:: Aranami ::

The story for this design started 2 years ago. Believe it or not it is how long at times ideas have to sit inside a sketch book before they finally materialize. After Petal Halter design success I thought about working out a similar looking shape and incorporating it into a different type of a garment. And this design's story is not particularly cheerful at the beginning. The design was turned down twice when I submitted it to be published elsewhere, but it lacked a secret ingredient which I have finally found last January...

Making the right yarn choice transformed the idea into a perfect marriage or you can call it some other epithet. But the yarn and colors made this shawl "sing".
Actual patterning that takes place within the shawl can remind everyone of sometimes they know. Whether grey storm clouds, fish scales, even ceramic mosaic floor tiles and of course - as in a place where I live - of a traditional Seikai-ha print or sewn pattern of sashiko embroidery, fabric and prints.
To me personally the shawl reminded of winter ocean of Japan, stormy weather, foamy raging waves, greyness and obscurity of the horizon line between the sky and the water. That is why this shawl is named Aranami 荒波 (jap).- (n) stormy seas, raging waves.

After I made a swatch I did all necessary calculations to start on actual shawl sample and I LITERALLY couldn't put it down.. It's quite addictive really, portable and you just keep telling yourself - one more, 15 minutes later - one more.. then you start seeing color transition to aligning beautifully. I will admit I burned midnight oil while knitting on it couple of times but no regrets. Just wanting to finish the last color and tier... and take it all in!





I know I am going to be making a couple more of these. I want to explore more color families! Aranami is exciting to work on - being not overly complicated, relaxing garter stitch so you keep attention on shaping, yet it's a pleasure to know that the shawl is reversible! My only suggestion would be, when picking up stitching instead of going between the last and the previous stitch as you would usually do, go inside the last stitch itself. That way the lines on the wrong side would be less bulky, they would be still outlined delicately.




I know I am in love and if you are not yet, be prepared to! Brooklyn Tweed LOFT has an amazing range of 32 heather shades. I used 5 colors, 1 skein of each color. So 5 skeins! But amazing yardage of LOFT actually will yield 2 shawls out of those 5 skeins. They will just have to be made in 2 different graduating color directions. Still it's great usage of yarn and yardage! Remember there are several flagship stores in US that carry Brooklyn Tweed yarns at their locations.

Choosing colors together is a bit harder for some, so I have put together several LOFT color pairings to help. You can also order Brooklyn Tweed Shade Card and play with it for the colors you prefer.

My original Aranami was done in

Fossil, Snowbound, Sweatshirt, Soot, Cast Iron

And you can easily replace Fossil with Hayloft or Embers to create a sort of grellow or effect of sun setting/rising over grey seas or skies.. just an idea.

    

First column: Fossil, Woodsmoke, Barn Owl, Nest, Pumpernickel
Second column: Snowbound, Sweatshirt, Faded Quilt, Almanac, Old World
Third column: Faded Quilt, Stormcloud, Truffle Hunt, Meteorite, Pumpernickel

  

First Column: Embers, Wool Socks, Long Johns, Homemade Jam, Plume
Second Column: Postcard, Blanket Fort, Thistle, Plume, Old World

      

First Column: Hayloft, Sap, Fauna, Tent, Birdbook
Second Column: Sap, Tent, Birdbook, Artifact, Cast Iron
Third Column: Foothills, Tent, Birdbook, Artifact, Cast Iron

But you certainly don't have to stick to these colors combos above, use your imagination to entertain other ombré pairings you can create with these colors.




Pattern specifications:
Level - Beginner Intermediate

Finished shawl measurements (blocked)
Depth 14”
Wingspan 67”

Yarn
Brooklyn Tweed Loft (100% US Targhee-Columbia Wool; 275yds/50g): 1 skein each of “Fossil” (A), “Snowbound” (B), “Sweatshirt” (C), “Soot” (D), “Cast Iron” (E).
OR
any other fingering weight wool in colors
A: 6g or 33yds
B: 14g or 77yds
C: 22g or 121yds
D: 30g or 165yds
E: 38g or 209yds

Needle
US 2 (2.75mm), circular 36" or longer

On Ravelry

USD 7.00

HAPPY KNITTING!!!

