Knitting Green

Allegoro Lace Tunic

JaimeG — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:59:26 GMT

This pattern can be found on pages 28-35 of Knitting Green: Conversations and Planet-Friendly Projects, by Ann Budd with contributions from some of the knitwear industry’s leading designers.

Therese Chynoweth’s lace tunic is made with an organic-cotton-andlinen yarn named for Al Gore, who made global warming a household term. The two fibers are blended into a yarn that is comfortably breathable and has crisp stitch definition—perfect for a lacy summer top. Therese began by working the back and front separately for a few inches, then joined them together and worked in the round to the armholes, at which point she worked the back and front separately to the shoulders, shaping the armholes and V-neck along the way.

Soap Nut Vessels

JaimeG — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:56:56 GMT

This pattern can be found on pages 22-24 of Knitting Green: Conversations and Planet-Friendly Projects, by Ann Budd with contributions from some of the knitwear industry’s leading designers.

Instead of using laundry detergent, designer Kristen TenDyke throws a few soap nuts in her washing machine. Soap nuts are the shells of berries that grow on trees in India and Nepal. The shells contain a large quantity of saponin that acts as a gentle detergent when agitated in water. Simply place a porous bag containing four or five soap nuts in the washer and enjoy three or four loads of clean clothes without chemicals, perfumes, or dyes. Kristen improved on the look of her original pattern (and made it easier to find the bag in a load of whites) by knitting this verison in a lacy pattern with renewable hemp yarn.

Solstice Skirt

JaimeG — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:53:36 GMT

This pattern can be found on pages 18-21 of Knitting Green: Conversations and Planet-Friendly Projects, by Ann Budd with contributions from some of the knitwear industry's leading designers.

Designer Cecily Glowik MacDonald used Solstice, a yarn that blends earthfriendly organic cotton with the softest merino, to knit a skirt that has both a conscience and memory. The cotton provides cool comfort, and the merino provides resilience (no droopy seat here). Cecily worked the skirt in the round from the scalloped lace pattern at the hem to the casing for elastic at the waist. She cleverly tapered the skirt by changing to progressively smaller needles along the way-there are
no decreases to interrupt the lace pattern on the lower skirt.

Eco Vest

JaimeG — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:41:58 GMT

This pattern can be found on pages 14-17 of Knitting Green: Conversations and Planet-Friendly Projects, by Ann Budd with contributions from some of the knitwear industry’s leading designers. The eco in Eco Wool means that this yarn is neither dyed nor chemically processed, but instead of having the raw feeling of many minimally processed yarns, Eco Wool is surprisingly smooth and clean. Katie Himmelberg used this earth-friendly yarn to knit an unstructured vest that can transition from fall to spring. Katie knitted the vest in a single piece to the armholes, then worked the back and fronts separately to the shoulders. The shaping is achieved through cable stitches rather than increases and decreases.

Organic Sprout Tank

JaimeG — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:35:58 GMT

This pattern can be found on pages 124-129 of Knitting Green: Conversations and Planet-Friendly Projects, by Ann Budd with contributions from some of the knitwear industry's leading designers.

Sprout, a 100 percent organic cotton yarn with a pleasing pebbly texture, is on the bulky end of Classic Elite Yarn's Verde (that's "green" in Italian) line. Pam Allen used this yarn to advantage in her swingy summer top that features a diagonal stitch pattern, deep V-neck, and drawstring detail. Pam worked the body in the round to the armholes, then worked the back and front separately to the shoulders, incorporating the neck and armhole edging along the way. Sew the shoulder seams and you're done!