Now when I think back to 2010 it all feels months and many knits away, but it was at that time when the seeds for this book sprouted. Having worked with Shibui Knits folks before I knew the experience will be great from beginning to finished result. And after seeing wonderful new (at that time) yarn Heichi, working with which was the new adventure I wanted to embark on. Here IT IS all shiny and new – Shibui Silk!
Shibui Silk booklet published January 1 this year is a work of more than just one wonderful yarn, I was lucky enough to work with 3 (!!!) silk-containing ShibuiKnits yarns. What can top that? Silk here, there and sometimes double dose of silk in a single project. Contrast between yarns’ individualities and textures is great, but main idea behind ShibuiKnits concept is to juxtapose different materials that would create “beauty with a touch of bitterness”. A true Japanese feel and approach. It’s by keeping this philosophy in mind I tried to create through combining and transforming Staccato, Heichi and Silk Cloud into knitwear. And not to forget amazing creative crew at ShibuiKnits Darcy, Kristin, Jenny and eagle-eyed Alexandra who turned this booklet into what you see today!
Last year’s summer was a very hot one in Japan and for us, knitwear designers, it’s the busiest production time to get all new and exciting things ready for cooler season. One would think that silk on it’s own is more of a gentle and summer-like fiber, but don’t be mistaken, with its wonderful properties of softness, drape and flowing fabric silk keeps plenty warm. In several garments and accessories I have paired the yarn together with Silk Cloud to give them more delight to increase its wearability during freezing months, besides give magnificent squishy comfort that reminds you of wooly winter knits.
Arnett
Arnett is more than just a long coat, it’s one of my favorite transformable garments that I have created. Tricks of this coat are numerous: it’s convertible, reversible and transformable!
The construction of Arnett is practically seamless – just one on the neckline and several faux seams along the sides and raglan lines to express structure. Both fronts are actually doubled width and thanks for nature of the fabric and its positioning, these “extra” fronts turn into various shapes for collar or transform into modular and functional pockets. Turn it inside out, overlap the fronts and belt it and no winter chill would get to you since it’s made in Heichi and Silk Cloud. If I were to call it “coat-I-live-in” I would, but Arnett sounds prettier.
Francis
Innovatively constructed tee with a surprise in the back. Worked horizontally it’s full of techniques to learn, but still quick to make in tweedy looking Heichi. One may find it a challenge, but follow instructions as you knit step by step and you will find that enlightening moment when you learn something new! (But tutorial is to coming though). Worn on its own but easily layered it can even be worn backwards. Opening in the back actually helps the silhouette to flare out although there is no shaping on the sides.
Laverne
Now that is another convertible piece. Jacket with long fronts actually has button front closure and hidden drawstring goes all the way around top neckline. Toss one front over your shoulder for cosier look, button it for a dramatic looped front or pull the drawstring to create gentle pleats all around the jacket. Almost mindless but lustrous and amazingly drapey knit is created using Staccato.
Ada
Fun vest or a tee worked in Heichi with uneven hem and a Silk Cloud longer hem in the front. It features an usual continuous shoulder construction and square neckline. I have chosen to make expressed faux seams even though majority of it is worked in the round. Rustic look of Heichi silk and lush of Silk cloud are a perfect example of texture juxtaposition.
Goltry
Believe it or not, but this hat is completely reversible with 2 differently looking textures on each side. Stitch pattern used is very stretchy that can accommodate large hair or give more slouch as it’s worked in silky Staccato which provides visible shine and drape. Worked in the round it requires minimum of finishing.
Tulsa
Well-thought out use of pleating stitch creates texture and dimension in this scarf. Knit in Staccato for great drape but pleats are providing more structure and creating ruffling effect within the fabric itself. Make it wider for more of a shawl effect or longer if you desire more ruffles adorning your neck and shoulders.
Marlow
This shawl will be easily favorite during winter months as combination of yarns used create tactile perfection. Staccato has great stitch definition and radiates through the nimbus of Silk Cloud and are worked in gradated welts pattern to transform it into a scrumptious shawl.
