The Spanish Moss Wrap

Spanish Moss is a huge and important part of the landscape here in New Orleans. I was in City Park over the weekend where the moss hangs so thick in the live oaks that it looks almost staged. It drips from the branches and moves with the breeze. It’s hard to believe that it is a living thing. Today, I’m happy to welcome the Spanish Moss Wrap published in the Eco Issue of Knit.Wear magazine, available now on newsstands and online.

The emphasis for this issue was on natural, sustainable fibers and yarns that impact positively on the environment and the people who live within it. The Verdant Vines story to which the Spanish Moss Wrap belongs features botanical knits in eco-friendly yarns.

I’d envisioned a linen yarn for this wrap from the beginning. Linen would provide the perfect marriage of airiness and drape to echo the lightness and movement of spanish moss. Because I am not normally a huge fan of chained yarns, I was not prepared to fall in love with Shibui Reed but, boy, did I. Crisp in the hand yet silky as you knit, Reed counts among my top 5 best yarn discoveries of the year. I’m grateful to Knit.Wear for the opportunity to work with this stellar yarn, a road I almost certainly would not have chosen alone. As with the rest of this sublime line of yarns, the palette available for Reed is beautifully muted, sophisticated and drawn from nature.

The geometric rhythm of hanging moss, of vines, of even, moving grasses inspire the Spanish Moss Wrap. It is simple, minimal and restrained in decor while highlighting the crisp reedy quality of natural linen. The rhythmic movement of a leaflike pattern evolves into simple fagoting tracing across the fabric’s surface. This is an uncomplicated rectangular wrap that showcases the fresh, sinuous character of the fiber.

I hope you’ll enjoy this latest offering. Many thanks to the clever Annette for knitting this sample! Happy knitting!