finding local French yarn, so I purchased a skein of (Vi)laine yarn in a muted silver.

 

(Vi)laine’s brand name is based on a French pun, as it combines the word “villain” with the word “laine”, which means wool. Nicole has used this brand before, which is local to Lyon, France, and told me that the quality was excellent, so I did not hesitate to purchase it. It is a hand-dyed blend of 50% Falkland superwash wool and 50% silk.

 

Bin of (Vil)laine yarn at Lil Weasel

 

I also decided to pick up two skeins of the Hedgehog Fiber from the UK that I have heard so much about, as none of the American yarn shops I have visited have ever carried it.

 

The hedgehog yarn on offer was the Cashmere Merino, a blend of 50% cashmere and 50% merino, and the colors were simply scrumptious. I purchased two skeins in the Film Noir colorway, and plan to knit them into a shawl, because the yarn is so soft it will feel amazing around my neck.

 

After perusing all the yarn, Nicole and I went next door to check out the gorgeous Liberty of London fabric in Lil Weasel’s sister store.

 

 

Typically, Liberty fabric is way out of my budget, but the remnants in a bin in a corner of the store were very reasonably priced so I walked away with about a yard and a half of a gorgeous print I want to sew into a blouse.

 

Shopping at both the yarn and fabric boutiques was a delightful experience. The sales ladies were knowledgeable and kind, and overall the customer service was excellent. There were many beautiful and fun things to look at, such as the crocheted amigurumi on the door

 

And the knitted butterflies in a special case in the window which is a quirky touch.

 

Overall, I loved Lil Weasel, as well as other boutiques in the Passage du Grand Cerf which offered artisanal jewelry, antiques, and African decor. 

 

 

Yarn Shopping in Paris June 2017: Modes et Travaux

 

Knitters seeking high-quality French yarn in Paris will find it in the second level of the mercerie, Modes et Travaux where Anny Blatt yarns and catalogues reign supreme. I met a Parisian knitting friend at the boutique last Tuesday and took the opportunity to check out the newest designs and featured yarns.

 

 

I purchased the Autumne Hiver No 222 Catalog which came out in the fall. Yes, I know it is summertime now, but I would rather wait six months to get my hands on the patterns in person than pay the $25 Euro fee to ship the magazine to the US! The brochure features some really exceptional patterns, including The Polly Pull, which several of my Parisian friends are also planning to make once the weather grows cool.

 

Polly Pull on Anny Blatt website

 

There is something sublimely understated and elegant about this pullover that strikes me as uniquely French. It is knit in chestnut and black merino stripes and then over-crocheted with the slick ribbon yarn, Victoria, in black.

 

Aware of my luggage limitations, I purchased only the Anny Blatt Merinos yarn in Chestnut as I felt I could find something similar in black more easily in the US. I also am hoping to find a similar weight yarn to the Victoria that is not a ribbon yarn, as I want to avoid the heaviness it could potentially create.

 

Another pattern that really intrigued me in Catalog No 222 is The Becky Tunique.

 

 

Ever since I saw Karl Lagerfeld’s Paris Salzburg fashion show, which integrated Austrian folk-motifs hand-executed in beading and embroidery on knitwear, I have been obsessing about how to create a knit that has a similar style.

 

The Paris Salzburg was really a celebration of a tradition of handwork that goes back hundreds of years and I have not been able to get some of the beautiful embroidered motifs out of my mind, such as the red pattern embroidered on the black jacket above. This is why I think the Becky Tunique appeals to me so strongly. I also rather like the cream background versus the black, as the black and red combination is so dressy whereas the cream makes it more everyday wear.

 

I purchased just the black and cherry yarns that form the embroidered motif and plan to use some cream kidsilk haze out of my stash for the bulk of the sweater. The black and red motif can be knitted using reverse fair isle (with all the crossed threads showing on the front) or embroidered in duplicate stitch or I may just use traditional fair isle to draw the fabric in together at the waist, I have not decided yet.

 

 

For Chanel enthusiasts, Ilanka Quincy and Lucia from Catalog 222 cannot fail to please:

 

 

 

After shopping at Modes et Travaux, I met up with my wonderful Parisian friends who gather once a month at a coffee shop down the street to knit together and share their latest creations. They are a wonderful group of warm, creative women and as always, my meeting with them was the highlight of my visit to Paris!

