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Wrap Blouse from Light & Layered Knits |
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Sport Zip Jacket from Light & Layered Knits |
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When I was in college, a friend showed up to a late-spring baseball game wearing a long-sleeve tee-shirt under a short-sleeve tee shirt. This was 25 years ago, so layering wasn't as common as it is now! It looked so cute, and she was able to take one shirt off when the weather warmed up a bit. Brilliant, I thought, as I roasted in my sweater.
Nowadays, layering is the norm, and it's a way to mix-and-match styles to create your own style as well as to keep up with minute-by-minute weather changes.
Designer and author Vicki Square is known for her stylish knits and for her flawless technique, and she's back with a new book,
Light and Layered Knits. You'll love the
sweater patterns, tee patterns, and in-between patterns that'll let you dress light or wear layers—or both!
Here's Vicki to talk about her philosophy on dressing in layers:Today's woman is a modern maven of multitasking. As a
whole, we have become experts at fluidly moving from one pursuit to the next
with nary a moment to recalibrate our focus. We are passionate about all the
things we do, bringing our giftedness into the mix of work and play. We want
our wardrobes to speak of that mettle, and to reflect our personal styles.
My inspiration for this collection was to gather
garments that every knitter wants to wear any day, anywhere, and in any season.
With that goal in mind, I have designed a number of lightweight tops that are
functional on so many levels that you'll return to them again and again to ante
up to that perfect blend of feeling confident, comfortable, and chic. The
garment designs are streamlined and figure flattering for enduring style,
giving a healthy bolster to your valuable knitting time. Simple elegance defines
each piece, whether it is designed for a close fit or loose drape.
Creative details promote a unique presentation—cables, raised stitches, pleats,
and peplums define shape. Lace, intarsia, Fair Isle, and slip-stitch patterns
offer challenges in knitting technique. The color palette is at times vivid and
bold or neutral and subtle, and can always be personalized. I have used traditional
knitting techniques in unusual ways and in combinations to give your wardrobe
artistic panache.
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| Ruffle Shell from Light & Layered Knits |
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| Lace Finery Shell from Light & Layered Knits |
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These projects include yarns of linen, silk, bamboo, rayon, cotton, soy, and
natural fibers of the non-wool variety, along with some beautiful synthetic
novelty exceptions. They provide a solid foundation for building a wardrobe
light enough to wear year round, next to the skin or in layers, for a variety
of looks and styles.
Layering is the contemporary way to personalize style and expand function for
comfort in any situation. Layers accommodate a variety of climates, seasonal
temperature changes, daily fluctuations between the hot (or cold) outdoors and
the cool (or warm) indoors, and even our own unreliable internal thermostats.
Layering also allows us to transition between the activities of any given
day-perhaps from business casual at work, followed by a sporting event, and
then to a restaurant. Clearly, one style will not serve all events equally, but
with thoughtfully selected key wardrobe pieces, you can easily change one or
two outer pieces or accessories and completely change the look to fit the
situation at hand.
The lightweight sweaters in this collection can go seamlessly from one look to
another, simply by changing a wardrobe basic, such as from a pencil skirt to
dress pants to a pair of jeans. The idea behind this, of course, is that the
fabulous sweater you just knitted is the piece that is constant!
—Vicki Spring, Light and Layered KnitsI'm a "maven of multitasking," and I agree with Vicki's theory that a woman's wardrobe has to match her lifestyle. Mine is casual, and I love have layers to throw on or take off, as the mood (or weather) dictates. This style of dressing allows me to be ready for anything, which is a necessity in my busy life, and I'll bet it is in yours, too.
Pre-order your copy of
Light and Layered Knits today, and we'll ship it to you as soon as it hits our warehouse!
Cheers,
P.S. What's your style? Share it with us in the comments!