Koto - a new sweater

Koto is a pattern by Brooklyn Tweed that has been long on my list of sweaters to knit. I love it's architectural construction and unusual shape. I ordered the wool over a year ago but only knitted it a few months back and have been wearing it plenty this winter with the unusual cold weather we had.




This is not a difficult sweater to knit but you should be comfortable to knit short rows which is how the longer bell curved shape around the back is constructed.




I have become devoted to top-down knitting but Brooklyn Tweed patterns are often knit from the bottom up but at least front and back are knitted as one and the sleeves in the round resulting in relatively few seems to close.




I knitted the hem not quite as deep as suggested in the pattern as I did not want the back too long. A small alteration which I am very happy with.



The hem and collar are knit with a beatuiful facing and the collar is faced with stockinette stitch to give it shape and structure.



I used Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Snowbound just as the original pattern as I fancied a lighter coloured sweater for the winter. But I do think that it would look stunning in a dark blue or even black and I am tempted to knit another one just like that.





The yarn is ideal for this knit as it has structure in itself but is very light and lofty. It also is incredibly warm. It's not the softest yarn as it is Wool instead of Merino but it feels still very good on my skin. It is quite a remarkable yarn indeed. I don't often use the same yarn as recommended in the pattern but in this case would recommend it as this pattern relies on a structural yarn.

The Channel Cardigan from Brooklyn Tweed

When I saw the Channel cardigan in Brooklyn Tweed's collection about 2 years ago I was very taken by it. The pattern, the thoughtful way the raglan sleeves are set, the shawl collar and of course the stylish belt. It's a knit for somebody with advanced skills and although I am somebody that fits the bill, I was apprehensive to start as there were a few techniques new to me such as the tabular cast on.

It sounds like a lot of work and in a way it is but it really goes surprisingly fast. I did not use Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter but instead Loop Alpaca Tweed in the wonderfully named colour "House of Bees". It's a beautiful tweed yarn, possibly a little heavier than Shelter but perfect for this cardigan. The alpaca yarn is incredibly soft to the touch and very warm. While knitting I thought it had too many knots and too many areas where the spinning was inconsistent which for a yarn that expensive should not be the case. Although this was annoying (and I have since gave that feedback to Loop as they commissioned the yarn) it did not stop me and is hardly visibly in the finished jacket.

                                       

I knitted in the smallest size as the yarn,  although almost identical to Shelter in length is a little thicker. I thought it might not keep the form as well as shelter but it actually does hold incredibly well.

The tabular cast on was a first for me and I have since used it again and absolutely adore it. It's not difficult, just a bit time intensive to begin with. 

The pattern is not difficult to knit and its an easy repeat of knit and purl for the chevron part and in between it is decided through a brioche pattern. The belt and shawl colour are knit in brioche to give it structure. 

I started of the with just knitting an arm to see if the wool works out and whether I liked it. I did and then slowly made my way through the other pieces. The back and two fronts are knit in one piece and the arms are then attached which makes for a really fast construction. The shawl colour and belt took rather a long time to knit and I used an entire skein for them and in fact all I had left was maybe 10 meter of yarn in total! 

                 

The finished cardigan fits extraordinarily well and I could not be more pleased with it. It's warm and cosy and above all very stylish and has been warn a lot over those past 3 months. 

And I was very pleased when I found those shell buttons in exactly the same yellow/green colour. 

Of all the garments I have knitted in the last two years since my knitting resurgence I am probably most proud of this one. Brookly Tweed pattern are very detailed and a joy to read. In fact I have already cast on another Brookly Tweed pattern cardigan....

Bauhin - a new summer scarf

When I was im my Caribbean holiday in February I made a start on my first lace scarf. I rise early if at home or in holiday and this precious hour or hours in case of a holiday before anybody else gets up are the best of the day for me.

So I found myself kitting the "Bauhin" pattern by Veronika Avery for Brookly Tweed every morning on the terrace of the little wooden house I had rented for two weeks and although I only finished the scarf recently, it will forever remind me of this holiday. 

I knitted in Madelinetosh's Prairie lace yarn in "Stovepipe" . This is a wonderful, soft 1ply yarn that knits very, very well. It really was such a pleasure to knit this yarn. The colour is almost like a faded denim and works perfectly with most of my wardrobe. 

The pattern was easy to follow but be warned, there is a lot of counting and referring back to the chart involved in the sections where the fan pattern evolves. This is not a knit you can do on the go.

Whilst I love the fan pattern, I made few changes to the overall pattern in that I included fans only on the increasing part and then once again on the decreasing part which leaves the entire mid-section in the more simple holy pattern. My reasoning for this change is that most of the middle section will be wrapped around my neck and I thought it was a little pointless to have this intricate pattern where its not really visible. And to me, to be honest, it makes more sense to just have it at the beginning and end.

I also lengthened the scarf by about 40 cm because I really wanted it to wrap loosely twice around my neck. 

After blocking it ended up in the region of 2.4 meters from top to toe and about 45 cm in width. 

This was quite a bit of work but despite this a really enjoyable knit and I can imagine to do this again in exactly the same way, just with a different colour. 

Happy crafting reader !