Minimalist Blouse #1
February 22, 2025
Today I have knitting, not cleaning, to share. I have been sick and so cleaning has been pushed aside, but between naps I was knitting. I felt pretty low for a while but since I'm feeling so much better, I went out to lunch yesterday with the birthday girls and wore my new sweater. It was a sunny day and this sunny color was perfect for the occasion. Can you see that the fabric has a fluffiness to it? It's so cozy and fluffy, and you may not believe it, but it's cotton!
When knitters see a fluffy sweater, we naturally think that it must be mohair. Knitters love to add a strand of mohair/silk to make a sweater go fluffy, but I can only do that for outerwear as mohair next to my skin won't work. When I saw this cotton I was thrilled to think that maybe I could make a fluffy pullover sweater too! I bought this cotton half off from my LYS, intrigued by its structure and content. Lang Aura is an 80/20 blend of cotton and nylon, then brushed to make it fluff, but with none of the itchiness that I feel with mohair. I cast on immediately and instantly knew I loved it, dashed back to the shop to buy more, but no luck, it was all gone. I've since done an online search but it's slim pickings worldwide. I am looking for the off white color but the only white yarn I could find in stock was from Europe and the shipping was $50 so that was a no. It really is special though and I hope another yarn manufacturer will come up with something similar. FYI, I put it in the washer and dryer to shrink it a bit and it performed beautifully. You can see my sweater on my project page on Ravelry.
The pattern is Blouse #1 by My Favorite Things. You can see all of her pretty designs here. I thought the minimalist look would showcase this beautiful yarn. The sleeves have a slight bell shape at the hem and I do think I'm going to make it again in Rowan Summerlite DK or Handknit Cotton, but with a more pronounced bell. The hems and neck are left unfinished to curl on their own. I love that look. In the picture below you can see the brushed fluff on each strand. I used the color Corn and while it's a bit of a departure for me, I'm planning to introduce more color into my summer wardrobe and this is a great start.
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| I'm planning a works in progress post. I have so many! I'm also going to tackle my kitchen and laundry room next week. Wish me luck. |
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11 Comments
You looked like a beautiful spring daffodil at the luncheon yesterday. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful sweater! I’m so glad that you’re feeling better. Take care of yourself! I’ll be in your area in two weeks! Hoping I can make it to your LYS!
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon, I'm sorry we won't be able to meet this time, but hopefully in May! We'll have to plan in advance!
DeleteHopefully! I’ll let you know so we can plan!
DeleteI am thinking of making Blouse No 1. Was it hard to get gauge with that yarn? I actually have some…
ReplyDeleteNot at all. The yarn was a perfect match for the pattern. It does make a dense fabric though. I thought with all the cotton content it would be more of a summer evening sweater, and it will be nice for chilly summer nights, it will be good for spring and fall too. Surprisingly warm.
DeleteYou look gorgeous in that sweater! I may have to add that pattern to my list. Could Lang have changed the name of the yarn as an update? I was looking at Lang Amanu My wips are many too. Hope you feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I simply love the pattern and will def. make it again. I couldn't find Ananu on the web so don't know if they have remade it under a new name. I am not familiar with Lang yarns to be honest. I do love that Aura though.
DeleteBeautiful color, Kristen!. I bet it makes you happy to wear it! I’ve heard that suri alpaca instead of mohair + silk is less scratchy. I wonder if that would work if you can’t find any more of the Lang yarn. chloe
ReplyDeleteThank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I too hear that alpaca and silk is a good replacement for mohair. Unfortunately I sometimes find that alpaca is scratchy. Ugh. I wonder if it's scratchy or it's that my skin is allergic to it in some way, but not all the time. If I'm super cold I can wear it, but if I'm warm in the slightest, alpaca will drive me nuts. I hate being such a fussbudget.
ReplyDeleteYou make my day when you make a comment!