Nautical: Pattern Notes

Talk about a stealth knit! I was going through my stash and came upon some Filatura di Crosa Brilla that has been bothering me forever. Sometimes I have something in my stash that I like well enough, but that I have in such weird quantities and color combinations that it really bothers me. Brilla has been a major offender in that way for some time, and I am always trying to come up with creative ways to get rid of it. When I do work with it, I love it. I made my friend Jen a beret from some forest green Brilla for Christmas last year that I just adored. But when it is sitting there, I loathe the stuff, probably because it seems so impossible to utilize fully. I was staring at two skeins of Brilla in platinum and all of a sudden I became hell bent on using it up. I had two skeins of deep navy as well, which seemed like a very good combo, and extremely current, given the nautical turn fashion seems to have taken for the spring. My goal was to use every inch of that Brilla, and for all intents and purposes I did. The result is my favorite summer knit top yet - I love it! Thank goodness I had that Brilla hanging about.

Photos taken in Portland, by the lovely Miss Marnie.

Nautical
MindofWinter Designs
by Yours Truly
Knit with two skeins (120 yards/skein) of Filatura di Crosa Brilla (58% Rayon, 42% Cotton) in Deep Navy (306) and two skeins in Platinum (394), using the Silver Reed LK150, carriage 3, tension 3 for the main body and Susan Bates size US 2 straights for the picot casings. Ties made from Wrights Prestige Ribbon in Organdy Navy, available at JoAnn's.
Gauge: 22.5 sts and 36.5 rows per inch.
Size: 32 bust, 27 waist.

The Pattern:
This is the first Hoolia design of the calendar year to actually make the execution phase. I have done a ton of sketching and swatching and am full of ideas, yet somehow I keep getting distracted by really cute patterns or by the need to use up stash now. I really did find myself driven to remove that silver Brilla from my stash for this piece, so I suppose this falls in that category as well. I went to sleep on a Thursday thinking about my plans for Nautical, and then made the main pieces on the machine on the following Friday evening and Saturday morning. I had swatched Brilla earlier on the little knitter, so I had notes and samples of possible gauges. I didn't even bother sampling the stripes, because I decided that in order to use every ounce of the stuff I had I needed to use a fairly even distribution of the two colors and that I wanted the stripes to be fairly fine - voila! - easy enough.

The part that took the longest was the picot casings, which I did by hand. I could have done them on the machine, but I wanted to leave them until I was finished with the main body just in case, so both edges were done afterward and then hand-seamed, which took some man hours.

Detail of the top with organza ties.The coup de grace is the ribbon. Marnie and I made an impromptu stop at the local JoAnn's in Portland, and I got an entire roll of deep navy organza for $2.99. (Since I scored the Brilla on Elann several years ago for about $4 a skein, the entire project cost me all of $20. Pretty nice, eh?) I am not sure how well the photos convey this, but the ribbon makes the top really different and special. It is sleek as a tube top and I will likely wear it without ribbons when I want a rather sexy evening look out of it with some flowing silk pants, but the ribbons really add a little Je ne sais quoi that gives the top a completely unique nautical flavor.

Tooting My Own Horn:
Although this was a relatively simple pattern to draft up and knit, it incorporates two of my favorite features. The first is the use of the ribbons, which is one of my big things in my wardrobe lately - just an easy way to be a little more fun and feminine in approach.

I wove the ribbons through the piece in such a way that they could be removed easily for washing and for the times when I just want an unadorned tube top. I prefer to have a single bow on the left, but the configuration could be easily changed to incorporate two bows, bows at the top, no bows, or to place the bows on the back, which could be really cute. I adore them.

The second is versatility - also a real favorite for me at the moment. I can wear Nautical with about half of my wardrobe. It looks great as a tube top with a simple silver necklace and some flowing black pants for an evening out, but it would also be cute with the organza ties, a denim mini and some navy espadrille wedges for a picnic. Marnie put together the smart ensemble with the khaki jacket (from her wardrobe) over jeans that I'm wearing in some of the photos, and I'm now pretty certain that I can pair Nautical with a suit (khaki, navy, maybe even white) and wear it in a work setting. As someone who prefers to have fewer pieces of clothing that go together in unique ways, the versatility of this little top is a big bonus for me.

Nautical paired with the white linen skirt I wore with Honeymoon, and some cute khaki capris with buttoned hems.

Techniques:
This would be beginner-easy but for the picot edgings which are sewn down. It incorporates stripes, minimal shaping, and easy yarnover picots.

With a jacket, for the professional look.Modifications:
If I knit this again I would make it just a skoosh longer. I only had four skeins of yarn to work with, so I was being uber-cautious with the yardage in the body. I have a little bit of each yarn left, so I may go crazy and add a half inch or so to the bottom edge, but I doubt it. The effort required to take out those picots doesn't seem worth it when I can simply throw on a jacket or add a sash to make Nautical less tarty in feel.

Finishing:
Once again, the most difficult aspect of making this piece is sewing down the picot casings. Even this isn't rocket science if you understand what you're trying to do. I intended to do a tutorial on this for everyone, but I never ended up seaming at a time when it was convenient to snap photos. I make these kinds of picot casings rather regularly, though, so I'm sure I'll have my chance soon.

Brilla blocks really nicely, but as I write this I realize I didn't even bother to block Nautical. It came off the little knitter in good shape and my picots were even, so it really wasn't necessary. I just seamed and went. I do think it will get even softer and have more drape after a wash, though. It's pretty soft and silky right off the needles.

An open jacket shows off the ties.Impressions of Filatura di Crosa Brilla:
I have a lot of Brilla in my stash in varying colors, so I do get tired of looking at it, but whenever I knit it, I love it. It hand knits nicely, and machine knits fairly well, though it is prone to snags and is slippery. The thing to know about Brilla is that it isn't going to stay in place if you have live stitches hanging around. It is hard to frog and get back on the needles, and if one of your stitches gets loose it will make a run of it. Just be aware and tink accordingly. From what I know of it, Brilla wears very well, has a pretty, shiny look, and feels gentle and silky. It's a very good choice for summer knitting, and for knits that you want to give a dressed up look to. I won't be buying more any time soon, as I still have quite a bit to use up, but I will enjoy using it.

Possible substitute yarns:
Anything shiny and silky with a cotton or silk content should do. GGH Mystik, which I used for my Honeymoon Cami, springs to mind, though beginners will find it a bit splitty.