Hello, lovely knitters!
I hope this springtime is finding you well, and at least a little warm if you’ve got a winter that’s hanging on too long! It’s been ages since I’ve written you here, but lots has been happening for sure.
If you follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, you’ve heard about my Ultimate Sweater Boxes already. But today, I wanted to introduce the boxes to you here, and talk in a little bit more depth about how the design for this box came about.
Before I dive in, though, one quick-but-important thing: There are only a handful of boxes left of each color at this point, and I’ll be closing down orders on Saturday, May 5 at 5pm Eastern. So if you’re interested in a box, please act quickly!
And if you’re confused, and want to know what on earth I’m talking about…
Ultimate Sweater Boxes!
Most of the time, I try to create designs that are as flexible as possible. This is especially true if I’m designing for CustomFit: any sweater in the site needs to work in a huge different range of fibers and gauges. This is a lot of fun! And I really enjoy the challenge of it.
But it does keep me from diving into a silhouette that really needs a particular yarn pairing. And last fall, I realized I really missed designing this way. Further, I get tons of questions about making the perfect yarn choice, and the classes where I discuss matching materials to design are always jam-packed.
So I started playing around with the notion of the perfect combination of silhouette and yarn. From there, I plotted how I could partner with knitters to help at various important points in a sweater. And from there… …well, the idea of a sweater box was born.
The Ultimate Sweater Boxes are thoughtful, ideal combinations of yarn and design, all bundled up with my advice and help. They’ll come out a few times each year, and each one will only cost what the yarn and pattern would (if sold separately).
But you get a lot more:
- Both printed and electronic copies of the pattern;
- All of the luscious yarn you need to make the sweater;
- Styling tips and advice on sizing, swatching, and more;
- Personal notes from me talking in depth about the materials, design, and how they work together…
…plus access to a private page of tutorials and helpful info.
The Inaugural Box – Isham Road
I’m starting things off with the design Isham Road:
And I’ve chosen the ultra-luxe
Crave Yarns Caravan to make this silhouette shine. Isham Road is a current, easy-to-wear, easier-to-knit oversized drop-shoulder tee. With all of that fabric around your body, you want it to drape and move magnificently!
Enter Caravan. It’s soft, it’s lustrous, and it has a beautiful hand. I’ve chosen 5 strong, wearable colors. It’s lovely to knit with and the perfect match for this design.
You can see the sweater boxes here, and order them until May 5 at 5pm Eastern. (Most sizes are $150 and will take 4 hanks of yarn.) They’ll be on their way to knitters around the globe on May 9.
If you’ve got questions or comments, ask away! The boxes have received a wonderful reception so far and I’m so pleased that you’re all as excited about this as I am.
But I also wanted to talk, today, about why I started the sweater boxes with a piece that’s a lot more oversized and boxy than what you usually see from me.
Why Isham Road?
The short answer is: My own style has changed over the past several years.
The longer answer is: When I started the “Fit to Flatter” blog series that kicked off my knitting career, my style was pretty heavily skewed toward tailored, fitted pieces. I was just about 10 years younger, for one, and had a corporate job for another. Here are a few of my own sweaters from that time:
And let’s just be clear – those sweaters are great! There’s nothing wrong with fitted sweaters, and if that’s where you are, style-wise, that’s
awesome.
…but that hasn’t been where I’m personally at for, uh, quite some time now. I’m not sure when things changed, to be honest. But at some point over the last 5 or 7 years, I started choosing fluid, draped clothes over tailored, structured clothes.
I’m still a fan of simple clothing and clean lines. But
the stuff I see myself wearing in selfies is looser, now. A-line, or dolman, or tunic-length, or super-giant and really drapey. I
actually wear the drop shoulder sweaters (while the fitted stuff languishes).
So when I was ready to create the first sweater box, I knew I wanted to make a piece I’d positively live in. In fact, I created a prototype before the actual design, and I live in that too. (Despite all its problems.)
Not that I
need a reason to design something looser or less-fitted, I suppose! But I feel super
personally excited by this design. And I guess I wanted to share a bit about my own style journey, and where Isham Road fits in.
(Don’t worry, I’ll still design plenty of tailored things. I’ll just continue to branch out more, too.)
How about you? How has your style changed over the last 5 years? Are you still wearing the same things?
Amy Herzog Designs