KnitburoKnitburo

on knitting and wearing

Inspiration

Bubble sleeves

Lately I’ve had sleeves on my mind, particularly sleeves with a bubble silhouette. It’s such an elegant shape and quite refreshing, for me at least – I suppose because it’s rather feminine, a quality I’m not usually drawn to.

I’ve gathered up some beautiful knits that achieve a rounded silhouette in different ways. The Oliv bomber jacket by Sabrina Weigt and the Dôen Lulu sweater create their billowy sleeves with a slim fitting cuff, whereas the bubble shape in the Victoria Beckham sweater begins above the elbow and gently narrows again at the wrist. The Row’s sweater is more sculptural and befitting the oversized look.

Collage

Left to right: Sabrina Weigt | Victoria Beckham | Dôen | The Row

Black & white inspiration

Black is my favourite colour to wear, which presents some challenges when you love to knit your own clothes. Part of me wants to wear black always and forever but it’s a bit too restrictive when it comes to knitting, considering it won’t show much texture, shaping, or anything really, and it’s a horror to knit with in bad lighting. It’s a fun challenge, designing something that will stand out in black yarn, but it’s a lot more limiting than a lighter colour. Often, I end up knitting in greys, so I can stick with monochrome, knit in the evening, and still enjoy all my hard work and fancy stitchin’ once I’m done. Another option is to combine a black with a white yarn. Whether marled together as one yarn or worked in a two-colour brioche/tuck stitch, thin one or two row stripes, or stranded or slipped stitch patterns, black and white knit together create a stunning high contrast effect.

I’ve made myself a black and white marled hat, a sweater and most recently a pair of socks, so all I need now is some black and white knit leggings and I’m good to go. White noise girl!

Collage

Left to right: Viktor & Rolf | Belstaff | Brunello Cucinelli | Jill Sander | Les Hommes

Instagram

  • The new amirisu magazine, issue 18, comes out today, and this is my contribution, Koushi ▫️▫️▫️▫️ This sweater was initially inspired by gingham, and the way threads in two colours are woven to make a third. Except instead of colours, I used textures: smooth stockinette and a really textured eyelet, with double moss stitch as the in-between. And instead of a tiny all-over pattern, I made the blocks as big as they could be. A quarter of the sweater, a whole sleeve... It’s interesting to knit something asymmetrical, and it’s even nicer if you get mid-round fatigue and get a bit bored of working the same stitch for too long 😛 @amirisushop it’s been a huge pleasure and you've outdone yourselves with this beautiful issue once again, thank you. #amirisu #amirisu18 #knittersofinstagram #knitweardesign #knittinglove #koushisweater #darumayarn
  • So many yarn scraps and yet somehow not nearly all of my yarn scraps. . . #knittersofinstagram #scrapknitting #yarnscraps #scrapyarn
  • I made a coat! 🎉 Just in time for spring! 😂 I bought the fabric from someone on marktplaats, the lining and the outer together. The colour and the fabric itself are both a little lighter than I’d have picked out in a shop but I like it, and it was convenient, cheap, and second hand ✌️ The pattern is Burda 116 11/2015. It’s a women’s tall pattern which I am not, so I shortened the upper body, and also skipped the waistband though I did add this depth back to the lower body to keep it knee length. I modified the vent to a normal style because it would have been way too high as drafted without the waistband. I also added not one, not two, but four inner pockets, because the outer pockets are quite shallow (could have seen that coming but I skipped them on my toile 😑) and a woman needs to be able to carry her belongings and seditious writings of course. . . . . #diyfashion #sewing #burdastyle #isewburdastyle @burda_style #handmadewardrobe #diyfashion #memade #handmadestyle
  • Uuhh yeah! My Rumo cardigan is in the MDK March Mayhem bracket 😮 I see many patterns and designers I’ve admired this past year in the cardigan category alone, this is pretty amazing 😁 Very honoured to be in the company of such talented designers. #mdkmarchmayhem #masondixonknitting #knittinglove #knittersofinstagram #rumocardigan #knitburo
  • When friends have babies 💛 〰️ . . . . . #knittingforbaby #babyknits #handknit #knittersofinstagram #sewingforbaby #handmade
  • No best nine for me as it would probably just look like a screenshot of my feed, that's how little I posted 🙈 No pretty pile of knits either, I feel like I just didn't knit that much 🙈🙈 A couple of things for me, a few more as gifts, and the rest is currently spread around the globe. So I had a dig in my box of swatches instead, and pulled out all the swatches from my designs this year. It's a nice way to keep a record 💕 See you next year! 👋 . . . #knittersofinstagram #handknit #knitlove #knitting