I am in love with the floral fashion trends we’re experiencing right now! Everything from flow-y tops, dresses and skirts to bags and even socks are a-bloom with floral decor. I’ve been thinking about how I can get more bouquet into my knitting.
Here’s a great place to start! Has anyone seen this book? “Floral Knits: 25 Contemporary Flower-Inspired Designs” by Martin Storey came out a couple of years ago and is packed with blossom bedecked spring knits. Martin is the rock star designer behind Rowan yarns and, I think, a major force in reinvigorating the brand. It covers a bunch of different techniques that can bring the garden right indoors and into your knitting basket.
YARNS
No matter what the theme, nine times out of ten my main inspiration is yarn. Look at how The Blue Brick, a Toronto based indy dyer of ombre colorways has captured the floral concept through changing seasons.
A yarn line that consistently speaks to me in color whatever the weather is Manos del Uruguay. I’m currently working with the Macachines colorway, but check out these greenhouse worthy color blends.
FAIR ISLE
Pair these tender blossom-inspired yarns with botanical motifs, then work in stranded colorwork for captivating garments. Floral motifs worked in rich cutting-garden shades create these unbelievable bags, East Meets West by Kerin Demeler-Laurence. I love the mix of the mysterious middle-east and English country garden, and I love how every surface of these bags is alive with color work.
Susanne Chotty combines a floral colored gradient with black to create these pretty Flower Power Socks. I particularly like the sole of the foot!
It’s interesting to compare these two interpretations of a single floral fair isle motif. The same pattern produces two quite different fabrics. In the first, the motif is applied to a gradient backdrop, in the second, two gradients are worked against each other. This beautiful chart, Stella by Eva-Lotta Staffas, is available for use as a shawl, sweater, throw, or any sort of knitted item.
INTARSIA
Ah, Intarsia! That glorious color work technique that allows us to create motifs within solid fields of color. In other words, no stranding and no floats. Intarsia’s color block style is achieved by using individual color bobbins everywhere motifs are used. Remember that, though it isn’t impossible to work in the round, it is best to work intarsia back and forth. Should you prefer a color work background, techniques like mosaic or slipped stitch knitting can be used back and forth in conjunction with intarsia for some spectacular effects. Here is another Martin Storey flower inspired gem, Flower, using intarsia techniques to knit in those rolling cabbage roses.
Big, punchy patterns thrive in intarsia, like these. Purl Soho has crafted an excellent tutorial on intarsia knitting. You can find it HERE.
LACE MOTIFS & PANELS
It is possible to evoke the feel of the garden without color work. Stitch mavens like Barbara Walker have been incorporating floral elements into knitted lace and knitted fabrics for a long time. Bobbles, smocked stitches and open work combine to impart botanical characteristics to knitted solids.
And, of course, lace motifs often take their inspiration from the garden and hothouse, as in the luxurious Blooming Stitch Shawl by Mary R. White.
So, really, all those lovely floral looks are achievable for we knitters…only problem is time!
See you soon!
