Griffith Hoodie: Pattern Notes

Modeled on our front porch in the evening.While I'm still waiting for my film from Hawaii to be developed, I've decided to go back and complete the pattern notes for some of the many projects that I haven't been able to catch you up on. Lucky for me, the weather here has finally become so blessedly Californian and cool again that I was able to wear my Lush Hoodie to take some pictures for you. This is my personal version of the hoodie that I designed for the Greetings from Knit Cafe book last summer, and it is a staple of the comfy-yet-chic portion of my wardrobe in the fall and early winter. I like it best with the hood popping out from under a suede jacket, but the weather here is simply too hot for that! Here's the back story:

Griffth or "Lush" Hoodie
MindofWinter Designs
Materials: Knit with eleven skeins (92 yards/skein) of Elsbeth Lavold's Designer's Choice Angora (60% Angora/20% Wool/20% Nylon) in color 01, (a pale grey-blue) on size US7 and US8 Clover Bamboo circulars.
Gauge: 17 sts and 24 rows to 4 inches
Size: x-small, 32" bust

The process of designing the hoodie, which is a very simple sweater, ended up being quite challenging. It was a really good experience for me to have after the ease of Knitty and Magknits submissions, where I had been able to choose the concept and yarn myself, and knit the piece in advance. I designed this hoodie in spring 2005, when I was still living in DC. Moxie had taken me back to LA for my birthday in January, and while I was visiting, Suzan and I had talked about her plans for the book. That visit and another quick visit in May while I was interviewing were the only times that we were able to meet in person. We did everything else over e-mail and phone.

This pose reminds me of Froggy. I miss her.Suzan's vision was to create an understated garment that fit like a slightly sleeker version of a sweatshirt, with clean lines. The "work" of this piece was to be done by the fabric, which had to be something that was absolutely luxurious to the touch, and sumptuous to look at. Other than Moxie's Wedding Sweater this was the only garment I had ever designed to meet someone else's specifications. Given my druthers, I would have probably done the hoodie a little differently, with a few more details to push up the skill level. In fact, I designed the original with pockets (which I still haven't tried out), but Suzan nixed those in order to maintain the vertical line of the front so that the hoodie could be easily worn under a jacket. In the end, I really love the result of the collaboration. I feel that the final design is something we both would make and wear. It is accessible to knitters of all skill levels, and a real "staple" piece that can anchor any any wardrobe. And it is sumptuous and luxurious to boot. I love mine and have worn it more than any other piece that I've designed.

The yarn for the hoodie changed three times during the process, before Suzan hit on Classic Elite Lush, which seemed "just right." For me, designing is almost always about the yarn, so finding a yarn that embodies exactly what I want to convey is important. Her choice of Lush was dead on. Unfortunately, by the time that we found the right yarn in the right color, my work schedule had gotten considerably worse as well, which led to the most challenging aspect of designing the sweater - I wouldn't have time to knit it myself.

This was rather a large milestone for me, as I had previously designed as I knit, working out the kinks along the way. Luckily, Suzan enlisted Denise Boutier, aka "Grandma Hollywood" (who does not, by the way, look like a grandma, although she is one) to knit the prototype. All I can say is thank goodness for Denise. Not only was she able to execute the knitting portion of the job flawlessly, she was also the most perfect, gracious editor one could ever want. She scouted out a number of mistakes and ensured that the pattern was the clean version that you see in the book before a "real" editor ever got to it, much to my relief. Personally, I would have been frustrated if someone had handed me the hoodie pattern that she was given to knit - it was not "tight" by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, Denise kindly and diligently set up extensive e-mail communication with me. While Moxie and I were vacationing in Lake George (where I was knitting the WeHo Bikini, which I call the CafeKini), Denise and I went back and forth in a series of about 20 e-mails, fixing all the nits. She was definitely my co-captain on this one, and she became my friend as well.