Prue
Fingerless gloves are never enough in my household whether on a bike ride or to pull over your leather gloves for extra warmth during blistering weather outside and many other occasions. Worked in same yarn combination as Marlow with textured welts pattern it can make a quick gift or treat of luxury for yourself. It will feel like putting on balm by cuddling your hands up in these luscious mitts.
To say thank you to my readers and fearless knitters I am giving away 3 Shibui Silk Booklets and 1 silky skein each of ShibuiKnits Staccato in color Chrome (seen in Prue and Marlow).
Please leave a comment below (1 comment per person please) about which design you find as your favorite from Shibui Silk booklet with your contact information (email or Ravelry ID) by March 12th, 2012 midnight PST. Thank you everyone!!! Entries for giveaway drawing have been received and are no longer accepted. 3 winners of Shibui Silk Booklet and a skein of Shibui Staccato will be announced March 15, 2012.
Three lucky winners will be randomly chosen from the commenters below.
Good luck to everyone and Happy Knitting!!!
all of the projects are great but Tulsa is a real
head turner..
ciao ciao Christa
Wow I’m the first one! I love Tulsa and…every other pattern too! =)
My rav ID is carli84
Thanks for organising this giveaway!
I love Arnett: the way it’s reversible, transformable:))) It’s incredible:))) You are so talented and creative:))
Ravelry Id: emmafassio
mail: emmafassio@yahoo.it
How to chose just one?? Ada and Francis caught my eye, but I am really into Ts right now. Great designs!
-christina
bowie on Ravelry
Arnett is beautiful, but Goltry would probably be my first knit. I have a fear of sweaters!
jkplayswithyarn on Ravelry
I love them all but would choose ADA and my Ravelry ID is Pacas.
All these projects are so beautiful! Congratulations for them!
My favourite is Francis!
My rav identity is lounatine.
Beautiful designs. My first pick would be Arnett.
I love Arnett. I love the combination of the yarns and the versatile style. It looks like something you would never want to take off.
I REALLY like Francis! Looks like a fun challenge.
My favourite is Arnett. All of the projects are beautiful.
Arnett is a fav and Prue is in second place (but would probably be finished first!)
i love ada and all the rest! 🙂
my ravelry id is librarytlm
They are all sooo beautiful! I like Ada and Goltry’s texture looks really interesting.
RavID: ulca
The Francis sweater is my favorite! I love the back surprise! You have some beauties here!
laurahughes at charter dot net
I like them all, but my favorite is Francis.
Ravelry ID: kkelisabeth
Had a hard time choosing but Tulsa is my favorite!
jayellesea on Rav.
My absolute favorite is Arnett. Francis is my second favorite. I love the different things you did with the silk!
my rav id is bowmanrach
Beautiful work, my favorite is Francis–can’t wait for summer to wear this kind of top!
Love the Francis tee… What an interesting construction!
I’ve been drooling over this booklet since I saw it at my LYS. I adore Francis. Classic but modern. And Heichi is the perfect yarn for the design. Susan (susan on Ravelry)
It’s a tough call to choose just one. As each of these gorgeous designs unveils, I find my heart returns to Arnett. What not to love? In one “small packet,” I get convertibility and reversibility, yet seamless and transformable! You got my vote,Arnett 😀
Thanks for the magnificent show!
Sarah aka Handstitch on Ravelry
Francis and Ada have amazing design elements. I love them both!
Ravelry ID: sgeorge24
email: sgeorge24@yahoo.com
Marlow is stunning – I love welt patterns in general, but graduated welts are genius!
Arnett is looking beautiful. Never knitted anything so big before though, a bit scary!
Hm, so many great things, but I’m most intrigued by Francis and by your description of the knitting. Have also had Laverne faved for awhile.
ravelry: karentempler
i love marlow but would cast on for arlett. been looking for a long cardigan like this for some time!
ravelry id: susannalie
Beautiful designs.
My favorite is Tulsa!
Ravelry id: ponguette
Love the Arnett!
I love the Arnett! And what a great color…
Hope I win! Love your designs and Shibui yarns.
