Indigo Flowers, in Bloom

Cross-posted from my blog.
Click to read about Indigo Flowers I, II, III, 3.5, and IV.

My dear friends, welcome to the show! Here, I give you Indigo Flowers , undergoing metamorphosis (blocking, that is):



Can you see how joyful the lace is, relaxing in a basin of tepid water?

A dollop of rose-scented conditioner leaves a lingering sweet scent on the vest. I know, I should have used orchid or lavender to match the mood of the vest, but I always find rose irresistible.


As you can see, the neckline is finished with a few rows of garter stitches and THE bind-off method. Initially I also worked two rounds of seed stitches at the sleeve openings, but Calmer had its own mind (elastic cotton, what can you do), so I ripped them out in the end.

Here are a couple of peeks:





Ah and I must show you the asymmetrical element I incorporated into the vest. Look at the left side, and ignore the marker thread please:


It's been so long since I first conceived the design--two and a half months to be accurate. Like many of my fellow designers here, I changed quite a few design elements on the way, so I am more than pleased to see that the original idea has come through (has it ;-)?) in the finished garment. Invaluable suggestions and opinions from fellow CALers, friends and readers have helped me out of several crucial problems, and your encouragements and reminders(!) have kept Indigo Flowers alive ;-). Thank you!

--Iris

Indigo Flowers IV

Cross-posted from my blog.

Earlier this week, I dug Indigo Flowers (not yet forgotten!) out of my stash and resumed the work. What really surprised me was that the flowers literally flew off the needles--must have been due to the training that I got from the complicated laces!

Here's the back--aren't the ripples and wavelets lovely? And, is it quite different from what you have expected? Not so wild, not so bold…


I actually stopped at six rows before the bind-off row so I still have a chance to tweak the neckline a bit. Once again there's a dilemma. On one hand, the wavy neckline should get fixed. On the other hand, a fancy collar won't work since the vest is supposed to have a simple cut. The fact that it will be paired up with a shirt/blouse should be considered as well. What do you think? Shall I finish the vest with a few lines of garter stitches along the back and the front neckline and let them fall back leisurely, or shall I do an I-cord bind-off?

With Indigo Flowers sitting quietly aside, I picked up my tiny little lace needles--oh how am I obsessed--to cast on a few stitches with my new favorite yarn (THE silk). Yup I am trying a new design, no I have not figured it out completely yet, but that's why we like knitting and designing so much ;-), correct?

Finally, having seen how beautiful this (Non-)Pencil Sketch had turned out to be, I thought it might be a good idea to modify the pattern and expand the size range--I just need a little more time!

Indigo Flowers Sketch--Suggestions?

Cross-posted from my blog.
First of all, thank you my friends for all the wonderful comments on my progress, I feel greatly encouraged. Marnie, thanks for the detailed instructions on doing a great edging; I have that book but did not pay much attention ;-)! Phoenix and Hattie, thank you for your suggestions (I love beads, too).
I suddenly remembered that I haven't done a pen-and-ink sketch for Indigo Flowers Vest yet. How can a design be a design without a line sketch? So here it is: a one minute sketch.

You see, I have finished the front pieces, but haven't started the back yet. Once again I face a dilemma. This time it's about the ratio between lace and solid Stockinette stitches.

As typed on the sketch, the dark hatches represent Calmer and the wavy lines Zephyr.

Which one do you like ;-)?

Indigo Flowers III

Cross-posted from my blog; click to read about Indigo Flowers and Indigo Flowers II.


These flowers have been on and off needles for sometime now, and when they are on the needles, I love how they grow (albeit slowly). Both yarns (Calmer and Zephyr) are smooth and soft, and I have yet to get tired of the cool colors. Good signs! I surely hope that this vest would become a wardrobe staple for me. Well, although there were a few moments that I had to pause and double-check my decreases and see on which row I was at, it took me less time to finish the second half front piece.

Now both front pieces are waiting for three-needle bind-off ;-):


Looking at the neckline, I frowned a bit and decided that some finishing touches might be necessary. I did not expect to get this irregular neckline, but hey, it's lace and lace is supposed to be wavy!

Now this problem directly leads me to another one: the back neckline would be wavy, too--vertical ripples will appear. My current plan is to finish it with a few rows of garter stitches. Or maybe I can add a ton of beads along the neckline?

Oh and I almost forgot to say that the two lace panels are not mirror-imaged. I thought about that before casting on the second half. Then I decided to make them identical, because:
1. It is easier to keep track of the shaping.
2. When sewing with a print fabric which has a very small pattern repeat (6 X 6 sts here), few people would try to match the pattern precisely. It's simply unnoticeable.



