Look at the photo below: that’s the only photo I have to show the original look of that sweater. Though nicely knitted of 4ply cashmere, it had a bizarre shape. Very baggy bodice with super tight sleeves. Was it meant to be a cape-sweater to be worn over shoulders with sleeves functioning as a scarf?—I will never know because it was passed onto me by a friend who couldn’t wear it either. I made my first attempt at wearing in as seen on that photo, with sleeves removed and body slightly pinched for shape. That’s what you see in that photo in a ski resort town in the province of Quebec in Canada. The newly made vest was warm, but I didn’t like its bulk. So, I decided to go to the extreme measures and unravel the whole sweater, sleeves and all. Try doing that, it’s surprisingly rewarding, like any small and peaceful act of destruction.
Then, with several balls of yarn and an array of hooks I set up to experiment. I looked at some magazine photos (see the mood board below) from my “designer file”, tried and errored different stitches and hooks, started over at least 3 times before deciding on the end project. I had to take in consideration that crocheting calls for more yarn than knitting.
When it was finished, it was better than expected, yet different than planned. That’s how it works when I use no set pattern and rely solely on my own skills. Whenever I wear this sweater (actually, a cardigan, as some of my readers have pointed out), it becomes a centerstage conversation piece, which would never had happened with the store bought sweater as it was at the start.
More inspiration came from these vintage (?) Chanel crochet items. I snapped the pictures years ago, successfully forgotten about them, but I guess, the images stayed in my head, and my phone. So, upon scrolling through my photos while in search for something else long after the sweater was completed, I came across these ones, and smiled with recognition.
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