Langestt dress

August 24, 2015











Today I'm sharing the most beautiful, wearable, and flattering garment I've possibly ever made: Langestt by Sarah Hatton from her Winterscapes book.  I've been searching for the perfect dress to knit for years, and if you've ever thought of knitting a dress, search no more, this is it.  The most flattering feature of this dress, besides the wide boat neck that I always love, is the shaped side ridges (simple purl rows every 4th row).  The waist decreases and increases are made just inside the ridges (see close-up above) and makes a beautiful hourglass shape.  I made the smallest size as is, except for lengthening the sleeves and adding a few more waist decreases and at a quicker rate.  The featured yarn is a new one from Rowan this year called Alpaca Merino DK, which is very lovely; I've knit a swatch and have some on order for another project in the book.  I'll review that yarn soon, but in the meantime I did have some stash that I had my eye on:  Kidsilk Haze in Hurricane combined with Rowan Fine Art in #325, a bright mid-blue that might have been an unreleased shade as I can't find it anywhere and received directly from Rowan.  It has just a little bit of tonal color changes that gives the knitted fabric a bit of life.  KSH is a lace weight and FA is somewhere in between a lace weight and fingering weight.  When I swatched the two together, they made a perfect DK weight yarn and the most gorgeous, soft and subtly fuzzy fabric.  That combo is pure pleasure to knit and pure pleasure to wear.  Both yarns would be considered luxury and not inexpensive, but both have excellent yardage, with FA at 437 yds. and KSH with 230 yds.  For my size, the dress cost was just over $100, which is a bargain for a dress like this.  I have all the links at the end.

Now about my model, you're probably wondering, who is this beautiful girl?  This is Jessica, a junior in high school, and my 15 year old across-the-street neighbor.  You'll be seeing a lot of her. I had just finished a skirt for my 14 year old granddaughter, and before I mailed it off to her, I asked Jessica if she would mind popping over and modeling it for me so I could blog about it.  She looked so cute in the skirt, I asked her if she would model a cowl, then a cardigan, and well, in an hour she had modeled 10 garments, all pieces I've made over the last year that hadn't been blogged about, just waiting for the perfect pictures!  Any blogger in her 60s will tell you, pictures take blood, sweat, and tears.  But that's all changed here at Knitionary!  We had so much fun and I'll be sharing more about our time together in future posts.  And did she love this dress?  Yes, she did!  She ran home to get her hat and boots so the photos would be perfect!  She swirled around and hugged herself and said it was so soft!  So adorable--I love teenagers.

To say that Jessica looked beautiful in everything I put on her is a monumental understatement.  And please don't ask me how how someone 5'9" can wear the same garment that was made for someone 5'2". I really don't want to think too much about that.  To keep my posts real, I'll also put up a picture or two of me modeling the same thing.  I'm 64 and believe it's still possible to wear a mini sometimes, but in the winter, it's best for me to add boots and tights.  I'm from that generation that invented minis, and it's a hard habit to break! Below is me in front of the computer, grainy yes, but at least you can see the fit.  I love it so much and can't wait for cold weather to arrive!  

I highly recommend Sarah's book, there are so many beautiful designs--I reviewed it here.  You already know how much I love KSH and FA.  I often knit traditional set-in sleeves with a new(ish) top-down technique and did so for this sweater.  If you'd like to learn that easy, perfect-fit technique, please read this post.  My Rav page has the yardage and needle details.

Winterscapes by Sarah Hatton
my Ravelry project page



Now that I've got so many great pictures, I'll be making regular FO posts!  Just wait until you see what I have to share!  However, my computer has slowed down to a snail's pace, so it's going to the hospital today and may not be back for a few days.  If you comment and I don't respond here or on FB, you'll know why.  Have a great week, and happy knitting!  xo, K


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9 Comments

  1. Looks great on both of you! What a great dress!

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  2. a stunning dress, and looks great on both your neighbour and you! I love this dress pattern, I wish Rowan made it easier to buy individual patterns. Oh well!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely colour and looks great on both of you - stunning.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great dress! It looks fantastic on both of you. I love it that your neighbor is so enthusiastic about modeling for you.

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  5. It's just gorgeous! Looks very flattering indeed

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love that dress and your model, Jessica, is adorable.
    Carole

    ReplyDelete

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