 

 

That, and of course, the salted caramel eclairs at Fauchon…….

Kim Hargreaves’ Blithe knitted in Seasilk

 

 

 

I am obsessed with Handmaiden’s hand dyed sea silk yarn, a combination of sea cell and silk fibers. I have knitted five projects with the yarn over the years, and I find it has a wonderful drape and sheen and is easy to unravel. Having encountered a gorgeous sea blue color of the yarn at my local LYS, I was impelled to buy it immediately. It took some time to find a pattern to do the yarn justice, but Kim Hargreaves’ designs always include such exquisite details that I thought her Blithe would be a good choice.

 

 

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/blithe

 

I love the clever ridge pattern in this design. My only disappointment is that, even though I made the fronts one size larger to prevent gaps in the buttonhole area, I still have a little bit of gapping any way. I think if I were to knit this again, I would start the button placket much higher up. I think a button placket that starts at the waist is more flattering to a flat-chested figure than a curvy one.

 

 

I believe the slight gapping in the button band was caused by my gauge tightening as I knitted, so that the pieces ended up a bit smaller than I had predicted. I still love this top, however, and it will make a wonderful piece to wear under a cardigan or jacket.

 

 

I purchased my sea blue mother-of-pearl buttons at a wonderful notions shop in Paris, Entrée des Fournisseurs. This fabulous shop is right off La Place des Voges, where my husband and I spent a wonderful sunny afternoon people-watching in the park at the center of the square.

 

Entrée des Fournisseurs has a marvelous selection of buttons, ribbons, and many fabulous trims worthy of a Chanel jacket. I could have spent hours there except that my escort grew bored of examining “bits and bobs” and wandered out. The French name for said bits and bobs is mercerie. Mercerie includes trims, buttons, lace and ribbons, and it was extraordinary what a button array I found in such a small store.

 

It was great fun knitting my Blithe in Paris. I used a different Kim Hargreaves pattern for the sleeves, as I thought a standard set-in sleeve would be more flattering than the lace sideways sleeve in Blithe. I do highly  recommend the pattern, but I would upsize the fronts a size or two to prevent gaps in the closure, or better yet, start the button closure much higher up for a curvy gal who wishes to knit it. I'd like to ask my readers, is it just me, or does the button placket starting so low at the waist create a visual illusion that the bust is too low as well? Not the most flattering top I have ever made, I think!

 

A Visit to the Chanel Boutique in Paris

 

 

 

 

At Rue Cambon, the Chanel boutique is the original showroom where Gabrielle Chanel lived and worked. A family reunion in Paris a few months ago gave me the opportunity to visit this exquisite atelier.

 

 L'Hôtel de Ville, Paris

While my husband and father-in-law visited famous monuments such as the Hôtel de Ville, and his siblings and my father explored museums, my mother-in-law and I made our pilgrimage to that couture museum, La Maison Chanel.

 

 

We started by enjoying a leisurely cup of hot chocolate and a pastry at Angelina, Gabrielle Chanel’s favorite restaurant. Apparently, she lunched there almost daily. Then Maxi and I started to walk towards Rue Cambon. It was a chilly evening and we clutched our hand-knitted scarves as we strolled past the Place Vendôme, peeking into the windows of famous jewelry shops on the way. Cartier, Piaget, Lalique, Van Cleef and Arpels, Bulgari--every window sparkled with diamonds and giant pearls, including that of the Chanel jewelry boutique:

 

 

The Vendôme column celebrating Napoleon’s victory at Austerlitz is under construction at the moment, and across the square, the Ritz is boarded up for repairs. The square used to consist of boutiques of high-end designer clothing, but extravagant jewelry has taken over completely!

 

 

We plunged into a warren of narrow streets in pursuit of our hearts’ desire, passing lit windows of boutique after boutique displaying tantalizing sweaters by unknown designers.

 

 

Window dressing is elevated to a fine art in Paris, which explains why window-shopping is such a past-time there. The Parisians call it “window licking” (leche-vitrines) because the displays are so luminous and tempting they seem almost edible!

