Through the Loops!: Back Roads & Brownstones

It is always a joy to work with Amy Herzog. She is creative, fun, talented, and smart. The roots of our most recent collaboration started well over a year ago when she was in NYC for business and we found a few hours to spend some time knitting and chatting about design over lunch. We had recently published The Charles Collection along with Elinor Brown, and knew we wanted to work together again. With Elinor too busy to join us this time around, we set to work scheming on what we could do with just the two of us. We decided that a small collection would work best this time, with each of us focusing on our own regions. Amy lives in New England, I live in NYC. It seemed a perfect theme for us. Truthfully, we each have a little of both the country and the city in our souls, which may explain why we get along so well, but for this project I would represent the city and Amy would represent the country. We named the collection "Back Roads & Brownstones", and decided to publish the collection in pieces, with new installments every two weeks. The designs are each published independently, with patterns available individually. Today I am introducing the fist installment of the collection with two related patterns, the Brownstone wraps.The Brownstone wraps are Vestry Street and Laight Street, named after two New York City streets in the Tribeca neighborhood. Both designs feature a similar lace pattern, but have different shaping and are worked at much different gauges.

Vestry Street is a light fingering weight, half-pi shawl, with bands of lace separated by broad bands of garter stitch. The lower edge is finished with a delicate picot bind off.

This shawl has a more refined, uptown look. Perfect for a romantic dinner, or evening at the opera.

Vestry Street

Size: One Size

Finished Measurements: 46 wide x 20” deep

Yarn: Swans Island Fingering, 100% Certified Organic Merino; 525 yards per 100 g skein, color: Bittersweet, 1 skein

Needles: US 6 (4mm) straight or circular needles or size to obtain gauge

Gauge: 18 sts & 38 rows = 4”/10cm in Garter Stitch- blocked, always take the time to check gauge

Other Materials: stitch markers, tapestry needle, cable needle

Laight Street is an edgier, downtown look. Worked in a bulkier yarn with a choice of scarf or wrap sizes, this design is perfect for tossing on over your bomber jacket as you wander around the Soho. This time around the lace is all over with openwork areas framing solid sections of chunky cables.