Neons and Neutrals
Neons & Neutrals: A Knitwear Collection Curated by Aimée Gille of La Bien Aimée is a sequel to Aimée’s first book, the best-selling Worsted. This collection, if possible, is even better and includes 16 patterns from 16 talented designers. It is an eclectic collection of patterns that invites crafters to combine yarn in new and unexpected ways across brands and bases. The designs showcase modern knitting at its best, using a variety of techniques and unique and unexpected color combinations. Most of the patterns are photographed in two different samples – worked in different colors and yarns, giving you ample inspiration for your own versions.
The collection celebrates solidarity and cooperation: to showcase the many talented people in the knitting community, Aimée has put together a collection of not only patterns from designers around the world, but yarns from a variety of producers and dyers. All of them work beautifully together and different sizes and price points have also been taken into account.
The book features designs by the following designers: Inese Sang, Maaike van Geijn, Karen Cronje, Anna Husemann, Layla Yang, Caitlyn Turowski, Cecelia Campochiaro, Valerie Ng, Maysa Tomikawa, Florence Spurling, Lotta H Löthgren, Brandi Cheyenne Harper, Marie Régnier, Susan Chin, Brienne Moody and Julia Wilkens.
Dãrta - Inese Sang’s D?rta is a sophisticated sweater with soft, flowy drape and simple lines, highlighting the fiber and the front ruffle panel. The generous ease creates a comfortable, loose-fitting garment that looks great either tucked in or over pants or a skirt. Ruffles are worked in a single strand of fluffy lace yarn in a contrasting color and adds a romantic touch to the overall look.
Yarn weights: light fingering, lace suri alpaca
Wervel - Wervel is a yoked colorwork sweater worked in one piece, from the top down. After the yoke, it shifts to a larger gauge to speed up the knitting of the body and sleeves. The designer, Maaike van Geijn says: “I was mesmerized by the idea of a sweater design in different gauges since I like to knit and design colorwork yokes in a finer gauge, but tend to get impatient when having to knit plain body and sleeves in a similarly fine gauge.”
Yarn weights: light sport, lace
Geweef - Geweef by Karen Cronje is a long rectangular shawl that features various stitch and pattern sections that are worked in a long mirrored repeat throughout the length of the shawl. The colorwork bands incorporate a technique that is a variation on the Roosimine technique, a type of inlay colorwork technique predominant in Estonian knitting.
Yarn weights: fingering
Mollig - Anna Husemann’s Mollig is a reversible double-layered hat, knitted in stockinette stitch using a Seamless Intarsia technique in the round. One side is covered with colorful abstract shapes, while the other side is mostly plain with only three shapes. You can play with both sides, fold the brim or not, depending on your mood or your daily color scheme.
Yarn weights: worsted, fingering
Xiao Mai - Xiao Mai by Layla Yang of Qing Studio is a stylish and cozy piece that is perfect for those chilly days and nights. The oversized fit is both comfortable and fashionable, while the special stitches add a unique touch. This cardigan uses a mix of yarns to create different color combos, with a chunky dip stitch on the body and sleeves. It has a slightly oversized fit for comfort and wearability!
Yarn weights: sport, fingering, lace
Confluence - Caitlyn Turowski’s Confluence sweater is a top-down sweater with a folded collar, balloon sleeves, and a circular yoke. The sweater body and sleeves are knit holding 2 yarns together to create a marled fabric. The collar, cuffs, and hem are worked with just one yarn. This sweater is perfect for first time sweater knitters, as well as advanced knitters looking for a relaxing knit.
Yarn weights: fingering, lace
Reflected - Reflected is a reversible shawl made of two mirrored parallelograms in a biased rib. The two parallelograms together make a form that resembles a pair of wings and drapes naturally over the body in a comforting way. The designer Cecelia Campochiaro created the fabric by mixing two lace-weight yarns from two different brands.
Yarn weights: lace
YU - Valerie Ng wanted to create a knitted garment that didn’t scream “knitted” so she decided to use the herringbone stitch which has a bit of a woven look in this vest. To break with tradition, she wanted to make it even more unique and chose to combine different yarn weights and bases, too. As a result, Yu is worked with a thick yarn and a thin, fluffy yarn held together, flat from the top down in pieces then seamed.
Yarn weights: heavy aran, lace
Videira - Videira by Maysa Tomikawa has a hood and pockets, and these are its signature. The loose and comfy cardigan is worked continuously from the back body, hood, and fronts, and then stitches are picked up from the body to create the fun shaped sleeves. As the construction and stitches are simple, Maysa jazzed it up with intarsia.
Yarn weights: lace, fingering
Ferrule - Florence Spurling’s Ferrule is a celebration of color, this design also features simple intarsia which allows for multiple marled panels across the row. The simple shape of the silhouette and the easy-to-remember textured stitch pattern encourages you to get lost in the creative and rhythmic process. The sweater is worked in pieces, with the front, back and sleeves worked flat.
Yarn weights: lace, fingering
Klänge - Lotta H Löthgren’s Klänge scarf is worked from point to point and finished with an applied i-cord all the way around. The Klänge stitch pattern may look advanced but is worked over only 2 rows, and you’ll quickly get the hang of it, making this a relaxing and interesting project to work on. Klänge is fun to knit and easy to wear – two of the things Lotta loves in a good project.
Yarn weights: DK, lace
Harmony - In knitting, there are all kinds of ways to bring colors together. In Harmony, Brandi Cheyenne Harper does it by using intarsia to create color blocks in a seamless way. This cardigan combines different yarn weights in different colors. The body is knit flat in one piece from the bottom up. The sleeves are seamless and knit in the round on DPNs and have such an interesting construction!
Yarn weights: super bulky and bulky + fingering and lace for buttons
Stries - This ribbed hat by Marie Régnier is made of columns of twisted stitches and purl stitches. A blank canvas to play with colors and texture, Stries hat is a warm and colorful cloud with a striking effect. It is easy to knit and a true statement piece on a minimalist outfit.
Yarn weights: fingering, lace
Aliquot - This cowl by Susan Chin combines crochet and knit techniques. There are 3 different versions. Version 1 is the simplest, version 2 is twice the circumference, and version 3 can be reversed to show the crochet or knit side. You can also choose to make the cowl crochet-only or knit-only, and to give the cowl a mobius twist before seaming the ends of the tube (Sizes 1 and 2 only). The pattern uses different yarn weights and changing the yarns and colors between sections easily allows makers to personalize a palette for their cowl.
Yarn weights: lace, fingering
Brienne - Brienne Moody’s design uses contrasting colors in simple but bold and unexpected ways. The Brienne Cardigan is knitted from the cozy double cuff to the center in two pieces with some simple colorwork on one side, color-blocking on the other side and an exposed seam on the back. It has pockets and an easy shape; inspired by retro bomber jackets. Using muted colorways will give the cardigan a playful, vintage feel. Whereas using some punchy neons will yield a modern statement piece, reminiscent of contemporary abstract paintings.
Yarn weights: worsted
Punkt - Julia Wilkens realized that using several threads, it is possible to create an easy, yet impressive version of intarsia. The simple triangular garter shawl has an elegant semi-transparent surface with squishy dots in various sizes and colors scattered across it. Knitters can play around with colors and the placement of the dots without having to care too much about anything.
Yarn weights: lace