We’ve had so much going on at the shop lately that I haven’t had time to mention the release of Brooklyn Tweed’s Early Fall 2018 collection. It happens to be beautiful… like always. It also happens to highlight their worsted spun yarns. This was a thoughtful choice. This collection was inspired by origami and those crisp, clean lines are easily recreated by these smooth yarns.
If you’re a fiber newbie, it might be fun to hop over to the Brooklyn Tweed website and check out their Foundations edition on the difference between worsted-spun and woolen-spun yarn. Even if you’re in the know, there are some lovely videos of their mills at work, showing the processes (and the differences) for these two types of yarn. Grab a cup of tea or coffee and watch these videos first thing in the morning. Trust me: it’s better than morning meditation.
As I mentioned above, this collection was inspired by origami and it’s quite easy to see when you take a look at these pieces. Sculptural lines blend with soft drape to create pieces that are distinctive, modern, feminine and wearable.
I decided to knit up Orime as a shop sample, and I’m about halfway through this delightful project. Knit up in Peerie, this top has a standing collar (folded over for structure) with a lady-like v-neck. Its construction is quite clever, though not tricky and it’s knit in pieces and seamed together. The diagonal lines throughout are created with a simple combination of knits and purls that is easy to memorize and read in your knitting, so you don’t have to stay glued to your chart.
Another beautiful Peerie piece is Ondulée, a relaxed dolman-sleeve cardigan. By now many of you probably know this sort of thing is my bread and butter. I love these effortless pieces – worn with a lot of ease and something to be thrown on over anything from a tee to a blouse to a tailored dress. Ondulée is worked from side to side with rows of knits and purls creating its corrugated texture.
Two striking sweaters featuring Arbor are in this collection. Norah Gaughan’s Folded Lines is a crew-neck pullover with a striking stitch pattern that straight-up looks like a piece of origami. Its simple shape and construction means the knitter (and the wearer) can focus on its distinctive texture. Meanwhile, Jared Flood’s Sonobe is a striking, open front cardigan with strong lines from a brioche stitch lining its fronts and hemline. It’s almost like a blazer, given its strong lines. Between these two sweaters, I really can’t decide which I love more (and which will come first on my queue).
Julie Hoover’s Kenchiku is a gorgeous wrap using Vale. Generous in size, this wrap features a modern lace which seems to resemble different things depending on which angle you’re looking from. The wrap is worked as two pieces that are grafted together in the center so the lace pattern meets in the middle so the two sides are mirror images. This clever symmetry is the sort of thing we’ve come to expect from Brooklyn Tweed.
There are 3 other beautiful pieces worth exploring on your own, especially if you’re drawn to the aesthetic evoked in this collection. Rather than spending time going on about them, I wanted to share is how much my knitting of Orime has reminded me how valuable it is to be able to read my knitting. We always talk about this in our classes at Wool & Grace, and I cannot emphasize enough how this skill liberates you as a knitter. When you’re able to look at your knitting and read what you’ve done, you feel less dependent on your pattern and more driven by your knitting instinct.
Brooklyn Tweed released a two part article in their Foundations series about reading your knitting, and I highly recommend this to everyone. Their tips and teachings are thorough but simple. As you start reading your own knitting, I’m a big advocate of placing locking stitch markers in important places (at increases or decreases, or at the beginning of charted patterns). These markers can be like beacons in your knitting, so you have a little crutch as you go searching for those k2togs and the likes (and are easy to remove when you’re all done).
Take a look at these beautiful projects, then stop by to see the gorgeous yarns that make these pieces possible! Arbor, Vale and Peerie are lovely additions to Brooklyn Tweed’s core line of yarns, and a favorite for so many reasons!
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