Didn’t Make it to Rhinebeck? Learn about the “It” Sweater of the Season

The New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, known in knitting circles as Rhinebeck, is pretty much the fiber-related gathering of the year. It always falls around my husband’s birthday, so I’ll probably never get to go, but I love seeing pictures and hearing stories from the event.

Kay Gardiner from Mason-Dixon Knitting indulged my desire for Rhinebeck-news when she reported on the must-knit sweater of the season based on her trend-spotting at the festival. She said she saw lots of Birkin sweaters, designed by Caitlin Hunter, and that the design looked great on a lot of bodies and in a range of colors.

Its a top-down, circular yoke sweater with bands of floral motifs on the yoke. The original was worked in pastels, but there’s a black and white version, too, that comes off a lot more geometric and visually striking. It’s all about what you like and apparently this is a garment for many moods.

The pattern runs $7 and is available on Ravelry.

Have you ever been to Rhinebeck? If you were there this year, did you notice this sweater? I’d love to hear all about it!

[Photo: Jonna Hietala via Ravelry.]

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The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

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