 

 

Turning towards the windows also gave us respite from the clouds of cigarette smoke blown into our faces by the advancing mass of pedestrians. Smoking is everywhere and I was not surprised when my father explained that Paris is now considered the most polluted city in Europe as it was sometimes difficult for me to breathe. I don't know if this is because the city is shaped like a bowl, collecting smog, but my father takes allergy medicine just to get through his frequent sojourns with friends here, and many of us followed his example.

 

At last, the doors of Chanel beckoned us out of the smoggy twilight and we rushed inside!

 

 

We had chosen a good moment to visit, an hour before closing time. The swarm of tourists which floods the boutiques had noticeably thinned, and concentrated in the accessory rooms. This meant we had the clothing boutique almost to ourselves. On display were the models from the Ready to Wear 2015/2016 Fall Winter Collection. The fashion show for this collection was set in a Paris restaurant, which is why the window display shows a mannequin dressed as an upscale diner next to the sign, "Brasserie Gabrielle." He is so inventive, that Karl Lagerfeld!

 

Although I had pored over the models from this collection on my computer and television screens, it was completely different examining the garments closely myself!!

 

 

Although I faithfully watch all of Lagerfeld’s fashion shows on youtube, in person, the colors are unimaginably richer, the details sparkling and bold. For example, this vest which looks like nothing special via image is actually a gorgeous metallic purple interwoven with gold and jade green. I would have loved to purchase it, but even a vest at Chanel is beyond my means! As we walked from model to model, dogged by a determined salesperson to protect the clothes, I couldn’t suppress squeals of delight. This is what we saw:

 

 

Naturally, photos are not allowed in the store, so I am using photos from Chanel to give you a sense of some of the gorgeousness we saw. As a textile enthusiast, I am always the most interested in the fabrics themselves. You simply cannot find knit wear anywhere else in the world with that complexity of color, texture and depth, in my opinion.

Look at this humble Chanel scarf displayed in the window, which I photographed on the way out for you!

 

 

And here is a fascinating crocheted beaded belt, displayed in the window as well.

 

 

No matter how much he steals from vintage shapes and looks, Lagerfeld always manages to keep the clothes modern and with a bit of an edge:

 

 

Our photos were limited to the display windows. But how rich they were! It is the artistry of the way the clothing is combined that to me is almost as fascinating as the clothing itself. As captivated as I had been by the collection when I saw it in movie form on my television screen, the colors of the fabrics and trims were so much more beautiful and lustrous in person, that I was really moved.

 

I did not have the opportunity to see this piece which I love in person:

 

 

But I am determined to knit something vaguely inspired by this color scheme some day. I would also love to knit a fair isle sweater in purple, green and gold, although I could never even imagine how to create such an intricate design. But my interest in Chanel is more that of an inspiration that will fuel my imagination and make me dream of things I never considered possible in knitwear! Just composing this blog reminds me of the happy hour we spent at the Rue Cambon!

 

A Yarn Gift from France + New Anny Blatt patterns

 

Venice Veste by Anny Blatt

http://www.annyblatt.com/boutique/femme/67-veste/2977-venice-veste/

 

I have been obsessed with Anny Blatt’s Venice Veste for some time, but the yarn was not available when I visited Paris, so I thought I was out of luck. But fortune has smiled on me! My father spent the month of June in Berlin, and hopped over to France for a few days to visit with friends. He texted me from France asking me if I wanted him to buy me some yarn. Did I WANT a gift of yarn? Does a fish have scales? Even better, he was able to get the yarn at a great price because of the Grandes Soldes. The Grandes Soldes refer to the two huge sales in Paris every year, one at the end of June, and one in January. Almost everything is discounted at that time and you can find amazing deals IF you are willing to battle the frenzy of ruthless shoppers all reaching for the same item as you!

 

Anny Blatt Fine Kid, Bouton d’Or Mango

 

As you can see, this was an amazing yarn gift! The Venice Veste uses a slip-stitch pattern that is knitted with one strand of fine kid yarn and another strand of a slightly lighter colored blue yarn held together.

 

Originally the pattern called for Anny Blatt Luxor, but that was out of stock, and my friend Fabienne, who works at the Paris shop Modes et Travaux, told me I could use the Mango yarn by Bouton d'Or instead, as it is the same color. She was really kind in responding to my emails and setting the yarn aside for my father so there would be enough for my project. 

