Bolt comes to us from Finland, where designer Veera Välimäki loves playing with garter stitch, stripes and short rows. Having amassed quite the following for her creations, I was super excited to see what she would create for us!

I haven’t knit one myself (yet!), but can see this pattern being quite addictive. It has all the ingredients: an unusual item that is easy to wear and fun to style, use of two colors allowing for innumerable combinations, a fun rhythm while knitting, just enough shaping and variety to keep things interesting as you work while still qualifying as “mindless” knitting (perfect for almost any occasion), and a relatively quick timeline.

Choosing color is the hardest part for projects like this. Between Veera and I, it’s probably not a shocker that we chose a greyscale combination, but just think of all the different variations of color that are possible! I love the idea of Truffle Hunt + Hayloft,  Fossil + Sap,  Old World + Embers…. the possibilities are really endless.

The shawl is worked flat and includes no purling whatsoever (hooray!). The triangle on the right in the photo above is worked first, with a 6-ridge striping sequence. Upon completion, the short row section is picked up directly from Triangle 1 and worked in the opposing direction. The short rows create visible wedge shapes in the lighter color and add a slight curve to the overall shape. A short section of the 6-row striping sequence is worked again, then the piece is finished with a length of solid (darker) color.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what kind of Bolt variations are already being created by our readers – have fun!

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Resources: Bolt is available as a PDF download at Brooklyn Tweed or Ravelry. The pattern is knit with two colors of Loft yarn, shown here in colors Soot and Sweatshirt.

Frida was designed by Tokyo-based knitter Hiroko Fukatsu, one of three Japanese designers that contributed to this installment of Wool People.

I admit I have a special place in my heart for Japanese knitting – it’s a big source of inspiration in my own work and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know a few great folks from Japan in the past year who share a deep passion for knitting.

Roko submitted this shawl design as a finished sample she had already made and I was so charmed by the unexpected use of loop stitch – a “striped” application I had never seen before on this type of project – that I asked if she’d be willing to see how the shawl worked up in Loft. The result has a fun, funky quality that I think would be fun to style in a variety of ways.

Frida has a wider, shallower proportion than your average lace triangle, due to the non-traditional shaping sequence Roko deployed in the design. Bands of lace, stockinette and loop-stitch texture create stripes over the body of the shawl, which is worked from the top down. The scalloped lace edge is worked as a part of the main shawl – no additional edging is needed. Score another one for non-fussy construction!

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Resources: Frida is available as a PDF download at Brooklyn Tweed or Ravelry. The pattern is knit with Loft yarn, shown here in color Homemade Jam.

Hitch was designed by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark in Alabama and has a great casual elegance about it. The dolman shape means that the garment is made with two pieces (front and back, with sleeves integrated). If you look closely at the direction of the garter stitch on the cuffs, you’ll see that the sleeves are worked sideways as a result.

While swatching at the beginning of the design process, Mercedes fell hard for this cable – which she said reminded her of thick links of chain (our inspiration for naming the design) – and built the rest of the sweater as a suitable “frame” for it.

I think the proportions are great – the deep garter hem, the front-only panel of chain cables, three-quarter sleeves and a wide boat neck. The fabric is lightweight – worked in Loft at a relaxed gauge – which means it has that “easy to throw on” thing going for it, too.

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Resources: Hitch is available as a PDF download at Brooklyn Tweed or Ravelry. The pattern is knit with Loft yarn, shown here in color Tent.

The Tilt shawl comes from our very own Leila Raabe – an original member of our in-house design team at BT, Leila now runs operations at our Portland, Maine, location and is known for her thoughtful and detailed shawl designs (a few examples from our archive).

As you can see from the photo above Tilt is a a play on geometry, with radiating diagonals and directional mesh. It’s hard to see from the photos, but the center section contrasts diagonal stripes of stockinette and moss stitch between sets of eyelet “rays”.

The shawl rates high on our “knitability” scale. Knit circularly from the center out, the shawl is always worked from the RS (always a plus) and requires no additional knitted-on edging.

The outer motif incorporates a subtly integrated lace motif before working the bind off, though Leila has also provided a mesh-only alternative for that section of the pattern, for those wanting to keep their 45 degree angles as an absolute.

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Resources: Tilt is available as a PDF download at Brooklyn Tweed or Ravelry. The pattern is knit with Loft yarn, shown here in color Truffle Hunt.

The beautiful Moon & Stars crescent shawl was also created up north – designer Shui Kuen Kozinski lives in the Boreal Forest of Canada and gave me the impression of being something of a sage as we walked through her design process together.

When Shui Kuen submitted her design proposal, she shared that she is often inspired by poems & stories. In this case, “The Moon, the Stars”  by poet Sully Prudhomme who won the first Nobel Prize in literature in 1901 ”in special recognition of his poetic composition, which gives evidence of lofty idealism, artistic perfection and a rare combination of the qualities of both heart and intellect”.

The shawl is worked from the top down using a gentle rate of increasing to create a wide, semi-circle shape. The welted section at top-center symbolizes the moon, while the two bands of gathered lace stitches that follow represent stars, large and small.

A very charming story of inspiration, don’t you think?

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Resources: Moon & Stars is available as a PDF download at Brooklyn Tweed or Ravelry. The pattern is knit with Loft yarn, shown here in color Old World.

Tanis hails from beautiful Montreal, Canada, and has a knack for garments that are stylish, smart, and fun to knit. Canadians really have a way with sweaters.

Reverb is worked seamlessly as a top down raglan – which is a great way to make a sweater, especially for knitters who don’t enjoy finishing. The obvious benefit of knitting garments this way is the ability to try on as you work – a great advantage when customizing the sleeve and body lengths of your individual garment.

Though the cardigan has no waist shaping, the slimmer fit is achieved with a relatively low amount of ease (+1-3″, shown on the model with +1″ of  positive ease).

The zigzag cables reflect (“reverberate”) across the cardigan opening; on the back they combine to create a mirrored panel of diamonds. The cables are simple to work, but have a great effect in their overall combination.

This is a great project for both fledgeling and seasoned sweater knitters alike!

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Resources: Reverb is available as a PDF download at Brooklyn Tweed or Ravelry. The pattern is knit with Shelter yarn, shown here in color Hayloft.

Today I’m happy to announce our newest collaborative effort – the fifth (!) installment in our ongoing Wool People series is all polished up and ready for spring and summer knitting!

Back in August when I began mapping out the concepts and art direction for this collection, I thought it would be fun to do a sort of “shawl challenge” – since spring always seems to be the time when my own lace bug reawakens, hungry for a new project. Lace is perfect for outdoor knitting and travel, two things that many of us will do often in the coming months. I love how something as lightweight and portable as an in-progress shawl packs so much value in terms of both knitting time and mental satisfaction.

Standing on this end of the collection timeline, it’s rewarding to see finished design work from the 7 “lace whisperers” featured in this spread. A nice variety of both lace & textured stitch patterns, simple to more involved techniques, and essential shapes to knit and wear – all worked in soft and airy Loft.

Of course at the core, we are sweater people – no matter what the season – and this collection has more than just lace to offer. I received some beautiful garment and accessory design submissions in this group: great looks for layering during the evenings in chillier summer climates (you lucky people) or in anticipation of next fall. Both the Reverb cardigan and the Bolt scarf (shown below) just scream for autumn, and there’s plenty of knitting time to get them done!

The look book introduces the collection in its entirety with full page photography spreads showcasing the new designs along with blueprints that are intended to introduce the architectural/technical elements of each pattern. When considering a new knitting project, I always like knowing what I’m getting into with a schematic “road map” and some notes on construction, shape and assembly.

Between the aesthetic and technical components of the look book, I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know this new collection of work. Happy spring to each of you!

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Resources: The Wool People 5 look book can be viewed on our website here, or download the free PDF for viewing on your tablet or device. Each pattern is available for instant download here, or on Ravelry.com. Brooklyn Tweed yarns used in the collection are available for purchase online, or at one of our flagship retail locations.

A red country road

Pastel ocean landscapes

An icelandic sheep with big personality

A cemetery full of trees

Blue coasts

Distant lighthouses under painterly clouds

Fiery lichens

A surreal herd of Icelandic Horses running through the hills

Surreal indeed

]]> http://brooklyntweed.net/blog/?feed=rss2&p=1531 25 http://brooklyntweed.net/blog/?p=1516 http://brooklyntweed.net/blog/?p=1516#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:17:45 +0000 admin http://brooklyntweed.net/blog/?p=1516 One of my favorite parts about developing yarns is seeing how they inspire other designers – what textures and color combinations other people are inspired by always gets me thinking about the yarns that I use every day in new and different ways. Last year, Stephen West approached me to say he was interested in doing a full design collection using Shelter and Loft – I was flattered, and very excited by the idea of seeing what he would cook up. As we further discussed the project,  we decided we’d also collaborate on a special photoshoot of the finished work the following summer.

Last July, after Stephen had finished designing and knitting his pieces, we met in Iceland for the shoot. It was my first time visiting this beautiful country, and I was completely intoxicated by the dramatic, natural beauty that the country is literally bursting at the seams with. Surrounded by such a visual feast of nature, I barely made it through the exit doors of the airport before my camera was out and firing away.

Stephen has been releasing his designs from this collection over the past few weeks on Ravelry, and I wanted to take a moment to share some of the images from the shoot that I particularly like. Summer light in Iceland (as was the case in Shetland, the year before) is almost too good to be true. Soft, ambient, sometimes dramatic, other times ethereal. Suitable shooting conditions also last about 20 hours a day! It was such a joy to explore and work in this place.

It was amazing to see how the colors of the yarns melded so well with the surrounding colors in the landscape – like the blue-green waves of the ocean on a black sand beach (pictured above). In my mind, mother nature is the very best inspiration for color!

We had fun styling and shooting several of the samples on both the male and female model.

The Hófsos Pullover (also showed at the top of the post on our male model, Diddi) combines large stripes and marl effects in some of my favorite colors of Loft.

Stephen has a great color sense – I loved some of his playful, unexpected combinations, like Nest, Sap, Button Jar and Woodsmoke (in the Kex Scarf, seen below in Shelter).

Looking over these images again has been really enjoyable and reminds me of what a great experience we had there. I often daydream about a return to the Icelandic countryside for future photography work. I’d love to go at a totally different time of year to do some night photography during the “dark season” as well…

All the patterns pictured above are available for purchase here on Ravelry. Each pattern’s page includes extended yardage and color information. Stephen also did a great write-up about our shoot, with several behind-the-scenes pictures that give readers a glimpse of what a shoot looks like on the other side of the camera!

We will be staked out in the marketplace all weekend – sharing a large booth with our friends at Churchmouse Yarns & Teas. We’ve got the booth packed to the gills with all 32 colors of both Shelter and Loft, so if you’re in the need of some quality US-grown wool, stop on by!

We’ll also be featuring the trunk show from our brand new BT Winter 13 collection throughout the weekend in the booth – all 24 samples that were featured in the look book will be available for visitors to try on.

Finally, I’ll be joined by three of our in-house designers (Julie Hoover, Leila Raabe, & Michele Wang) on Saturday from 10-2 for a meet-and-greet/pattern signing in the rotunda. We’ve prepared some visual displays that  illustrate our team’s design process so that knitters can get a taste of how things look behind the scenes when we’re putting together a new design collection.

It’s certainly shaping up to be a fun and busy weekend; for those attending, we hope to see you there!