Simple Lines

Knit Together with Cynthia MacDougall

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[/span6] [columns/] There is comfort in simplicity. Fashion has come a long way from the over-sized skirts and layers of ruffles that appeared in centuries past. My preferred fashion statements use simple lines.
One of my favourite periods in fashion was the 1930s. During this decade, glamour ruled – gowns were made of shimmering satin cut on the bias, with simple lines that flowed over the body like quicksilver. Knitted dresses from this period also had simple, close-fitting shapes with a minimum amount of embellishment.
There is something about the way a pencil, A-line, or bias skirt skims over the hips. The simple lines of the Chanel jacket, with its boxy shape and collarless neckline is timeless, and today, we all know that nothing beats the comfort of the simply-shaped T-shirt.
Using simple lines to make garments allows the knitter (or seamstress) to make the fabric the star of the show. This can be done by using a luxurious specialty yarn in a rich textured pattern, or by using a loud novelty yarn in a very basic stitch pattern.
Variegated yarns, which have become so very popular in the last decade, lend themselves to simple lines that don’t have row widths that change. Variegated yarns have a tendency to “pool”. When the stitch count changes throughout a garment – at the armholes, for example – the colour pooling changes. This can add to the overall design, or it can very much detract from it.
Read more in our Summer 2014 issue.

Article by Cynthia MacDougall
www.CGKnitters.ca
blog: cgknitters.ca/blog/
ravelry name: macknitnow