In case you are wondering why the Mango yarn is so tangled, it fell afoul of an international baggage inspector who apparently rifled through my father's luggage, it looked much better before its journey to me! There are other yarns involved in the Venice Veste as well. The jacket is edged with two black yarns that act as trim, the Anny Blatt Muguet and the Anny Blatt Victoria:

I had purchased those two yarns previously, thinking I might be able to find an American yarn to substitute for the blue skeins in the pattern. But luckily I can knit with the very best, I am so excited to begin!

 

Of course gorgeous new designs keep popping up all the time just to make our choices more difficult:

 

 

Anny Blatt has just come out with a new collection of knitting designs for Fall/Winter, called the Couture Collection 219, and there are some beautiful patterns! Knowing my houndstooth pattern obsession, you can see why this is my favorite:

Gobelin by Anny Blatt

 

You can find information about this sweater and all the other designs from the magazine that will follow here:

http://www.annyblatt-aiguillesdor.com/

 

There are many beautiful designs but I am only sharing a few of them with you. One of my favorites is a beautiful fair isle sweater with a twist on the damask pattern:

Charenton

 

And look at this innovative use of a cables in this luxe jacket:

Odeon

Here is a zip-up Chanel-style jacket for everyday work wear:

Louvre

 

And a fabulous variation on the checked patterns that are still so hot on the runways:

Perenty

 

I also love the use of the herringbone pattern in this cool, modern pullover:

Cadet

 

Unlike the Anny Blatt website, which charged me an arm and a leg to ship the last magazine I purchased, Aiguilles d’Or seems to have a more reasonable shipping fee—it was 11 Euros, so the magazine plus shipping was a total of $29. Assuming it gets to me safely, I will likely purchase other magazines in future from them. In the meantime, Happy Knitting everyone!

 

 

Voilà, The Dior Jacket

 

 

 

 

Voilà! My Dior jacket is finished! I am really pleased with how my slip

 

stitch pattern recreates the look of a woven fabric. Ever since the

 

moment I saw Rowan frost yarn in the “Moorland” colorway, I knew I

 

could use it to create a couture-inspired fabric. Chanel textiles, for

 

example, often have metallic threads that range in subtle variations 

 

of color. Framing subtle color changes against a dark background 

 

enhances their water-color effect and reminds me of the dappled

 

light in an impressionist painting.

 

 

 

 

When Rowan came out with black kidsilk haze eclipse last year, I 

 

had the perfect black foil for the variegated golds, pinks and 

 

greens that shimmer through the black finish of the Frost yarn.

 

 

 

My choice of the rectangular shapes in the slip stitch pattern I

 

invented was inspired by this ornate doorway I saw in Paris:

 

 

 

 

The shape of the Peplum jacket is inspired by Debby Bliss’s 

 

pattern #8, which you can find here:

 

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/debbie-bliss-knitting-magazine-fall-winter-2013

 

Debbie Bliss’s pattern creates a peplum shape by starting with 

 

a large number of stitches and decreasing them in batches of

 

six stitches per row every inch or so to the waist. As you can

 

imagine, it was challenging to decrease so many stitches per 

 

row without disturbing the overall pattern, but the slip stitch 

 

combination I invented is amenable to hiding a series of 

 

reductions without them being terribly visible, as you can see

 

from the back view here:

 

 

 

The fuzziness of the mohair yarn and the black background both

 

contribute to helping conceal the 6 stitches I dropped evenly 

 

across each reduction row. All told, I was able to subtract at 

 

least 30 stitches from hips to waist on the back piece without

 

significantly distorting the slip stitch pattern, which is why

 

I am so enchanted with it! I will definitely be using the slip

 

stitch pattern again for other projects, perhaps in a new

 

pattern using a garment shape that is entirely my own!

 

I did add some extra hand-sewn couture touches to my 

 

jacket, such as the box pleats I hand-sewed on each side 

 

of the front:

 

 

 

The rest of the hand-sewing I used to make my piece a "couture knit"

 

came in to the jacket assembly. Because the slip stitches create a

 

 series of horizontal stripes  of color, I ensured they matched across

 

pieces by pinning every single stripe (and there were three per

 

inch):

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I hand-basted the pieces to each other with blue sewing 

 

thread to ensure the stripes would line up.

