Here's the next in our popular series of sweater galleries from the Winter 2007 issue of Interweave Knits. This time, Katie Himmelberg, assistant editor of Interweave Knits, gives suggestions for color choices and customizations for the Bonbon Pullover.
View the Bonbon Pullover Gallery
The Bonbon Pullover on Katie...
The
mix of color work techniques on this sweater by Mari Lynn Patrick
shakes up our notion of what color work "should" look like—it's a
refreshing whimsical look that would be fantastic in a variety of color
combinations. A good way to think about changing the palette is to keep
in mind the contrast in the original choices. You'll want to select
colors in the same values; here, we have the body color, three colors
on the lighter side, and three on the darker. Keep in mind that you
might want the "Little Dots" pattern at the hips, sleeves, and neck to
contrast with the body color so that they'll show up well. Start with a
color that inspires you, and work from there-don't forget to swatch to
find the best combination! You'll need the same amount of yarn for all
the contrast colors, so you don't have to decide right away which is
which in accordance with the pattern.
The longer body and
color work band at the hips can pose a challenge for some women, but
with a minor adjustment, this classic color work yoke sweater can be
great on a pear shaped body. You could skip the color work on the hips;
the color work yoke would then stand alone, adding emphasis to the
shoulders and balancing out larger hips. If necessary, you can also add
some hip shaping in this now plain area (making the sweater greater in
circumference at the hem than the bust) by casting on more stitches and
decreasing them out towards the waist (calculate the number of stitches
based on your measurement and gauge).
My styling default is
always jeans, because what sweater doesn't look good with denim? It can
really make your handiwork the focus of your outfit. So I'll mix it up
and say I think this one would look really cute with a long straight
skirt, or maybe a below-the knee a-line or flared skirt (again good for
the more pear-like among us) with some colorful tights and wacky boots.
This sweater's playful look would also be cute on a *** or teenage
girl; let her pick out her own colors and it could be a fun project for
the two of you!
...and on Sandi!
You Have Questions, Katie and Sandi Have Answers!
Here are our responses to some of the great questions that came in
about the galleries for the Henley Perfected and the Citrus Yoke
Pullover.
View the Henley Perfected Gallery
View the Citrus Yoke Gallery
Trudy wrote: I
noticed that the Citrus doesn't wrinkle on the girl with no ease but
does wrinkle under the chin on the women with more ease. Wonder if it
is because of the no ease or because of broader or narrower shoulders?
From Katie: Trudy,
I think it's a little of both. I would recommend choosing the size
closest to your actual bust measurement, and remember that you can try
the sweater on as you knit since it is a top-down construction. Also,
keep in mind that the women shown here are all varying heights, which
is why I mentioned shortening the neck in the last post. Lastly, you
can add short-rows to raise the back neck and eliminate the fold at the
front neck. I decided not to alter my pattern in that way since it was
a Simple Knits feature and I wanted to keep it easy! Thanks to reader
Jamie who pointed out this technique.
Margaret H asks:
Are the women wearing the Henley Perfected all wearing it over regular
clothing? Are the bust measurements taken with the clothing or without?
Katie answers: The
bust measurements were taken over undergarments and clothing; when
measuring yourself, wear the undergarments and any clothing you would
be wearing underneath the sweater you plan to make. I'm usually most
comfortable with a tee or camisole under my winter sweaters, so I
always include that.
Anonymous asks: What is negative ease?
Sandi says: Ease is a measure of how much extra "room" there
is between you and your sweater. Positive ease means there is extra
room; negative ease means that the sweater measurement is equal to or
less than your actual measurements—and is thus more form-fitting,
body-skimming, and curve-hugging than a loose-fitting, positive-ease
garment would be.
Several of you wrote in asking about the gallery photos and models themselves: How do you choose the models and the clothes they wear for the galleries?
Sandi replies: Katie and I choose the models by wandering
around our Colorado offices and asking folks, “Hey, can we put your
photo and your bust measurement up on Knitting Daily?” Literally. (You
can imagine the responses the first few times we did this.) Once we
have several willing victims, er, I mean, volunteers, we set up times
where folks are able to slip away from their desks for a bit for the
photoshoot. Everyone knows when Photo Day is, and they all know to wear
basic clothing that will work with a variety of sweaters. We have a
list of the measurements of the sample sweaters on hand, and we try to
get each woman to try on everything that will reasonably fit them. We
know the sweaters don’t look perfect on every model who wears them; the
point is to show what the garment looks like with varying amounts of
ease on women of various shapes, so you can make more informed
decisions in your own knitting adventures.
CFBandit and others ask: I'd like to see Sandi in more of the
sweaters... I’m shaped more like her than the other gals, so I'd like
to see how the garments look on her.
Sandi says: My curves are a bit too bodacious to fit into
some of the sample sweaters, unfortunately. I try on all the sweaters I
can comfortably fit into, even those that are tighter than I would
normally choose to wear, in order to demonstrate how a sweater might
fit a larger gal, and where adjustments for “dangerous curves” might
need to be made.
More galleries to come in the weeks ahead! Check back as the women of Interweave try on the Ivy League Vest, the Rosemary Swing Jacket, the Collette Pullover, and more!
Sandi Wiseheart is the editor of Knitting Daily.
What's on Sandi's needles? Aside from five inches of the
Gathered Pullover, I have a pair of socks on two circulars ready for
heel flaps, and I'm six inches into the hood of my husband's cabled
hoodie.