As many of you probably already know, Brooklyn Tweed released their Winter Collection yesterday. You know what that means… KNIT ALL THE THINGS! The collection is broken down into two sections “Mode Eclectic” and “History of Art.” Mode Eclectic takes its inspiration primarily from Dianne Keaton in her classic performance in Annie Hall. (I must confess, I still haven’t seen this movie.) “History of Art” was inspired by a staff trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The whole collection is worth a look. They always make the prettiest Lookbooks anyways. It is very sweater heavy, not that I am complaining, because BT sweaters are the best. My first pullover was one of Jared Flood’s patterns and my second was by Joji Locatelli and appeared in Wool People 7. I also have an amazing Julie Hoover cardigan pattern that I still haven’t found the right yarn for. You see why I’m fighting the urge to queue all of them?
My favorite from Mode Eclectic would probably be Cordova. It has lovely, modern cables and the back is just as interesting as the front. I love Michelle Wang’s patterns. I’ve knit several of her accessories, but I’ve never done a garment. I will have to be careful, because I find that I struggle to get tight enough to match her gauge. Still, totally worth it.
My top pick for History of art is Carpeaux. The shaping is very architectural and there is a lot of thought put into the decreases on the back and the drape of the collar. Jared Flood is a true master of shaping garments to fit the body just right. His attention to detail is obsessive, exact and miraculously easy to follow. I know this would be a joy to knit. I also want to make it in that same rich, red color.
One thing I will say is that BT is getting a lot better at building in incentives for using their own yarn in their patterns. They are playing a lot with color in very specific ways in this collection (see Shui-mo). They are utilizing both Shelter and Loft at the same time (see Marshall). It’s a very smart business move, and one that larger companies like Rowan and Debbie Bliss have done for ages. However, it feels slightly different, coming from the BT team.
While it feels like a money grab when Debbie Bliss does it, it feels like a desire to generally bring great yarn and great design together in an intentional way. Maybe it’s because (in terms of volume) Brooklyn Tweed is still a “smaller” company. Jared Flood started as an independent designer. He wrote for other yarns for a while and it feels like he came to the conclusions that he wanted complete creative control over the design process. His line of yarns feels like a natural extension of his sensibilities.
All that to say, I will be buying a lot of BT yarn when I have money, and I will be knitting a whole lot of sweaters once that happens.
Hipster Spice 