:: SHADOW ::

Speaking of last year's Shadow.

 photography ©BrooklynTweed
I am WAY behind, so I am catching up. Today I want to tell a little bit more about an exciting collaboration I was lucky to be a part of last year. I felt so very honored to be among many great knitwear designers and talents in BrooklynTweed | Wool People Vol.1.
I am sure everyone knows Jared Flood, a fellow knitwear designer, amazing photographer and a genius mastermind behind BrooklynTweed. Who not so long ago has started his own yarn company with his namesake and a desire to bring all American grown soft wool to the knitting world. As a result, wool from Targhee and Columbia sheepies that live and graze in Wyoming, US is blended, then spun in historical Harrisville mill in New Hampshire into wonderful squishy skeins of Shelter and Loft. And now many of us are eager to get our hands on these exuberant heathers that both yarns come at. This yarn is not sold in every yarn store, but only several flagship stores or directly online and it's worth every little yard and penny.

At first, when I have swatched a variety of stitch patterns using Shelter I was amazed how great it looks with cables. They are delicious and fluffy and texture just pops. And at that moment it has become obvious that I have to create something cable-y since it had been way too long from my last cabled project! I honestly have hard time finding adjectives to describe my experience on working with this woolen spun yarn. I don't think in my knitting life I have worked with it ever before. You have to try it for yourself - this yarn is sticky so it's great for colorwork, yet it bounces, it feels a bit like sponge when you knit with it, yet soft and malleable, really like a marshmallow! And once it's washed it blooms a great deal. Garments produced barely weigh anything versus when you knit a sweater in worsted spun. I have re-discovered what it's like to have a cabled knit sweater that weighs only 300 grams?!! That's why I gave my Shadow a lot of love and wear this winter.

But back to the origins of it. As my path was set onto cable-town, I wanted to preserve a bit of my personality in this design. So with little geometric cable texture, flattering fit and a whimsy to keep it modern yet balanced. The swatch below is not knit in Shelter though. And my doodle called a sketch, but you get the idea.

I have used telescope lattice stitch as a starting point. That stitch has always reminded me of the famous French luggage company Goyard Monogram logo, but I wanted to customize it and make it more distinct. Those cables had to have more "breathing room" to stand out and not look crowded. And in the pullover itself,  idea of having cables right under your arms and sides can get a little bulky, so I have chosen to go with a reverse stockinette stitch to ease that part up. And little pockets are given as an option, you can knit them, you can skip them entirely, but they felt organic that can make this sweater "young" without tipping the overall texture and cables balance. Stand up neckline shaped into a collar and is backed with a knit facing worked in the same yarn, but provides the necessary structure for it.
After I have worked through the design and have sent off the sweater, there was this new X-men movie out in the theaters and my eyes kept staring at the wallpaper in one of the scenes. This was interior of a submarine believe it or not, but I couldn't move my eyes away from the Goyard-looking wallpaper. It just looked so good and after having worked through my own design process, this print had me excited all over again.
I had to do a little bit of research to find out that this wallpaper is being made and in several colors by Osborne & Little and this print is called Trifid. Neat, isn't it?

And here are couple more detailed images of Shadow on a grey Japanese January afternoon a year ago.

There has been many great variations of Shadow since the pattern has been published last August. Make sure to check them out and queue your own on Ravelry. You know you absolutely need one!

View colors of Shelter yarn
Shadow Pullover on BrooklynTweed site

:: shibui silk winners ::

Congratulations to Amy, Tina and Robyn who each won a skein of Shibui Staccato and Shibui Silk booklet!!! I hope you all love it and can't wait to cast on for those designs!

It's still pretty cold here in Japan, even got "lucky" to be stuck in blizzard on the road in mountains near Nagano last week. (Don't worry I had a knit project to entertain me on the road while bus driver was meandering through multiple tunnels and curvy roads). Beautiful landscapes are treacherous nonetheless. There has been lots of deadline knitting going on here, so lots of tea drinking and wearing of woolens to keep warm. Let's speak of woolens next time. I have been having lots and LOTS of fun with them in the past year...

