New Designs for the Fall:
Our Works In Progress…

Yes, its that time already. It might seem like the heat is never going to subside and the last thing you want to do is knit, but we are working on fall designs already! Working with new colors for Fall, Cynthia is working up a new pattern, “Waves”, with Art Yarns 1 ply cashmere yarn that will be a kit on knittingcentral.com. In such a light and soft yarn, come fall, you will want to wrap up in it all the time. In red for the fall/winter, Chloe blended Tahki yarns Superior and Nirvana, two lace weight yarns, to create a beautiful texture that feels like a cloud.

On the left, Cynthia’s color striping really shows off the depth of color in the hand dyed cashmere yarn. Chloe chose a leaf lace pattern on a #7 needle to let the two yarns knit together really show off their stuff. They really compliment each other’s texture and create a beautiful mix of merino, silk and cashmere like you’ve never seen before. Keep your eyes out for these new exclusive projects in the fall in lots of exciting colors!

Fall Trends!

This crocheted sweater by Chanel goes with a matching knit dress. Keep your eye out for crochet this season, you’ll see a lot of it!

This cowl from Missoni is knit light as air for the fall. Cowls are going to be even bigger this year than last year. Stay tuned as we add new fall trends and exciting projects to knit and crochet. So get cozy in those over air conditioned places and start knitting for fall!

As the second half of our mohair segment continues, we thought we would talk about a company that has been bringing new and exciting mohair concepts to the world of knitting for the last several years Be Sweet .

Knitting Central chats with Nadine Curtis of Be Sweet

Cynthia asked Nadine about Be Sweet, her line of yarns and ready made knits.

Knitting Central: What made you decide to bring fibers from South Africa to us?

Nadine: My husband is originally from South Africa, so when we were just dating we visited the country and I immediately fell in love with the landscape, the culture, the history, the food, the languages, the diversity, and the crafts. After our wedding we decided to move to Cape Town for a year – for fun – for a sabbatical. This is when I started to learn about South African fibers and the innovative craft movement that is so special from that region. I started Be Sweet while I was living in Cape Town.

Mohair Jacket from Knit Simple winter ‘09/’10 knit in Be Sweet boucle mohair. Designed by Lynn Wilson

Knitting Central: What inspires your line?

Nadine: My line is inspired by a lot of color and texture and the feeling of the handmade. I love that Be Sweet yarns do a lot of the work for you. You can be a simple knitter (like me) and get something really unique and special out of it. I’m personally inspired by Nelson Mandela, Terrance Conran, Erica Tanov, India Hicks, Rodarte, Missoni, Anthropologie and JCREW merchandising, Calypso, Paul Smith, Selvedge Magazine …

Knitting Central: How do you find these ladies (cooperatives)?

Nadine: When I lived in South Africa, I shopped a lot for creative products that were made with a good conscience. Then I researched how to source what I was buying. Beyond that I truly believe that if you trust yourself and the world around you, one thing leads to another and POW … life introduces you to the people you need to be working with.

Mohair comes from the angora goat. Doesn’t he look soft and cuddly?

Knitting Central: Why mohair??

Nadine: Mohair is a very sustainable and indigenous fiber to Southern Africa. It is reported that approx. 65% of all mohair comes from the region. So not only is it soft, warm and luxurious but it’s abundant and easy for our artisans to access and work with.

Why Knitting Central Loves Mohair

We love it for so many reasons. Mohair takes dye beautifully, so we can knit in all the vibrant colors we dream of. It is soft and light so you can knit a sweater in it and it won’t feel heavy or stiff. Try a lace weight mohair – you will be so surprised how the mohair makes the lace come to life and have amazing body. Mohair works well for almost anything you can think of knitting, garments, outwear, accessories, home and felted projects.Go ahead try it out, and if you never liked mohair or were afraid to try it, get knitting! Enjoy!