Ravelry ID sjordan
I think it’s a tie between Francis and Laverne for me, but I need a hat right now so Goltry’s up there too.
Ravelry: duckyknit
I love Francis! Other patterns are really great too, but Francis is so “mine” 🙂 So clever constructed and very very beautiful.
Thanks for this wonderful giveway!
Jurga on Ravelry
I think Laverne looks like fun.
Someone should tell the model a joke.
mimoknits
I absolutely LOVE Arnett. That’s my favorite type of sweater.
stobol on Ravelry
Francis is the one I’d like to start knitting right away! I love backside details, but there are so few such patterns to find.
Great patterns, I enjoyed looking at all of them.
Kirva in Ravelry
gorgeous booklet! wearable, clever designs and wow the yarn comes in such beautiful colours!
Olga, congratulations on another fantastic book!
I love Ada top, although sadly don’t have a body to do it justice. Tulsa is stunning as well, and I guess it is the one I’d make for myself.
Arnett looks amazing. The color chosen, the fabric’s texture, and the morphometry of the design are all incredibly appealing. Beautiful work! (Ravelry = Erinaceous)
Wow, love all of these designs, but especially Marlow, for is great simplicity, and efficient beauty.
Francis is my favourite – simple lines but looks great.
Robynpearl on Ravelry.
I swear I’m not trying to suck up but this is one of those rare times when I like EVERY design…seriously!
They are all absolutely stunning – thank you so much for the give away – much appreciated!
I found Arnett on Ravelry a month ago and have been looking forward to the collection being published – so Arnett is my favourite 🙂
Just faved a bunch on Rav, but I think my favourite is Arnett.
– randomcyn on Rav
Francis is just so sweet and I think it could be styled in a number of ways.
katieemma on Ravelry
It’s so hard to choose, I guess Laverne. Or Goltry… Or ….
Louknits on ravelry
Gorgeous patterns….congratulations! I love, love, love Arnett and Francis. My Ravelry ID is traceyg22.
I love them all, but Tulsa is so interesting I’d knit that first.
Great book!! I am in love with Francis and I will knit it whether I win or not! 🙂
“Arnett” won my heart, but I’m afraid to be in love with “Francis” too… I’m such a fickle woman 😉
Thanks for the game !
my RavID : cochenille.
Congratulations on some wonderful knits! I do love Arnett and Laverne!
Ravelry ID: Sampling
Love ur designs and yarn…
Gosh Olga – I think this is some of your best work yet! Simple, Flexible, comfortable and with zen-like restrained detailing. Love them all but Arnet is going straight on my knit queue. LOVE that!
They are all so stunning! I think I’d start with Arnett, but I’d really like to knit them all! (sassykrafty on Ravelry)
Congratulations on the beautiful booklet, Olga!
I can’t decide between Francis and Laverne. Would love to knit both of them one day.
My Ravelry ID is Yulita.
I love Francis and I can’t wait to make it! But truly they are all lovely designs.
Arnett is the icing.Goltra,Marlow,and Tulsa are the cake.Fabulous work! Meprosperous on Ravelry
I love Francis.
Rav. Name is PepperAnne
Kerr1779@aol.com
Congratulations Olga – some really lovely pieces there! I particularly like Ada, it seems wearble, simple and yet beautifully executed. Would love to give it a try!
[sooz on ravelry]
I love ALL of those! angielatte @ gmail
Arnett,or Marlow no wait Arnett…I can’t decide!
What a great giveaway! I love them all but my FAVE is Frances. Not only is it just my style, but I love that it is full of new techniques to learn. My favourite thing about the craft of knitting is that there is always something new to learn. Congrats on another amazing set of beautiful designs!
Arnett is my favorite. I like an uncomplicated design with a twist and Arnett is a cardigan in my taste. They are all beautiful designs so I hope I will win 🙂
I love Arnett, it is so lovely!