:: DECYPHERING FRANCIS ::

Since Shibui Silk has been out for 2 months now and nothing makes me happier than eager knitters itching to put those projects on their needles. There have been lots of questions and inquiries about Francis and today I am going with a little step by step tutorial with photos what makes this tee so innovative - construction.

Francis is worked horizontally and in 2 parts. Beginning with the sleeve and working towards the middle of the front, while both backs are worked using short-row shaping, then overlapping. Yet there are no side seams, no shoulder seams. I know for a fact many knitters do not like seaming knits. I truly believe there are times when seams are a must simply for preserving the structure of your knit garment and you have to account for likely fiber behavior in your yarn after washing and wearing. But at times when I see there is a chance of making seams invisible - I am all for it.




In case of Francis, although body is worked straight along the sides, the opening on the back is very flexible, that helps the Tee to acquire that slightly flared silhouette. And in case if there were side seams, they would naturally be riding up the front and be quite noticeable. Being a detail oriented perfectionist I didn't want those visible details and Heichi is strong enough yarn to support this tee's structure, so I have figured out how to make it go away.

1.

Starting with the sleeve and working your increases all the way till shaping is complete, ending with WS.


2.

Next step would be casting on stitches with scrap yarn provisionally on a spare needle.

3.

With yarn still attached to your sleeve, purl across freshly cast on stitches.

4.

Now working on RS knitting across all of your stitches on the needle to the other end of your sleeve.

5.

This step is a little bit fussy. But you unravel scrap yarn from provisional cast on and place those stitches on spare needle.

6.

And this is the part that probably caused most confusion. Fold your sleeve slightly in half to bring your work needle to underarm/armpit to meet the beginning of your spare needle. Knit across those stitches on space needle.

7.

In this step many have found it hard to work just with one long circular needle, so you can split your stitches between working and spare circulars. But what is happening here - you work from front hem up towards the shoulder, across your shoulder/sleeve, down towards the back hem. As one of knitters correctly compared it - you are working a "big upside down U". And as you progress, you will find more fabric growing and working needle being sufficient in length to accommodate your knitting.

Use your tail to seam the sleeve seam and use excess of it to close up that underarm hole if necessary.




So ultimately, that invisible seam can also be worked in another way. If you are familiar with Eastern or Figure 8 cast-on methods, you can wrap yarn around both ends of spare needle and work it that way too, only from my personal experience I have encountered those methods to be a bit loose after first row and in need of tugging out/adjusting, while Provisional method I used avoids such problem.




View Francis projects on Ravelry knitters are working on or already completed

Knit Purl yarn store is also offering Francis Kits - order or pick up one while they still last! Francis in images above is being made in Brick and I can't wait to finish it. Weather is warming up in Japan so it works as a great season transitional garment, to layer or as is. Heichi comes in array of trendy colors and lots of neutrals as well.

NB!
Couple days ago there has also been some errata discovered and I have updated Ravelry design page for Francis, but I am posting existing errata below as well.

ERRATA
For Left and Right Back Neck Shaping: 77 (80, 82, 85, 87, 90, 92) sts rem. Work 31 (33, 37, 41, 43, 45, 49) rows even. Piece should measure approx. 5.25 (5.5, 6.25, 6.75, 7.25, 7.5, 8.25)” from last neck dec.

Bind off for the right back: Next row (RS): Work to end, picking up and purling wraps tog with wrapped sts as you go. BO all sts kwise on the WS.

:: SHIBUI SILK ::

Now when I think back to 2010 it all feels months and many knits away, but it was at that time when the seeds for this book sprouted. Having worked with Shibui Knits folks before I knew the experience will be great from beginning to finished result. And after seeing wonderful new (at that time) yarn Heichi, working with which was the new adventure I wanted to embark on. Here IT IS all shiny and new - Shibui Silk!

Shibui Silk booklet published January 1 this year is a work of more than just one wonderful yarn, I was lucky enough to work with 3 (!!!) silk-containing ShibuiKnits yarns. What can top that? Silk here, there and sometimes double dose of silk in a single project. Contrast between yarns' individualities and textures is great, but main idea behind ShibuiKnits concept is to juxtapose different materials that would create "beauty with a touch of bitterness". A true Japanese feel and approach. It's by keeping this philosophy in mind I tried to create through combining and transforming Staccato, Heichi and Silk Cloud into knitwear. And not to forget amazing creative crew at ShibuiKnits Darcy, Kristin, Jenny and eagle-eyed Alexandra who turned this booklet into what you see today!