 

 

 

Next, as I mattress stitched my pieces together, I took out the 

 

hand-basting threads as I went along.

 

 

 

Here you can see the line of stripes extends across the

 

seam line. Can you tell where the seam starts and ends in the

 

middle of this image?

 

 

 

 

Can you find where the sleeve is joined to the back piece?

 

 

As you can see, basting, then pinning each stripe allowed me

 

to create a continuous-looking fabric which meant that the stripes

 

on the sleeves lined up with the stripes on the back and so on.

 

After I finished each seam, I enhanced the continuous effect of the

 

stripes as follows: I turned the garment inside out and steamed

 

the seams by holding an iron over them without touching them.

 

 Then I flattened the seams by pressing an iron over two layers of

 

press cloth on the wrong side of the fabric.

 

 

 

The collar involved quite a bit of frustrating fiddling and I do 

 

not think I will really get any better with my collar construction 

 

until I take some sewing classes to enhance my understanding

 

of the shapes I should be striving to construct. I found the

 

neckline to be the nemesis of my Emerald Chanel-style jacket:

 

 

 

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/yarnstylist/emerald-blocks

 

 

Unfortunately, I had blindly followed the knitting pattern, only to 

 

discover after I hand-quilted all the pieces and assembled them 

 

that the neckline was far too low:

 

 

 

This meant that I had to add a stand-up collar as an after-

 

 thought, but the jacket only really looks right if I wear it with

 

 the collar standing up, as in this photo:

 

 

This time, I was determined to avoid that pitfall! So when I was

 

halfway through my project, I basted my front and back 

 

pieces together as soon as they were finished to assess the

 

neckline height. The result?

 

 

Way too low!

 

I would like to say in my own defense that I followed the pattern

 

just as written--the neck is supposed to be on a level with the 

 

start of the armhole shaping. But in real life, on my frame, a neckline

 

this low just looks bizarre. No wonder so many knitters on Ravelry

 

complained about the collar. The problem isn't actually the collar,

 

I think, it is the height of the neckline. How glad I am that I took

 

this precaution after being burned by a collar problem before!

 

I found it particularly helpful to study a photograph and use

 

it to determine how far I should raise the neckline to fit my

 

physique. After raising the neckline several inches, I was much 

 

happier with the fit.

 

 

 

 

However, as another precaution, I knitted half the collar 

 

separately and pinned it onto my basted pieces to test the fit. 

 

The great benefit of making the collar as a separate piece is that

 

it allowed me to experiment with the right side and wrong side 

 

of the fabric to see which suited the garment better—I chose the 

 

wrong side of the fabric for my collar which creates a subtle 

 

contrast to the textile used in the rest of the jacket. Still, 

 

something was not quite right. I realized that the shape of the

 

neckline created a deep U, which underneath my square

 

shaped jaw, seemed to create an unflattering frame for my face.

 

To read more about how to manipulate neckines to flatter your 

 

faceshape, read my blog post here:

 

 

http://yarnstylist.com/2009/09/knitting-and-your-face-shape.html

 

 

I reconfigured the collar and raised it to form a different shape 

 

which frames my face better. Do you see the reverse oval I 

 

created? The oval softens the square line of my jaw:

 

 

 

 

These heirloom projects on average take 3 months to complete, 

 

but I don’t mind taking the extra time. Ever since I saw Chanel’s

 

2012 Fall Winter Couture fashion show, I have been obsessed with

 

the beautiful subtle variations in color and texture in the jackets

 

I saw, and I have wanted one of my own.

 

 

 

Considering that the overage couture jacket by Chanel would cost

 

somewhere between $8,000 and $12,000, I feel that three months 

 

and $120 worth of materials is reasonable to spend to make

 

my own couture-inspired clothes.

 

 

 

Readers, tell me what you think. Should I make a belt out of the 

 

wrong side of the fabric to match the collar of the jacket and

 

bring  the waist in more? Even though I reduced 30 stitches on

 

the front and back to create waist shaping I wonder if the jacket 

 

is still loose around the waist. Or will a belt detract from the shape

 

 of the jacket? What do you think?