That's all for now. Maybe my next post will be the last for Indigo Flowers--stay tuned and happy knitting!

Iris

Indigo Flowers II

Cross-posted from my blog.


It's the weather. High temperature and high humidity had successfully prevented me from knitting anything for the past ten days. Instead, I spent my leisure time drawing, sewing, and reading art history books. When I finally picked up the smooth bamboo needles (last night), it was refreshing. The result, my friends, was this piece of Indigo Flowers.


The schematic sketches had been done a while ago. Shown here is the sketch for the sample. There is a bit of waist shaping, and the V-neck starts 2" (5 cm) below the sleeve openings.

There are several things to say about the design. Firstly it is done on two straight needles. I prefer knitting in the round, but when I am not 100% sure about the results--in this case it's the look and shape of the large lace panels--I work on straight needles to save time. Secondly, I started with a front piece instead of the back piece, for I have to see how the lace works at the shoulder, then decide how wide the back lace panel should be. Finally, the back neck shaping is undecided at the moment (see the question mark?); again it is because we are dealing with lace here, we just have to wait and see.


This vest has been sized up to 45" chest circumference, as I consider it a flattering piece for most women. Now that I have a large enough piece, I can see that the lace panel actually provides a lot of ease, and follows the curves smoothly. It seems unnecessary to change the shaping for larger sizes--it suits me well, I'm lazy ;-).

So far it has been smooth and easy, and my projection of the knitting time is surprisingly short (20 hours). I guess it's because of the needle size (US7, 4.5 mm) used. The very simple, 6 X 6 lace pattern has helped too. Only after I bound off the stitches for sleeve opening did I start to spend time thinking about how to distribute the decreases. After some sketching, I decided to decrease over the Calmer part until there are 6 stitches left, then decrease over the garter stitch border of the lace panel. Finally the outer most lace repeat will lose a few stitches--we'll be at the shoulder by then.

All right, that's all for now. I'll keep you updated ;-).

Iris

P.S. One of my friends pointed out that something's wrong with the photos. I have uploaded them again. Sorry for that.

Indigo Flowers Lacy Vest

[Partially cross-posted from my blog]

Currently I am into the concept of Contrast. Simplicity versus Extravagance. Casual versus Formal. Night versus Day. And the seemingly opposite elements must be united in one wearable design.

My first inspiration came from the Hermès SS07 collection. Below are some pieces that I particularly liked.


[The photos do not belong to me, and here they are used only for commenting reasons. And why do they look soooo depressed in such beautiful dresses?]

The first two handkerchief dresses are reminiscent of their SS05 collection As the river flows, an out-worldly ethereal collection featuring porcelain white chiffon dresses with fine indigo print.

Porcelain white and indigo: that's the second inspiration.


Fine china, my true love. Such intricate and beautiful tonal effects are achieved with a single color on a plain background. Another example can be seen here; they are basically the same.

The original name for the white porcelain with indigo paintings is Indigo Flowers. By the way, for some unknown reason the formal translation is Blue and White Porcelain, or White and Blue Porcelain. What unimaginative names...

Anyway, that's how I decided to make a long flowy vest with a simple cut. [Look at the third shot from Hermès, I want my cut be as clean. And the length should be shorter than the one in the fourth shot...not too long.] The Indigo Flowers porcelain will be interpreted by using a dusty indigo colored DK yarn (Calmer, that is) as the bones, or the background of the vest, and a silver/pewter colored lace yarn (Zephyr, in this case) to fill in as the flowers. The reason why I did not pick true indigo/cobalt blue and pure white is that I want the vest to be casual yet ladylike.

The idea of combining yarns of different weight is doable if the two can be worked on a same needle size. And I guess you've already got the solution: work the light one in a lace pattern. In this case, this is a perfect solution, for lace is what I want: light and cool to wear, elegant, stretchy. And a good lace pattern can mimic the filigree flowers on a porcelain vase.

The fifth Hermès shot echoed this idea; wispy lace looks lovely (and well protected) with a solid colored vest.


[Click to see a larger picture. Hey that's not me, I do not look like her!]

You see, I love the color combination--one can still see the reference to porcelain, but it's quite subtle and misty now.

The back is not shown in the sketch above; I plan to use a large area of lace. The vest can then be worn with everything backless or strappy, thus making a day-to-night transition smooth and easy. I'll see if I can get that shawl effect.

That's all I have for now. I'll be more than happy to answer your questions.