From the back.When I finally moved back to LA in late July last year, Denise was finishing the hoodie in anticipation of the photoshoot for Greetings from Knit Cafe in early August. Despite all our communications, I was nervous. What if I had screwed up and the design was a total flop, which no level of knitting skill could hide? With only a week left before shooting, this could be a total disaster. I went to the Knit Cafe only a few hours after driving cross-country to LA with everything I needed in the bed of my truck. That's how nervous I was. I met Denise for the first time, laid a wet one on her, and was relieved to see the most beautiful version of the hoodie that I could have ever imagined sitting on the back work table. It felt nearly miraculous. After that, everything was downhill. The photoshoot was a fun flurry of activity which I caught glimpses of on evenings and weekends, editing occured sporadically throughout the fall (the hoodie had no remaining errors), and then there was the long, long wait for the book to go to press in the spring.

Modifications:
I wanted a version of the hoodie for myself, and I also wanted to "test knit" it personally at least once, so I worked it up in some Elsebeth Lavold Angora which I had stashed. I made a few modifications for the difference in gauge (Elsebeth Lavold's Angora is bulkier than Lush), short-rowed the shoulders, and left out the zipper (I had plans to put one in that never materialized, since it works well without one) but other than that, the pattern is the same as the original. It worked!

Impressions of Elsebeth Lavold's Angora and Classic Elite Lush:
I love both of these yarns, but they are not for the faint of nose. It is the nature of the angora beast to shed, so if you are sensitive to having fluff in your nose, I would recommend substituting a nice merino instead. If you want the halo without the loose fluff, knit the merino with a coordinating strand of lace-weight mohair like Rowan's Kidsilk Haze or K1C2's Douceur et Soie. This is a very friendly way to use mohair lace-weight, which will cause you far less anguish than actually knitting lace with it. You should also nix the angora (and the mohair) if you have itch sensitivities and plan to wear the hoodie next to your skin. Both Lush and Designer's Choice Angora have wool content to keep them from being too delicate. It's soft and luxurious for the most part, but it can itch as well. Angora pills naturally. I considered shaving the pills from my hoodie prior to photographing it, but decided to leave the pills so that you would get an idea of what happens after a season of wear. To me, the result is completely acceptable. This is a nice, natural, gentle pilling, which can easily be taken care of with a quality sweater shaver if it bothers you. It's the same type of pilling that will occur with a fine cashmere. If it bothers you, substitute merino - again, you can use the lace-weight mohair to add halo - neither should pill easily.

As for a comparison of the two yarns, I would say that Lush is slightly more delicate and slightly more drapey and luxurious. I wanted my hoodie to be as durable as possible, so I was happy to go with the Designer's Choice Angora, which is very, very close to Lush in character. I worked with the Designer's choice more extensively, so I can say a little bit more about it. First, don't be put off by its initial hand. This is a yarn that blooms with blocking and takes on a much more refined feel after finishing. Second, do swatch and block your swatch, because the yarn will grow a little (not too much, but a little) with blocking. It's good to know how your yarn will behave if you want a nice fit - take the gauge for the hoodie after blocking. To be safe, I would assume that this is true for the Lush as well. My experience of it was only in swatch form (and I only measured after blocking), but better safe than sorry.

I've worked with two of Elsebeth Lavold's yarns now (the other is Silky Wool), and have found them to be very thoughtfully designed. They definitely earn the name "Designer's Choice". I like the Angora so much that I have a sweater's worth of it stashed in two other colors. It's good stuff. If anyone has used her Cable Cotton let me know - I'd be really interested to hear how it works up as well. My expectation is that its a fine yarn.

Tips:
I don't think there's anything particularly tricky about this hoodie, so I would recommend it to knitters of all skill levels. If your sewing leaves something to be desired, you can have your tailor add the zipper, or go super casual and leave it out.

A Last Look:
Note the camisole underneath, knit by High Energy Jenny: