Tag Archives: To rett en vrang. Designstrikk

Mohair Poncho Jacket by Irene Welde Solsvik

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I was gobsmacked by Irene’s stunning Mohair Poncho Jacket, instead of sewing up the front as I had suggested she left it open and sewed a slightly longer seam at the back to hold it in place! Irene chose the Norwegian yarn Iris Alpakka in a classic black shade by Rauma (74% suri alpaca, 22% wool and 4% nylon, 50 g balls of 130 m), more here: raumaull. I love her styling and how gorgeous it looks on her! Thank you, Irene!

The pattern is from my knitting book, “To rett en vrang. Designstrikk” available in Norwegian and in Finnish but also available as a single pattern with wristwarmers, only in English as a pdf download from ravelry. Below is another beautiful model, dancer Cristiane Sá, photographed by Kim Müller. If you knit it or any of my other designs, I will be honored to show them here on my blog!

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Accessories – the small touches of joy!

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I have been reading Hadley Freeman, fashion journalist in The Guardian, and had to laugh when she asks “how many accessories is too many accessories? When you rattle? When you have no spare hands and you haven´t left the house yet?” I do have amazing jewelry from Monies (if you didn’t know, see here: monies-jewellry) that rattle hence I do not wear it often enough, but looking at fashion icon Iris Apfel I know I should! Due to the relative cool spring we are having here in Oslo, I am still wearing cowls and will continue to design those until I tire of wearing them. The key, says Hadley Freeman of the guardian, is to have fun and enjoy the small touches of joy, accessories truly are and to wear them in a way that is comfortable for you.

The American businesswoman and Interior Decorator, Iris Apfel’s bold choice of jewelry, magnetic bright colors in her fashionable clothing and distinctive glasses makes her one of a kind. Well into her eighties she is an icon, going where others would not dare to go. I have been drooling over the magnificent photos of equally stunning clothing and jewelry in the book, based on the exhibition of Iris Apfel’s fashion collection, by Eric Boman: Rare Bird of Fashion, The Irreverent Iris Apfel, published by Thames & Hudson. Harold Koda, Curator of The Costume Institute, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York describe her so well in his introduction: “Even in the flock of New York style setters, she stands apart as a rare bird. Mrs. Apfel, who has the gift of an “eye” that can ferret out treasures from a morass of flea-market junk and mark-down racks, is endowed with the yet rarer ability to collage objects of autonomously assertive beauty into compositions of a larger, unified whole. Her joy of the hunt has resulted in a collection of astonishing beauty, but it is in the incorporation of her treasures into her daily life that they take on a fuller conceptual richness.” The book is available at amazon and in Norway at tanum.

I find the photos a true inspiration, the colour and jewelry combinations pure bliss. When creating my own book I had a vision that I wanted a similar bold, lavish and generous layout in my book. I did tell my editor about my visions, and she gently brought me down to earth. At least I believe I managed to capture inspiration and I have been told that I have made people who don’ knit take up their knitting needles. And that makes me proud as well as humble! I will continue to design garments with accessories, because I believe those small (read: at times rather large accessory projects like the cowl above photographed by Kim Müller) makes a difference to the look of the garment itself, adding another layer of joy!

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3 Book Patterns in English

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I am delighted that my publisher Cappelen Damm has given me permission to release 3 patterns from my book “To rett en vrang. Designstrikk” in English on Ravelry. It was a fairly easy choice based on popularity of the designs, combined the number of pattern request messages sent to me. My chosen photographer Kim Müller has allowed me to use the photographs he took for the book, and I am thrilled to be able to add those to the downloadable patterns in PDF format. The 3 are: Mohair Poncho and Wrist Warmers, Milanese Lace Shawl – thank you, Janie for knitting a stunning one – and Indigo Sweater and Cowl.

Mohair Poncho. A poncho not reminiscent of the -70s but fashionable in addition to being warm, was my aim. It is easy to knit in 3 identical rectangular pieces but an intermediate challenge to sew together, and comes in one size. The yarn I have chosen is a mixture of alpaca and mohair with a little acrylic from Texere Yarns, now replaced by Destiny Mohair, texere-yarns. It is easy to knit since it is made up of 3 identical rectangles sewn together using a 5 mm/US 8. Why not chose a brushed alpaca instead: Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca, plymouthyarn or a mohair and wool mixture from Classic Elite Yarns called La Gran classiceliteyarns. A short front seam, a longer back seam, a bottom seam and a hem. Here stunningly worn by dancer Cristiane Sá.

Milanese Lace Shawl. Wollmeise has a large fan base and the phone glows when Loop receives a new delivery. Intense, glowing colors in a yarn with a fantastic stitch definition. All you can do is to become a member of Wollmeiseholics Anonymous on Ravelry. I chose the Wollmeise Lace in a popular color reminiscent of beetroot, in a lace pattern called Milanese Lace. Study all the shade at: shop.strato.de. You can also chose another thin fingering yarn such as Anzula Cloud from anzula or Malabrigo Sock: malabrigoyarn, for the shawl knitted using a 3 mm/US 2.5. With added buttons you can easily wear it as a shrug or a vest like Anna Pfeifer beautifully demonstrates.

Indigo Sweater and Cowl. The Tucks give a sculptural effect to an otherwise plain sweater knitted in Jaggerspun Zephyr Lace, in a dark indigo color which easily can be combined with the rest of your wardrobe. I have designed yet another party sweater, this time fitted  and with a regal cowl. In black in this luscious yarn, it would look like it was made of leather, see jaggeryarn. Knitted with 2 strands held together using a 3 mm/US 2.5 and available in S, M and L. I love the lightness of the yarn, the soft sheen of the silk and the denseness the double yarn creates. It can however be replaced for a single strand option such as Juno Fibre Arts; Alice Sock, available at loopknittingshop and at etsy or Heritage Silk from cascadeyarns.

All 3 patterns will shortly be available to buy and download on Ravelry, here is my designer page: ravelry. I am also proud of the “Merino Omslagsvest” Nina Hove Myhre has knitted from my book using Tosh Sock in a stunning green shade. See her photos and her button making on the previous blog post, here: fiberandart.

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