It’s all in the finishing: Hanne Falkenberg’s Sofi Combi jacket

Posted on April 20, 2019 by knitigatingcircumstances

I am so happy to have some photos of my newest hand-knit, a very chic, boxy jacket with a pattern that pops.

The pattern is designed by Hanne Falkenberg, and is called the Sofi Combi. “Combi” refers to the fact that it is knitted with two different yarns. The dark blue is a tweedy wool and the soft green is a linen blend. The two are combined in a slip stitch pattern that has an art deco feel to it. The details of the pattern are fantastic. Notice the lovely details at the shoulder, and the way the zig zags undulate at the back of the garment:

And check out the lovely faux seam at the sides:

You may also notice the (seemingly) miles of seed stitch knitted with tiny needles for the sleeves. Those sleeves were an undertaking, especially since I knitted 2.5 of them (the first sleeve was a bit baggy, so I ripped it and then did some maths and some re-designing of the sleeve cap and tweaked the decreases to get a slimmer, smoother fit.)

I have blogged about this jacket extensively over the (dare I say it?) almost TWO YEARS that I have been working on it. (Of course, in that time, I have knitted many other projects.) Now that I am actually wearing this, however, I am kicking myself for not having finished it straight away. You can see some of my previous posts on this garment under the tag Hanne Falkenberg here.

The finishing details on this garment are amazing and I have learned so much from making it. The edgings on the fronts are picked up and knit in reverse stockinette stitch, which allows the edge to roll to the back. The left photo below shows the pick up edge from the inside of the front. Along the pick up edge, you can see the edging is rolling over towards the back. The edging is then pulled over the picked up edge and sewn down, to make a beautiful, neat edge, shown on the right.

The neck is finished the same way. I am so thrilled with the finishing details on this jacket. I feel that they give a very professional look to the garment.

I have knitted two of Hanne Falkenberg’s designs previously (see my post A Tale of Two Falkenbergs for details). You can only buy her patterns in a kit, with the yarn that she provides, but I have found them to be well worth the purchase. The yarns are beautiful and Hanne’s colour sense is lovely; she often puts together colours that are surprising, but they always work. They are intellectually challenging knits (in a good way) and I have learned something from each of them.

The weather has cooperated; we are having an unprecedented warm, sunny Easter weekend in England. After posing for the above photos, I ended up knitting in the garden, and Doug thought it deserved another photo:

I am not always good with pairing patterns with patterns and so I am surprised by how much I like this jacket with this top:

When I read a blog post about a sweater, I always want to see the reverse side. So, for those knitters like me, here you can see that it is a truly lovely jacket inside and out:

Now, I am headed back to my garden to take advantage of a sunny weekend (and hoepfully to finish another project). Have a lovely weekend!

Kelly 1, Yarn 0

Posted on April 13, 2019 by knitigatingcircumstances

Yesterday, I finished all of the knitting on my Hanne Falkenburg Sofi Combi jacket!

What’s left to do?

Sew the underarm and sleeve seams.
Fold over and sew down the front edgings.
Fold over and sew down the neck edgings.
Weave in threads.
Wash and block.
Wear!

Here is how much blue yarn I have left after finishing the knitting:

Yes, I have been playing a nail-biting game of yarn chicken over the last few weeks. It was down to the wire with this one. As it is, I will have to unravel my swatch to have enough yarn to do the sewing. Final score: Kelly 1, Yarn 0.

Pattern Radar: I’ll have some texture with that, please

Posted on April 6, 2019 by knitigatingcircumstances

The patterns that have caught my eye this week have played around with texture. I’ve been fascinated by colour and stranded knitting lately, but texture has always been my catnip. Here are some designs which are doing good things with texture, from a little taste to allover patterning.

Olive Sweater by Jemima Bicknell:

This sweater is from the book, Art Deco Knits: Creating a hand-knit wardrobe inspired by the 1920s – 1930s by Jemima Bicknell. I love Art Deco, in architecture, in jewellery, and in fashion. The cables on this pullover are just fantastic. Set against the simple shape of the sweater, they pop! It reminds me in equal parts of a beautiful art deco building I lived near in Potsdam, and of The Jetsons, a “futuristic” animated TV show from my youth. (Now I’ve dated myself.) I think this has a cute, vintage feel to it.

Shifting Sands Pullover by Norah Gaughan

I’m not surprised by this design making the list, since Norah Gaughan is the queen of texture. The shape of this one is very simple; in fact it is rather shapeless and boxy (which happens to be big news in the knitting world right now). But the asymetrical cables are mesmerising, as they shift and flow across the space. If you’ve ever been in shifting sand, you can definitely see how this pullover got its name.

Nisaba by Asja Janeczek:

This cowl pattern has a rich, luscious texture. It is named after the Sumerian goddess of grain and harvest and was inspired by memories of traipsing through grain fields. This first attracted my attention with its gorgeous juxtaposition between the three dimensional, undulating cable patterns and the flat sections worked in garter stitch with short row shaping. Having a daughter who studies ancient Sumerian, the name kept my attention focused.

Firenze by Irina Anikeeva

This simple pullover with a great cabled yoke jumped out at me. I love that it is in sportweight rather than worsted, and looks both sophisticated and casual. I think this could be dressed up or down, and would look great in neutrals or jewel tones. (I am thinking about a rich yellow-gold.) It’s knit top-down with the increases ingeniously incorporated into the cables. This would be a quick and satisfying knit.

The Beauceron by Designs by Delz

I am always on the lookout for great menswear. This is only the second pattern published (on Ravelry) by Vincent, the designer behind Designs by Delz. I will definitely be keeping an eye on his work. One might think that I am squeaking by here on the “texture” label, but in fact the colourwork on the yoke of this pullover combines slip stitches and purls, resulting in a beautiful subtle texture that highlights the lovely colourwork. While I classified this as menswear, it is a great unisex piece; see the pattern page for an example worn by a woman.

I’m still chugging along on the Falkenburg jacket – sleeves in seed stitch with size 2 needles take a very long time to knit. I have about 6 inches of the second sleeve still to go. Have a good weekend and don’t forget to add some texture to your next order!

(By the way, this is my 400th post! Who would have guessed I would still be doing this?)