Friday, October 12, 2012

Vostok

About five years ago, I bought some qiviut yarn from a now-forgotten vendor. I hated it. It wasn't anywhere near as soft as advertised, had as much stretch as garden twine, and somehow still warped out of shape after knitting. For the price, I could have bought some cheap acrylic and gotten the same amount of satisfaction.

While I was writing Fleegle Spins Supported, I purchased some unspun qiviut roving from Cottage Craft Angora...and boy, did my opinion of this stuff skid into a complete, 180-degree turnaround. The roving is a dream to spin, dyes beautifully, and knits up into a delicate, luxurious fabric that is difficult to stop touching.

Here's the roving, the spun yarn on a supported Trindle, and the final yarn, dyed a rich, dark purple.


From the admittedly costly and indulgent two ounces I purchased, I ended up with 900 yards of laceweight two-ply, and decided to knit Vostok, an exquisite design by Beth Kling. I used a size 3 needle, and had about 150 yards left over.


As you can see, the shawl consists of bands of ethereal lace, all of which are patterned on both sides.








I like semi-circular shawls, because they don't slide off your shoulders like triangular ones do. I was, however, bothered by the neck area, which seemed insubstantial. The shawl hangs from the cast-on edge, and that made me uneasy. And when I tried on the shawl, the neck just looked unfinished.

After consulting my library of crochet patterns, I decided to add a small collar. You can see it in the first photo--it's the odd thingie sticking up at the top of the shawl.

And here's what it looks like when worn:




And from the back:


I hadn't crocheted lace in a long time, but it didn't take long and I think the result is visually pleasing. I will be adding a similar collar to my Nouveau Beaded Capelet to give the neck a bit of body. That's a heavy shawl and a little collar will add strength, as well as a bit of interest to the neck area.

20 comments:

Arella said...

Interesting desing, very nice!

Anonymous said...

I hope you'll post a pic of your embellished Nouveau Beaded Capelet when you finish it. I still haven't started mine... other projects keep getting in the way... but a collar sounds like a nice addition.

Shame on that vendor for ruining qiviut!

steelwool said...

Lovely shawl, can't decide which is more impressive, knitting and adapting the shawl or spinning the fiber. kudos!

ripple said...

Unusual design, and a very interesting collar addition. But I would like almost anything that is that color - so rich!

Anonymous said...

very pretty! and the colour is lovely:)

Poison_kitty said...

That is a beautiful shawl, it might have to go in my ravelry queue! I've never used qiviut before, is there anything else it is comparible to?

Marissa said...

Wow. That is GORGEOUS. I love the color, and the neckline!

Kitty Kitty said...

Truly stunning.. I love the edge you added. Hope you are doing well.

Katrina said...

I'd love to know how you did the collar!

Yarn Changer said...

Very clever addition with the collar. Did the crochet give you more structure to make the collar stand up?

Winspearean said...

Oooh, this is gorgeous! Everything you do I want to emulate. Off to checkout qiviut roving. :)

yarnlot said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
yarnlot said...

Gorgeous capelet,especially the border...

Nic said...

Simply stunning. Love the collar. And the colour. It looks perfect on.

M. said...

I'd be interested to have a bit more insight into how you made the collar. I am pondering adding a ribbon backing for the nouveau beaded capelet, because, yup, it looks a bit odd as is, and kind of flimsy. I added a clasp, but still not satisfied.

MoniqueB. said...

The added collar clearly adds shape when you wear it. I'm still stunned by the fact how big the difference is between the main pattern (vèry open) and the fagotting (pretty close together).
Well put together.

I also have some (already spun) quiviut in my stash, and even mixed with angora, it hasn't tempted me to knit something up with it.

Glad to see you made it work!

Anonymous said...

That is beautiful. I think though, that the main pattern should have gone where the fagotting is; if you are wearing a shawl for warmth, as I do, then the most dense areas are better being closest to the shoulders. And it would make an equally interesting gradation between the densities of the patterns - densest at the neck, gosammer at the hem - if the two were switched up. That being said, I've done edgings in 'true lace' and I don't think I would ever attempt something like this. It is absolutely lovely!

Lady Violet said...

You know, when I saw that in the Saturday class at SAFF, I was thinking it looked like Vostok. It really is softer than it looks, and I love the collar you added.

Laritza said...

It is lovely! I too never liked the unfinished look of the semi-circular shawl, something to think about. There are plenty of collar patterns in Knitted Lace Collars by Tessa Lorant. Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PBA3V4/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00

Unknown said...

What a beautiful shawl, congrats on such wonderful dye itwork and Thank you for the link to our site ♥ regards Lorraine