New Designs: knit.wear

Now that the fall/winter 2016 knit.wear is out, I can finally share with you a couple of things that I spent a lot of time working on last winter. My Firehouse Alley Cowl and Mathews Street Vest are part of knit.wear's "Street Style" story focusing on urban, hip women's garments and accessories.

The oversized cowl can be styled multiple ways. I wanted it to really make a strong visual statement, so I designed it with plenty of length and width (it's 66 inches by16.5 inches). Yet it's remarkably cozy and light thanks to the exquisite yarn—Elsa Wool woolen-spun Cormo fingering (the same yarn I used for Hop Brook).

Firehouse Alley is knit flat, from a provisional cast-on. After blocking the piece, the live stitches at the beginning and end can be grafted; the magazine provides detailed grafting instructions. If grafting is not your thing, that's OK—you can join the ends instead with a three-needle bind-off.

My other design in this issue is the Mathews Street Vest. With its scoop neck, gentle A-line shaping, relaxed fit, and low-hip length, it's meant to flatter a wide range of figures. Knit in Green Mountain Spinnery's DK-weight Sylvan Spirit, this vest can be dressed up or down: it works equally well in the office or out and about on weekends.

As I knit this vest, I fell in love with Sylvan Spirit (50/50 merino/Tencel). It produces crisp, even stitches and a soft, lightweight fabric—just right for a three-season layering piece.

The vest combines knit-purl textures on the fronts, garter stitch edgings, and stockinette on the back. I worked five buttonholes on the upper third of the garter-stitch front bands and used square mother-of-pearl buttons. You can easily work more or fewer buttonholes—try just one really special button at the top, or maybe only three—feel free to make it your own!

Altogether, this issue of knit.wear offers 22 new sweaters, wraps and stoles, hats, jackets, and shawls. There's also a tutorial on making perfect button bands and a feature article on how to read Japanese knitting patterns by Takeko Ueki, owner of Habu Textiles. 

All photos by Harper Point Photography, courtesy F&W Media/knit.wear.