Knititude

Inspiration at the Museum at FIT, Part 2

Last week I wrote about my visit to the Fairy Tale Fashion exhibit at the Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology). I also saw the other two current exhibits, The Women of Harper's Bazaar and Denim: Fashion's Frontier. While these didn't pique* my imagination as much as Fairy Tale Fashion, they were still well worth a visit.

The women mentioned in the title of the first exhibit were not the models, but the women in charge from 1936-1958: Carmel Snow (editor-in-chief, Diana Vreeland (fashion editor) and Louise Dahl-Wolfe (photographer). The story of their collaboration was fascinating and the photos are amazing! Anyone with an interest in fashion photography would certainly enjoy this exhibit. As far as inspiration, many of the garments shown in photos were elaborately pieced and constructed, which I feel is usually the forte of woven (not knitted) fabrics. But the above wool swimsuit by Claire McCardell (1946) caught my eye-- not for the beach, but I could see wearing a similar knit top right now, out and about; love the high wrapped neck combined with halter styling and narrow waist. And the photo below shows the December 1945 cover: it's a little hard to tell, but I believe the scarf is accented with a large pin. I immediately thought of doing a knitted cowl with a large beaded or textured motif front and center. When it comes to accessories, I think easy is good; rather than carefully wrapping a scarf around and around your neck, and then placing a pin just so, simply pull said embellished cowl over your head and you're done! 

Denim: Fashion's Frontier explores the history of denim, from its beginnings in the early 1800s as a durable, utilitarian work fabric to its ubiquitous presence today, including its use by many fashion designers. The variable treatments of denim were quite remarkable, from baggy leisurewear of the 1930s to the familiar 70s and 80s hand-sewn patches and embroidery (remember those skirts made out of jeans?) to high fashion garments such as the corset (Jean Paul Gaultier, 1992) and the embroidered coat (Roberto Cavalli, 2003) pictured above and below. As far as inspiration, I found the corset construction intriguing (but where to go from there??), and as for the coat, I loved the placement of the flowers on the fronts, cuffs, collar and pocket flaps-- imagine replacing the embroidery with stranded colorwork or intarsia, or knitted lace....  I also found this exhibit interesting for two personal reasons: (1), I wear jeans almost daily (Levi's, mostly), and (2) knitting began in large part as a way to make the ultimate utilitarian garments! There is very little waste-- think of the cut scraps of a sewn garment compared to a few discarded yarn ends. Knitted clothing can be precisely shaped as it is made, yet knitted fabric is also stretchy and forgiving. And finally, parts of garments such as sock heels and sleeve cuffs can be repaired-- remade, really-- that is, re-knit so they are literally as good as new.

*not peaked! Sorry, pet peeve.

Finding inspiration at The Museum at FIT, part 1

This past week I was in NYC for a brief visit (less than 24 hours), staying in the Flatiron District. Or was it NoMad? I'm not sure. In any case, since I didn't want to waste my precious time in the city riding in a cab or on the subway, I looked for museums nearby, and discovered that I was not far from the Fashion Institute of Technology-- and The Museum at FIT. Jackpot!

Today I'm posting photos from just one of the three current exhibitions: Fairy Tale Fashion, because I have lots of them! In my next post I'll add photos from the other two exhibitions, The Women of Harper's Bazaar, 1936-1958 and Denim: Fashion's Frontier.

Fairy Tale Fashion was a real gold mine in terms of fanciful ideas that might be morphed into wearable knitted garments. Some of the designs actually included gold in the form of beading or sequins: the top photo shows a cape from the Blumarine Fall 2014 collection, while the second photo is a dress and hood ensemble from Dolce and Gabbana, also Fall 2014. I was thinking that the embellishments on the cape could be reinterpreted in a large scale knitted lace, while the stunning beadwork on the dress and hood made me wonder about a complex allover Fair Isle design--say, something like the Henry VIII pattern pictured above, by Alice Starmore. I love the idea of adding beads to accent the gold colored swirls and scrolls!  

The dress above, by Alexander McQueen from fall 2007, is embellished with sequined tresses that I could see worked instead as sinuous knitted cables, while the graphic motifs on the dress below, also Alexander McQueen (fall 2008), could inspire knitted color work OR lace. 

