My last Idea Log was about my obsession with Purl Soho’s new yarn, Linen Quill, and the sweaters I was dreaming of knitting from it. Since then, two things have happened:
- Before I had a chance to place an order, a box of skeins magically appeared on my desk. (Thank you, Purl!) And although I haven’t had a chance to swatch with it yet, it’s every bit as delicious as it looks in the photos.
- They published this pattern for their woven Field Scarf, which is so beautiful it makes me dizzy. That palette is just perfection.
However, I don’t weave and don’t have any plans to start. (No matter how desperately I want this scarf.) So what’s a knitter to do? Well, naturally I’m sitting at my laptop staring at these photos, imagining ways to knit a sweater that retains the spirit of this scarf.
The basis of the scarf is the three vertical bands — the warp is the ivory, then the ivory-grey marl, then the black, and they’re woven through with an ivory weft. The nearest simulation of that would be to knit with two strands of ivory, then one strand of ivory and one of the marl, then one strand of ivory and one of the black. It would be amazing to use intarsia to make those bands vertical on the sweater, but I’m not quite that clever. However, it would be simple to do it as horizontal bands. The trick is how to “weave” in the lilac and gold, especially perpendicular to the wide bands. So I’m thinking of vertical button bands where the persistent strand is the lilac instead of the ivory. And then how to get a bit of the gold in there? Maybe a thin stripe that’s gold and marl before switching to the ivory-black band? In which case it would be ivory-ivory, ivory-marl, gold-marl, ivory-black.
I also really love the starkness of the black fringe along one-third of each end, and think one marl cuff and one black cuff might have a similar effect.
It would be super fun to play with …
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PREVIOUSLY in Idea Log: Three sweaters haunting my thoughts
What a fabulous idea! I too love this yarn and this scarf but am definitely not a weaver, so this makes perfect sense–a technique that Shibui has used in a couple of patterns to great effect (Shades of Grey). Now I’m drooling! Honestly, you have the Best Ideas.
Please do come up with a knit pattern! I too looked at that scarf, thought “Hmm, weaving” and then looked at the loom, contemplated buying the whole kit and caboodle….then thought “That way madness lies.” :) After all, the reason I’ve limited my hobbies to knitting and crochet at the moment is portability.
So many options! How about another? 😉 I fell into the rabbit hole of going through old posts haphazardly by clicking on Related links and the Ebony and Ivory post with the Alloy sweater is stunning and might be a good fit for these colors. Black and marl panels with a gold-marl stripe separating them from the lighter colors.
Whatever you choose I’m looking forward to seeing it! Now time to go back down my rabbit hole lol.
That scarf has been haunting me since I saw it yesterday too! I don’t dare take up weaving either. Did you notice that the colors of the yarn are the colors of your field bags?
I can’t wait to see what you make!
Linen stitch, or one of its slip stitch variants will give you the woven illusion.
Yes, but I can’t imagine knitting an entire sweater in linen stitch!
Exactly what Ellen says – I was thinking linen stitch, too. I also have the Art of Slip Stitch Knitting book, and may take some time perusing it to see if there’s anything else that could be used, too. But your reaction to the scarf – and looks like everyone else’s, too – is mine. I *love* it. But alas, I am not a weaver. Yet…
Hi Karen,
I have wanted to make the Trapper Cowl pattern as it appears simple and looks like woven fabric. Perhaps it is a similar approach to your method but I can see the colors now! http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/trapper-cowl
Why not knit the sweater sideways to get the vertical bands you want?
Because I’m lazy and don’t want to have to write a pattern for it! ;)
I really like your designs and knitting ideas. I would love it if you offered a pattern for sale that was the cartigan illustrated in “three sweaters haunting your thoughts” in linen quill. I’ve been thinking about it a lot and how nice it would be!
All you need is a swatch, your measurements, and this tutorial: http://fringeassociation.com/2013/03/08/how-to-improvise-a-top-down-sweater-part-1-casting-on-and-marking-raglans/
No pattern required!
It’s easy to add a vertical band of colour using the vertical stranded colourwork method taught by Lorilee Beltman from Seattle. No need to do intarsia. Check out her website or better still catch one of her classes.
That scarf is beautiful, and I have coveted it since I saw it. I took a weekend weaving course here in VT. It’s an expensive venture…
Or, knit a plain cardigan in ivory (maybe even using a thicker yarn for a quick project), making sure to leave the neck open wide. Then make a woven scarf in those colours and sew it along the front opening for a neckband+collar. If you’re absolutely against weaving, how about a woven looking knit pattern like Princess Franklin (from Knitty, a few months ago), or linen stitch?
have you ever played around with pinstriping in knitwear? you could knit the entire garment with strategic lines of purl stitches, vertical or horizontal, and then go back and pinstripe in the bits of color you are wanting to incorporate. the TECHknitting blog has a couple of great posts about using pinstripes. just a thought.
Sounds lovely!
What about just golden/brass buttons? That might get you the colour you want, without interrupting the subtle stripe shading.
Out of curiosity, I did a search on “knit stitch that looks like weaving”, and came up with this: http://lilquiz.blogspot.com/2010/08/knitting-that-looks-like-weaving-linen.html. Another potential option…
I’m not sure if this is quite what others have suggested, but for a vertical stripe, leave a line of purl stitches in the intended place, then crochet over the purls with the desired color. (Apparently a simple chain? Or something? I don’t know how to crochet, so I haven’t actually done this method, but it’s filed away in the “so cool, maybe someday” corner of my brain. Although, as I type, it sounds similar to your faux-seams on a raglan sweater.)
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