Spring Interweave

The spring issue of Interweave Knits is out now and I have two patterns in it: the Drawstring Chemise and the Printed Silk Cardigan.


I love delicate little camisoles made out of fine cottons or silks. To increase their wearability, I prefer knit camisoles done in an ultra fine gauge - otherwise, you get a hot, sticky, tank that doesn't fit into any season (too hot for summer, not warm enough for winter). With the Drawstring Chemise, I went back to the Diamond Mesh Lace which I had used before in my side paneled camisole for Sensual Knits. I love Mesh patterns in general, but I simply adore the Diamond Mesh - it's a beautiful, open, geometric stitch. I'm sure I'll use it again.

The Drawstring Chemise is knitted with Rowan Cotton Glace - a DK weight cotton. It's a very nice cotton with a firm, crisp hand, but as with all cottons, it can be a little hard on the wrists - especially when knitting lace (I tend to really tug on my k2tog's and ssk's). The sample Chemise is a little loose on me - I think it was 2" bigger than my bust measurement and I had to clip the back a little so it would fit properly. (I'll post soon a Chemise that I made for myself out of Artfibers Hana, a smooth, supple silk yarn in a slightly finer gauge (7 sts/in). The pieces are all blocked. It just requires a good session of seaming and finishing, but I find it really hard these days to do any personal knitting. It's like if I don't have a deadline flogging me to finish, it just doesn't get done. Sigh.)

For the Printed Silk Cardigan, I actually did my submission swatch in Blue Sky Alpaca and Silk. Eunny asked if it would be okay to change it to Fiesta La Luz, a 100% single ply silk with incredible sheen and drape. At first, I was a little hesitant because I thought it would be too drapey, but I really like how the twisted stitches in the nestled diamond motif look in the La Luz - much more subdued than they would have appeared with a bouncier, elastic yarn - "printed" was the perfect way to describe it (I didn't come up with the name). I think lots of substitutes would work for this design. Any cotton, silk, linen, or alpaca blend would have the requisite drape. For shine, I would make sure that the substitute contained a bit of silk or mercerized cotton.

Just for fun, I'll post a scan of the sketch I submitted. Please forgive the horrible drawing skills, my brother I ain't.


I wasn't sure if I preferred the sleeves to be done in the twisted stitch motif (main sketch) or if I wanted them in 1x1 rib (upper right), so I sketched out both possibilities. Eunny chose the latter and I'm glad she did. I think the 1x1 rib ties together the ribbing in the empire band and on the neckbands. The only other thing I changed was to ditch the narrow 1x1 ribbing at the hems. I preferred the smooth edge finish and the La Luz was drapey enough to make even a crocheted edge unnecessary. However, if you find that the body hems curl too much, it's a simple matter to add a single chain crochet finish.

I'm also very grateful for the great reception I've been receiving for the Henley Perfected. The last time I checked, 72 projects have been entered in Ravelry. I really appreciate the support and it's fun for me to see the different henleys people have made!