And finally, two dresses from the early 1900s: the first is by Mary Liotta, circa 1930, with a charming star pattern. What caught my eye was the variations in density of the stars, which creates a flattering (and flirty) effect, and which reminded me of the changing density of the eyelets in the Hanami knitted stole pattern I admired almost 10 years ago, from fellow independent designer, Melanie Gibbons.  

The last photo shows a dress by the Boué sisters, circa 1919. I was intrigued by the bodice, with its asymmetrical mix of fabrics, and the beautiful waistband.

Of clouds and dragons

In Chinese mythology, dragons and clouds go together: dragons create clouds with their breath, bring life giving rain, and are often pictured surrounded by stylized clouds. (Photo above from nationsonline.org.)

So when I was working on the lace dragon for the Dragon Lace Pullover, I also experimented with some lace clouds. I wanted them to be swirling and asymmetrical, and I tried out a couple of different sizes. I liked the results, but didn't end up using them for the Dragon Lace pullover because I thought the overall design would end up being too busy.

Recently my cloud swatches turned up, but when I went looking for the charts I had drawn with them, I couldn't find them. So I guess if I want to use them for something, I'll have to recreate the charts from the swatches (a PITA, for sure!). Oh well  :-/

Hints for knitting the Blue Ridge Sweater

A knitter contacted me to clarify the instructions for the sleeve increases for the Blue Ridge Sweater, which is one of the patterns in the Spring 2016 issue of interweave Knits. So I decided to include this information in a blog post, and also to offer an alternative to some of the instructions given in the published pattern. If you are just looking for these clarifications, skip to the last third of the post, because I first explain some of the practical challenges that shaped the final design of the body and sleeves. 

The Blue Ridge Sweater is an unusual pattern for me in that it only includes three sizes (I usually try to do a least five, and more often seven). This is because the pattern repeat is large, at 4 1/2"/11.5 cm wide--and if you consider that an odd number of repeats would bring the additional challenge of centering the design differently on front and back, it really makes the repeat 9" (so that there is always an even number of repeats). Since there is usually about a 4" difference between adjacent bust sizes, this pretty much meant that I could only write the pattern for every other size.

If this had been a more traditional Aran sweater, where the stitch patterns go straight up and down, large panels would have been less of a problem: many Aran sweaters center a large cable or textured pattern on front and back, or else have paired large panels on left and right, and surround these focal points with smaller panels in between (and on the sleeves). But since this is a yoked sweater, with the same two stitch patterns repeating around body, sleeves and then yoke, I had to figure out how to fit in the right number of the two types of panels for each size.

I started at the top by figuring out how big the base of the yoke (where sleeves and body are joined) should be for each size, which determined the number of pattern repeats. The size of the base of the yoke was guided by how big I wanted the body and sleeves to be at the levels of the bust and the upper arms, but I also had to decide how many stitches from body and sleeves I would hold for the underarms. If not enough stitches are reserved for the underarm, the sweater will be uncomfortably tight in this area; if too many, then the outer sleeves and/or the front and back will be too tight.

But holding back these stitches meant that there would be an interruption in the stitch patterns from sleeves and body, and for the patterns to continue unbroken around the yoke, any partial panels from sleeves and body would have to combine to make a single panel. Even if it happened that the stitches for the underarm were enough for one whole panel, I would have to make sure that the sequence of patterns from sleeves and body coordinated, so that I didn't end up with two of the same panels next to each other on the yoke. I used the diagram below to help me figure this out for each size (B stands for Cable & Bobble panel, and L for Lace panel, and the vertical lines between the large and small circles of Bs and Ls represent the underarm stitches).

And what I finally concluded is that the various parts of the sweater would fit better if there was a narrow plain (stockinette stitch) panel on each side of the body. This allowed me to more easily allot the right number of stitches to underarm, body and sleeves, for the best fit for each size. The plain panels are not noticeable, and disappear into the underarm, allowing the Lace and the Cable & Bobble stitch patterns to continue uninterrupted around the yoke.

This solution also suggests an alternative to the sleeve increase instructions given in Interweave Knits, which tell you to work all of the increases into repeats of the Lace or the Cable & Bobble pattern. In every size, there are enough stitches increased to complete one or two of the patterns, but then there are additional increases which are not enough to form full panels.

So instead of working incomplete Lace or Cable & Bobble panels, here is what you could do: 

For Size 36 1/4", after working the first 11 increases into the Cable and Bobble pattern, work the remaining four increases as follows: first as a purl stitch, and then as a knit stitch for the last three increases.

