Of seaweed and slipped stitches

Now that the Interweave Knits Summer 2008 preview is up, I think it's finally safe to show a detail of my Wakame Lace Tunic.  I found the lace pattern in a Japanese book of stitch patterns and fell in love with it; the undulating curves of the cables and the foamy effect created by the eyelets immediately reminded me of breaking waves.  And since the yarn (Tilli Tomas Fil de la Mer) contains seaweed fiber, I thought "wakame" would be a good name; I'm glad IK saw fit to keep it!  (By the way, the fabric in the photo is doubled; I draped the tunic over a chair to get the picture.)

As for the Roped Shell, the design was originally for a sort of tube top with cable straps, and the yarn originally chosen was Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, but when they were reluctant to ship their yarn to Italy,the IK editors chose Filatura di Crosa Luxury instead.  This silk yarn has a lovely drape but very little stretch, which seemed to me to be an unforgiving (and very difficult to fit) combination for a knit tube top!  In addition, the slipped stitch pattern loses its nice curvy effect if it is stretched much, so I suggested that we change the design to a sleeveless shell instead; the Cotton Fleece would have suited the more casual style of a tube top, but I thought that this finer silk yarn would work better in a somewhat dressier top.  I also wanted to find a way to hide the jog in the stripes at the beginning of each round, so I took advantage of the slipped stitch pattern to create a vertical stripe at each side "seam."  Not the best photo, but at least you can see how light and drapey the fabric turned out to be.

Comments

[brigid]

congratulations on the IK cover? looks great!

[connie]

Both are beautiful designs, Angela. They look so light and comfortable. Both are definitely going to my to-do-someday list! Congratulations on making the cover too :)

I'm glad you make the tube into a shell. I'm not so much a tube top person, but love shells.

[Misty the Kneedler]

I always resist looking at the Preview because I so love to read a new Interweave Knits issue from cover to cover with entirely fresh eyes, but now I can't wait to see that shell!

[SoKnitpicky]

Those are both really great patterns--congratulations! I am so glad you showed that closeup of the tank. I was worried, looking at the picture that colorwor was going to create too heavy of a fabric for the hot summers we have here, but I can see from the picture that that's not the case at all!

[Anne]

two gorgeous patterns! I prefer your photo of the shell because you can see the detail in the fabric. Now I want to knit this one too!

[Angela]

SoKnitpicky-- with a slipped stitch pattern you don't strand the color not being used, so the fabric is not double thickness. I agree about stranded colorwork possibly being too heavy and hot for summer, which is why I chose the slipstitch technique.

[Cecilia N]

I am so excited about the tunic and now I am googling around to see all possible colours of that yarn. Maybe I'll do one for my friend in 50 years' present!

Nice work!

[Ada]

Congratulations on the front page, Angela!

Now, is it right that Sorelle has been bumped by the Roped Shell? And how would it be in Bamboo, if Silk is too Champagne for my Beer budget?

[Gaby]

Congratulations! I loved both patterns; I've put them in my queue inmediatly ;)

[LeeAnn]

Congrats as well on the lovely patterns and great cover shot. I found your blog searching for alternatives to the Luxury yarn because I can't wait to knit this top! I'm so glad you did it as a shell. Too often IK patterns are geared towards slim figures, it's nice to have something flattering for fuller women. A tube top definitely would not have made it on my list! :)

Can you suggest some less sticker-shocking alternatives? I saw a post on another blog that suggested Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino might work instead of Luxury, and I was wondering if even KnitPick's Elegance might work.

[Eva]

The Wakame Lace Tunic is my favorite pattern in this issue and I will definitely knit one for myself this summer!