Raising Ruins
This is my Capstone Collection for womenswear Fall/Winter 2022. This project consists of 21 knit swatches made by hand on a Passap machine, on a bulky cut hand-operated machine, or on a Shima SES-183-SWG. The goal of this collection is to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of knit structure and garment construction in a cohesive collection.
One element that I focused on throughout this collection is yarn choice. Using a slub yarn can give the knit a chunky and textured effect. Using a lay-in technique with wool roving allowed me to further explore this idea to create a "false slub" appearance with contrasting colors.
Another way I played with yarn choice was by exploring ways to vary the weight and gauge of a sample by tying ends of yarn off and then back on. This allowed a unique effect of yarn variation that is especially dramatic when photographed through light.
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Adding ends of metallic yarn, silk, or monofilament also allowed me to experiment with luster to contrast the softer tones of my collection.
Racking was used throughout the design process of this collection to create uniform movements of stitches. In some samples, I strove to achieve solid and predictable movements. In others, I made the movements random and removed more needles to create areas of miss stitches.
Continuing this idea of structure, I used transfer stitches and cabling techniques to create random and asymmetrical cable designs. When creating these pieces I didn't plan out ahead of time where the cables would fall, but I let their movements come naturally while I was knitting.
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Taking this idea of unpredictable structure I also experimented with hand embroidery.
Combining a number of the previous techniques, I also played with dimension and texture by creating jersey rolls or using held stitches.
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I also continued the idea of contrasting feeds using flechage, but also random striping with held stitches to make the design more unpredictable.
To top off my Capstone Collection, I transformed three of my swatches into garments. All three garments are made to be machine washed and are completely functional.
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The first garment is a sweater that I made by hand on a Passap machine. The cable design covers the front of the body, while the back and the sleeves are the technical back of single jersey.
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The second garment is a dress that I knit by hand on a Passap machine. The body uses a method of random racking with random needles pressed out of action to create areas of missed stitches. To shape the bust I used single jersey and flechage.
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The third garment is a pair of leggings which were knit as a whole garment on Shima equipment. The leggings feature two areas of pointelle design which are either random or structured in diagonal lines. The two areas switch places on each leg.
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Gallery of Collection Photographs
