KnitburoKnitburo

on knitting and wearing

black & white

Inkwell pullover

 
 
 
The new amirisu magazine was published last week, with my newest design – Inkwell. This pullover is made up of 4 panels, with colourwork down the centre and stockinette along the sides. When I first started sketching this, I had been sewing a lot with my bodice block, which gave me the idea of incorporating a princess seam in a knitted sweater.

Originally this was only an aesthetic consideration but when I began designing it, the seam also became a construction feature. The shaping required to make the seam line diagonal on the centre panel is also what staggers the vertical stripes after each horizontal one. On the side panels, the seam line becomes a secondary waist shaping point. I think the seam could also be a great place to add, remove or modify shaping – for example to add bust shaping.

I also made a colour picker so you can visualise some colour combinations you might like, try it here!

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

From the ground up

When I first started knitting I couldn’t understand why anyone would knit socks. Spending all that time just to stomp all over your finished knit with your feet, what. Eventually I started making sweaters and suddenly socks started to seem like very enticing, quick little projects. That, and I started to wonder how much warmer I’d be if I started to knit everything I could.

It turns out socks aren’t quick after all, with the tiny needles and the tight gauge, but mostly because I suffer from intense second sock syndrome. I’ve finished some socks within a couple of weeks, but usually each pair takes me a lot longer. In the end though that might be exactly why I’ve grown so fond of making them. I tend to get a bit obsessed when I’m working on a sweater, especially when the end is in sight, so it’s nice to have something else to work on for just a few minutes at a time. Socks are where I switch over from being a project to a process knitter, although really the ‘process’ I enjoy the most in this case is simply stockinette over and over and over again, which I can put away when I get bored.

These chunky little socks were a nice little surprise, they were finished before I knew it. 3.25mm needles, crazy! Of course that second sock did take much longer than the first but I feel like I only sat down a couple of times to actually work on them and poof, a pair of socks. Each one took 1 skein exactly so they’re a little bit short but they’re for wearing at home so I think my ankles will survive. I was hoping to make a second pair as a gift but to make those in a bigger size, I’ll have to do a contrast heel, toe and maybe ribbing too, as I only have 2 skeins left. I should cast on soon, can’t be without a pair of socks on the needles anymore.

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