Day 5 of 8 Days of Designs: A Play of Fiber & Texture

We are onto Day 5 of the design introductions from my latest collection: Romantique - Autumne/Hiver 2013, and I thought we'd lighten the palette up just a bit with my cowl design for this season - the Lush Looped Scarf:

I am a pretty big cowl fan. I have cowls in most colors, and I love designing them. This one was especially sweet because it's just slightly over-the-top - both in terms of length and the amazingly beautiful yarn choices. 

Initially, I used Tess' Designer Yarns Silk and Ivory for the main body of the shawl. A 50/50 silk/wool blend, I cannot relate to you just how soft this heavy fingering/light dk weight yarn is. And with 665 buttery soft yards in every skein + amazing custom colorways, what's not to love?

This cowl is slightly different than my other longer length cowl designs in that the main body is worked lengthwise. Getting through the initial first row might seem a little, shall we say, long? - but once done, the easily memorized stitch pattern makes this a great evening project. You'll be so engrossed with other things, you won't realize just how quickly you'll breeze through its main portion.

Then, you'll need only one more ball of laceweight mohair - in the case of my sample, I used Elann.com's Silken Kydd in the baked apple colorway (doesn't that just sound yummy?). It's held double, and the edging goes quickly. The subtle lines created by the edging stitches (as well as the fiber content) are a textural counterpoint to the main body lace. If you're not one for mohair, definitely feel free to choose another fiber blend with a halo - angora is another great choice.

This lush piece falls so nicely around the neck and shoulders and provides excellent, stylish warmth. It's a great added bonus to be able to work with great fibers that are so soft next to the skin.

I'll be back on Friday with another installment - we're getting down to the designing wire.





And a final, small update: I'm now whole hog (well, almost) on social media: I'm @DeniseVoiedeVie on Twitter, and DeniseVoiedeVie on Instagram. Do feel free to follow along.