For Size 43 1/2", after working the first 11 increases into completing the Lace pattern, work the remaining five increases as follows: first as a purl stitch, and then as a knit stitch for the last four increases.

For Size 52 1/2", after working the first 8 increases into completing the Lace pattern and the next 11 stitches into the Cable and Bobble pattern, work the remaining five increases as follows: first as a purl stitch, and then as a knit stitch for the last four increases.

I feel this is easier than trying to decide how to work a partial lace or cable panel that no one is going to see anyway (unless you are raising your arm). You will end up with a narrow plain triangle at the top of the underside of the sleeve. The first stitch of the round will remain in the center of the top of this triangle, which will thus be 7 (9, 9) stitches wide (not including the purl stitches on each side), to join to the top of the plain panel at the side of the body. The photo below shows how it will look.

Whether you decide to work the sleeve increases as published in Interweave, or as described above, here are a few clarifications:

• Increases are paired; that is, you will be forming two new panels with the increases, one just after the beginning of the round, and one at the end of the round. 
• The first stitch of the round remains at the center of the underarm.
• When you are working the sleeve increases into the stitch patterns, do them starting from the left side of the chart for the increase near the beginning of the round, and starting from the right side of the chart for the increase at the end of the round. This will make the partial panels mirror images and also make them continuous with the rest of the stitch patterns (see above). 

Revisiting the Circles Vest

I published the pattern for the Circles Vest back in 2011, but I never did get around to writing about the design process, or suggesting substitute yarns, as I had promised. Since it's a great transitional layering piece, going from spring to summer to fall, and since the yarn I used has since been discontinued, this seemed like a good time to rectify that lapse.

This vest really started with the "circles" stitch pattern, which yields an unusual and subtle textured fabric that is not quite as stretchy as ribbing, not as three-dimensional as cables. When I saw that it creates a subtle gathering effect next to plain stockinette, I though it would work well as a waist accent. After that I worked out the other garment details with some sketching and swatching: a deep V-neck, curved front hems, and pockets! While these pockets are mainly decorative, you could definitely stow a few bills or, I don't know, tickets or business cards or a shopping list (if you don't use your phone for that...probably a cell phone would be too big/heavy for these pockets). Or you could stand around with your hand in one of them...anyway, I digress.

As to suitable yarns, there are literally dozens; the stockinette stitch gauge is 23 stitches to four inches, or 5.75 stitches to one inch, so choose a DK-weight (or light #3) yarn with an appropriate fiber content (see below), and make sure you can get the proper gauge by making a gauge swatch.

The yarn I used for the pattern was a blend of cotton and wool, which is great for multi-season use; cotton can lack resilience if used on its own, so the wool adds springiness, while the cotton keeps the wool from being too warm. On the other hand, if you'd like more warmth, an all-wool yarn would certainly work well for this design. Other blends such as cotton/microfiber or cotton/silk would also work, and the right all-cotton yarn would work too; look for a pima cotton yarn with a fairly tight twist.

Here are some yarns I have worked with personally:

• Plymouth Yarn Select DK Merino Superwash (100% merino), which I used for the Nerodia Cardigan for babies and children
• Valley Yarns Longmeadow (cotton/microfiber), which was used for the Bell Yoke Tee
• Sublime Egyptian Cotton DK (100% cotton)
• SweetGeorgia Yarns Superwash DK (100% merino), which was chosen for the Plaited Tam
• Misti Alpaca Tonos Pima Silk (pima cotton/silk), which I used for the Onda Scarf
• HazelKnits Lively DK (merino wool/nylon), which was chosen for the Fish Isle Pullover
• The Fibre Company Acadia (merino/silk/alpaca), which was chosen for the Altocumulus Shawl

And here are a few more which I have not used myself, but which have gotten glowing reviews from knitters:

• Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima (100% cotton)
• Garnstudio Drops Cotton Merino (cotton/merino)
• Cascade Yarns Anchor Bay (cotton/merino), new this year

These last three (and the Valley Yarns Longmeadow) have the added advantage of being very reasonably priced.

I'm lucky enough to be able to do some of my photo shoots in Italy...but can I tell you how many funny looks I got for wearing a helmet while cycling around Como? Only racing cyclists and small children wear helmets over there! I had even brought my own fashion-forward helmet from the States, but it didn't matter....

 

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