Last year's summer was a very hot one in Japan and for us, knitwear designers, it's the busiest production time to get all new and exciting things ready for cooler season. One would think that silk on it's own is more of a gentle and summer-like fiber, but don't be mistaken, with its wonderful properties of softness, drape and flowing fabric silk keeps plenty warm. In several garments and accessories I have paired the yarn together with Silk Cloud to give them more delight to increase its wearability during freezing months, besides give magnificent squishy comfort that reminds you of wooly winter knits.

Arnett
Arnett is more than just a long coat, it's one of my favorite transformable garments that I have created. Tricks of this coat are numerous: it's convertible, reversible and transformable!
The construction of Arnett is practically seamless - just one on the neckline and several faux seams along the sides and raglan lines to express structure. Both fronts are actually doubled width and thanks for nature of the fabric and its positioning, these "extra" fronts turn into various shapes for collar or transform into modular and functional pockets. Turn it inside out, overlap the fronts and belt it and no winter chill would get to you since it's made in Heichi and Silk Cloud. If I were to call it "coat-I-live-in" I would, but Arnett sounds prettier.










Francis
Innovatively constructed tee with a surprise in the back. Worked horizontally it's full of techniques to learn, but still quick to make in tweedy looking Heichi. One may find it a challenge, but follow instructions as you knit step by step and you will find that enlightening moment when you learn something new! (But tutorial is to coming though). Worn on its own but easily layered it can even be worn backwards. Opening in the back actually helps the silhouette to flare out although there is no shaping on the sides.









Laverne
Now that is another convertible piece. Jacket with long fronts actually has button front closure and hidden drawstring goes all the way around top neckline. Toss one front over your shoulder for cosier look, button it for a dramatic looped front or pull the drawstring to create gentle pleats all around the jacket. Almost mindless but lustrous and amazingly drapey knit is created using Staccato.









Ada
Fun vest or a tee worked in Heichi with uneven hem and a Silk Cloud longer hem in the front. It features an usual continuous shoulder construction and square neckline. I have chosen to make expressed faux seams even though majority of it is worked in the round. Rustic look of Heichi silk and lush of Silk cloud are a perfect example of texture juxtaposition.









Goltry
Believe it or not, but this hat is completely reversible with 2 differently looking textures on each side. Stitch pattern used is very stretchy that can accommodate large hair or give more slouch as it's worked in silky Staccato which provides visible shine and drape. Worked in the round it requires minimum of finishing.









Tulsa
Well-thought out use of pleating stitch creates texture and dimension in this scarf. Knit in Staccato for great drape but pleats are providing more structure and creating ruffling effect within the fabric itself. Make it wider for more of a shawl effect or longer if you desire more ruffles adorning your neck and shoulders.









Marlow
This shawl will be easily favorite during winter months as combination of yarns used create tactile perfection. Staccato has great stitch definition and radiates through the nimbus of Silk Cloud and are worked in gradated welts pattern to transform it into a scrumptious shawl.









Prue
Fingerless gloves are never enough in my household whether on a bike ride or to pull over your leather gloves for extra warmth during blistering weather outside and many other occasions. Worked in same yarn combination as Marlow with textured welts pattern it can make a quick gift or treat of luxury for yourself. It will feel like putting on balm by cuddling your hands up in these luscious mitts.

Now... fun times!!!

To say thank you to my readers and fearless knitters I am giving away 3 Shibui Silk Booklets and 1 silky skein each of ShibuiKnits Staccato in color Chrome (seen in Prue and Marlow).

Please leave a comment below (1 comment per person please) about which design you find as your favorite from Shibui Silk booklet with your contact information (email or Ravelry ID) by March 12th, 2012 midnight PST. Thank you everyone!!! Entries for giveaway drawing have been received and are no longer accepted. 3 winners of Shibui Silk Booklet and a skein of Shibui Staccato will be announced March 15, 2012.

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Three lucky winners will be randomly chosen from the commenters below.
Good luck to everyone and Happy Knitting!!!