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Twist Collective BlogDesigner Process Double Feature: Capriccio and Zahedra
Capriccio is in the fall issue of Twist Collective. It is worked in lovely Zara Plus Merino wool from Filatura di Crosa. When I design a sweater, if there is a lot of patterning, I like all the elements to be related and to reference each other in a way. It allows you to have variety without discord.
I wanted a simple, wearable silhouette in which to showcase my big beautiful lace panel. I chose raglan style sleeves, because I love the look of fully fashioned decreases in ribbing, and there are more decreases and they are very prominent on this style of sleeve. The eyelets of the main lace pattern are reiterated in the ribbing pattern at the hem, which is a mix of rib, garter rows, and eyelet rows. This same combination appears in bands on the lower sleeves, and on the cowl collar. However, I remix it so that it does not appear in the same configuration, thereby avoiding the formulaic repetition of “same edging everywhere syndrome,“ nearly as fatal as “OMG different edgings everywhere syndrome,” which you also want to steer clear of.
Notice how when the cowl falls forward, the pattern on the inside is equally as attractive as the pattern on the outside. A small detail, maybe, but I think that it makes a garment nicer to wear when you don’t worry if your collar is folded the wrong way. Of course my opinion is totally biased, but I think this sweater is nice to knit, and even nicer to wear.
This lovely piece is Zahedra, a cable and textured long cardigan knit in Briggs and Little Atlantic. I can’t wait to get this garment back, I can picture it as my fall cardigan-coat of choice for right now. The weather is at that perfect temperature, the leaves are just starting to change, and I find myself craving a nice robust wool cardigan. With pockets, because I admit, I am a chestnut-and-acorn-collector. I can’t help it. When Fall comes, my pockets are full of nuts, seeds, leaves, and pine cones. For a longer or heavier garment, I prefer to construct in pieces and then sew them up, rather than knitting in the round. I find that the garment keeps its shape better. I usually set in the sleeves using backstitch, it makes a very professional-looking finish. I love finishing, and I want my garments to look handmade, not homemade.
Backstitch provides the neatest finish when you are joining pieces worked in a stitch pattern other than Stockinette. Sometimes I set in sleeves using mattress stitch if the garment is worked entirely in Stockinette stitch and it won’t be worn very often. But, backstitch is better if there are stitch patterns involved, and/or if the garment will be worn a lot.
I design a lot of garments, and it is sometimes tough to come up with interesting names for them all. Also, working as a production assistant for Twist Collective, I help name other people’s garments as well, so that adds to the list of names. I must confess, I named this garment after my favourite World of Warcraft character. And yes, I did grind out Netherwing rep for that mount. If you know me personally this will not surprise you!
Designer Process: Horatio and Oren
Today's entry is brought to you by Barbara Gregory, designer of many wonderful Twist patterns, including these other whimiscal mittens- Perianth and Ringo & Elwood. She shares where she got her inspiration for Horatio and Oren, adorable owly mittens for hands of all ages. She also gives you a sneak peek at just how she got those owls to look so darn cute. Keep up with Barbara on her website.
The turning point was realizing that I could show the whole owl: by adding little wings,
For fun I’ve made a short animation using some of the charts I saved as I went along. It
After all that went into the design of the horned owl, the snowy owl came about as an
In the end the owls had become the focal point and the ears were just a cute little detail— Twist Style Friday: Barberry
Every Friday we feature one of the garments from the magazine in a post about styling. We suggest different ways to wear the garment in question using mock-ups from Polyvore. We encourage readers to tell us what they think about these outfits via our Facebook page or Twitter, and if folks want to make their own outfits, please tweet them at us with the hashtag #twiststyle. You can find all of the Style Friday posts here. Happy Friday everyone! This was a heck of a week for a lot of folks. We hope everyone's safe and sound.Here's an extra cozy sweater to keep you warm when the winds get blowing.
Wearing this is basically like being snuggled all day. At the moment, I can't think of many things better than that. Barberry is a versatile hoodie- easy weekend wear with jeans or leggins and a super soft tee. But, you ask, can I wear it to the office? I think you can. Then again, I think leopard is a neutral, so take my judgement as you will. Or take a look at these outfits, and judge for yourself! The only thing to watch- if you plan to wear it buttoned up-is to wear something with a high enough collar thay you can see it above the neckline, or else you might look like you forgot to put a shirt on (or you deliberately went shirt free- who am I to judge your intentions??). Keeping the palette in one color family, or mixing with neutrals will keep it from looking too junior (if you worry about that sort of thing). I would love to see it in petrol blue, or a deep ochre. Fall is for saturated colors.
How would you wear Barberry? ps. Just in case you forgot, here is a reminder that you can also make a Barberry for a more teacup-sized human. Everything is cuter in miniature, right?
Twist Collector: Jessica
Today's post is brought to you by a lovely Twist reader and prolific knitter! Jessica Ewing is from Pasadena, CA. She is the mother of a little girl and wife of a camera operator. When not working at an Arts School in Downtown Los Angeles, she is knitting, sewing, taking ballet classes, and sampling her husband’s handiwork. She is also a volunteer at a living history museum specializing in late Victorian Los Angeles. You can find her amazing work on Ravelry here. In addition to the projects you'll see below, she's knitted this one and this one, and has *four* Twist WIPs. We love you too, Jessica.
Right now I’m finishing up a Regent and I can hardly wait to snuggle deep into its warmth this winter…should winter ever choose to appear here.
(this one is Greenaway- plus a bonus fuzzface!!) Quick Dispatch: Carrie takes her first shots
Carrie takes her first shots as the sun rises...
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Robin Melanson is the designer of two of our Fall Patterns, 