Mette82 / Mette.henden@gmail.com
Laverne, the versatility of one item is Briliant:)
Ravelry ID: janieb
Oh my! The colour and the sheen of that gorgeous yarn. Arnett is my favourite for sure, it would be my wear everyday coat too. So many options with it I would never take it off! You are very talented 🙂
I love Francis. So versatile, so wearable. Great colour too.
It’s so difficult to choose just one… but the one I would definitely see myself wearing is Francis 🙂
rav ID Vaida
My favourites are Ada and Goltry 🙂 I’m Katrix on Raverly.
love new designs – hope I win the book but I will be buying it – Love Laverne and Tulsa – thanks for the opportunity – RAV profile – Melodyinfl
All of the designs are beautiful and wearable, but my favorites are Arnett and Francis. Thanks for the giveaway!
Let’s see — this is a collection where I would/could actually make and wear everything — but what catches my eye this morning as a fav is Laverne!
congrats, by the way, on this wonderful set! I’m very fond of Shibui yarns and you must have been “in heaven” working with them 🙂
It’s a tie between Arnett & Francis! They are both so lovely! (jingerly on Ravelry, by the way…)
I love tulsa shawl so much texture…. smile thanks Doti
The patterns all look amazing, but my favorite is Francis. The construction looks really interesting!
Jill
Rav id: nodice
The patterns are all fabulous. Congratulations! If I had to choose one it would be Arnett. No wait -Francis is the one! Or maybe Ada. Much too difficult to choose just one or even two!
rav id busymom07755
Francis. But I’m pretty intrigued with most of the others too. 🙂
pencraft on Ravelry
EEee!! I love Goltry! The stitch pattern is lovely with that yarn. 🙂
Thanks for the giveaway!
Rav ID: chrysalisknits12
email: kuzni.t@gmail.com
Francis does it for me. I really love all the patterns in the book, but this one just jumps off the pages. I “liked” Olgajazzy on FB too.
Hello,
I like Francis because it’s simple, but versatile, and would also stretch my knitting skills.
I like the Francis too, it reminds me of Hanne Falkenberg designs with the side to side construction.
Nice work!
ayola on Ravelry
I adore the Francis tee. 🙂 RavID: slippinginbetween
I think Francis is my favorite as well 🙂
Goltry is so beautiful, but all of them are crazy beautiful
thank you for the give-a-way
^_^
my ravelry ID:hippylove
Francis is such a gorgeous pattern, I’d love to try it!
My revelry ID is GennieCatastrophe.
I’m with so many others. Francis is just my style and so interesting. Could see myself wearing a silk version most of the summer with anything.
Rav: Kerneknop
I love the Francis pattern.
ikkinlala AT yahoo DOT ca
The whole collection is beautiful! I think my favorite might be Francis.
Ravelry – NicKnit
wow these patterns are so beautiful! I love the colors and the patterns!
I love all of them, but Arnett is probably my favorite.
Francis definitely, though I love every pattern in this booklet, which is rare. Thank you for such a wonderful set of designs and patterns.
The coat you live in 🙂 I love the hat and mitts, but can definitely live in one of those…
hi dear. miss you!!! love your new designs. xoxoxo
psst – how do i purchase a copy of the booklet???
I love Goltry! And everything else, too, of course!
I really love Arnett, the pockets slay me!
Tulsa has to be my favorite but they are all beautiful!
I love Goltry! But they are all beautiful!
On ravelry: jessicamw
Tough to choose, but Arnett is a beautiful piece – the type that makes me both excited and nervous (“will it look that good if I knit it??”) to pursue a new knitting project!
(rav id is yuhwenling)
Question re. ADA; what do you mean by sm, p1tbl, sm? I am confused by the second sm.
Anne, couldn’t see where to respond to you directly, so I will post here – sm or slm means slip marker; so instruction reads, slip marker, purl 1 through the back look, slip marker.
Hello…I have a question on the instructions for Goltry. The hat is knit in the round in the awesome double garter st but no direction on doing that in the round. Can you help? Thank you
Anonymous, what do you mean no direction? The instructions are in the pattern are very clear on how to work it. If you are having a problem with the pattern, email me directly at infoATolgajazzyDOTcom