This man sweats at the thought of wool. And he won't touch a hat, so I don't bother to make them for him, much as I would like to. But for the most part, he picks out the yarn, scours the patterns and books in my studio and picks out what he wants. He just asked for the 6-button henley that's in KNITS MEN WANT. By the way, the photos for the book, including the henley shot below were taken by Jared Flood, AKA Brooklyn Tweed.
Mark picked a brown rowan wool cotton from my stash for his henley, a good choice for a guy who sweats. But like most men he hates fittings and I know better than to try and get him to try anything on. I measured an older sweater of his for the measurements, but didn't take into account that he's trying and succeeding in losing weight. I should listen more when he tells me his clothes are starting to hang on him. The body finished and the sleeves ready to be picked up and knitted down, I slipped it on myself to get a sense of size. You know that feeling when you put on a piece of clothing that fits so perfectly and hangs so well on you that you never want to take it off? Uh oh. If this fits me so well, his new slimmer physique is going to go for a swim in this sweater.
And here's where the lucky part comes in. He comes in to my studio, sees me in his sweater, sees how amazing it looks on me, and before I could even offer to rip it out and start again, he tells me that he would be delighted if I kept it for myself and just made him something else when I'm done. So what's he going to get? Probably the same henley, but in a different color than mine.
Which, by the way, has 1 sleeve left to go, then it's off to Tender Buttons on east 62nd street for the perfect finishing touch. I'll share pictures of that experience in a few weeks.
The henley is gorgeous, Bruce! Lovely in the light purple, but truly divine in the blue-grey. You might well inspire me to knit again - after two big projects that ended up in his drawer ("It's too hot in Sydney to wear wool"), I'm a little gunshy. I like the idea of knitting in cotton though - will see what is available locally.
ReplyDeleteI'm also fascinated with the jumper knitted in the round. When I was younger, I always wondered whether it was possible to make a garment "without any seams or needlework" (as per the song Scarborough Fair), and I read about the aran jumpers that were traditionally knitted in one piece. Is that how you made Mark's raglan?
Celia
Sounds like a wonderful match my friend
ReplyDeleteMike (Hookmeup)
one hook productions