My friend, Nadine from Be Sweet, invited me to a wonderful lecture at the New School in Manhattan last week. The presentation was spectacular. In a nut shell, the best quality and quantity of mohair comes from South Africa.

People are sometimes hesitant and scared away by mohair’s hair and fluff, but mohair is a very beautiful, versatile fiber and can be used throughout all four seasons. In early autumn, we can use mohair as a cover up, i.e.
necklaces, cowls, stockings, a touch of warmth etc.

In winter, mohair can mimic nature. Combine it with silk and cashmeres, open it up and let it be cobweb like in a shawl.

Throws, blankets and bedding made out of mohair can go from bed to chair to shoulders, all creating a comforting, therapeutic feeling. Alone, there is a softness and airiness like no other fiber.

Mohair takes dye in a special way which creates rich, full colors. Mohair can be masculine or feminine. It can be adorned with glitter and made contemporary by placing layer upon layer.

The presentation was by Li Edelkoort. It was titled “The Return of Mohair Fiber.” Li has been asked by the Association of Mohair South Africa to contribute to the rehabilitation of the mohair fiber on the scene of international fashion and design. Li is a trend forecaster, curator, publisher and educator who constantly lives in the future. Images in this post are courtesy of Edelkoort Etc. and Mohair South Africa.

STAY TUNED TO PART 2 OF OUR MOHAIR REPORT!

We know you’ve been waiting…

Signature Circulars are in! We were lucky enough to be some of the first in the country to get signature needles circulars back in stock. These are truly AMAZING needles! They feature the same handcrafted needles you love, plus a smooth and flexible memory resistant cable. Currently we have US #5-7 needles and you can choose your length 24″, 32″ or 40″, but hurry, we only got a few sets! Click here to see what we have in stock!

A Baby Sweater to Make You Think Twice

Take a really good look at this outfit. Traditional aran and cable patterns are put on a modern one-button style child’s sweater. Instead of going for the natural aran color, they chose a bright blue. I’m seeing more and more children’s outfits use a combination of chocolate brown and blue, as well as black and white, two combinations that you would never have seen back in the day. The pattern on the shirt makes this look fun and youthful. I love their choice of caps to complete this outfit.

Crochet Bags – From Sidewalks to High Fashion

This young lady was visiting from Russia, but happened to buy this bag in LA. I assumed it was home-made, but i was wrong. it was store bought and quite expensive, she told me. A beginner crochet pattern stitch, a couple of popcorns (or bobbles), and you too can have this bag.

Dolce and Gabanna featured this crochet bag in their window. Usually, I don’t feel carrying a big bag is a very feminine look, but they were able to pull it off perfectly. Lace edging, gold and silver chain accessory and a soft crochet stitch all let’s you know she might be strong enough to tote this bag around, but she is still a fashionable female.

New Looks for an Old Favorite

A new store, called “Foravi”, opened up on Madison Ave between 80th and 81st St. They have a second location down in Soho on Broadway. The designs were very unique and quite beautiful, ranging from casual to cocktail. Of course, my eye went to this scarf. The lace work was done in silver, with the chiffon layers in several tones of soft green. This would be easy to replicate. The knitted part reminds me of all the “ruffle, potato chip, swirl” scarves we did 2-3 years ago. Well, now we can bring them back to life, by just sewing on a few layers of chiffon or any delicate fabric you might have. This was just one of the many gorgeous designs, check them out for your self at www.foravi.com.

Argentinian Women’s Cooperative

When in Argentina, I was invited to meet with a cooperative to help them market their hand made garments. It was a great honor to work with these women.

Their collection consisted of both knitted and woven garments. This sample was going to be worked into a shrug.

The New Purl

Purl just expanded and moved their knitting store to Broome St. in NYC. I was lucky enough to visit the new location and catch up with Joelle (the owner), one of the nicest people in this industry. The store literally took my breath away. It was so beautiful. This project wall gives you an idea of what you can find there.