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The Story:
The samples of Giselle arrived and I was immediately hooked. I had been dreaming of a soft mohair that was thin, but not too thin, and structured enough that it would make garments that were lightweight, yet substantial. Then I saw the colors in the palette—just stunning. The way that the kid mohair takes the dye, and the luster from this fiber, give them an almost metallic appearance. As soon as the samples of Giselle had been doled out for sample garments, color cards, etc, I was finally able to get my hands on some!
I had been waiting for weeks to get some of this yarn on needles. That was plenty of time to pick a color and then change my mind a million times before finally deciding on which color I would use first. I chose my favorite color of the moment, a dark orangy-pink, almost copper looking, color.
As for the design, I wanted my first project in Giselle to be a quick, easy knit that would allow me to try the yarn out in different stitch patterns. I decided to make a hat and scarf set, something that I would be able to wear often—a little vintage-y looking beret with a rib band, lace panel and stockinette stitch top and ascot type scarf in a lace pattern with soft fluffy garter stitch at the back neck. Now that the weather has turned cool, I get to wear my Giselle set all the time.
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The Yarn:
Giselle
66% kid mohair, 23% wool, 11% nylon
Giselle is a beautiful kid mohair and wool blend. It’s a little heavier than lace weight but plenty light and airy for floaty designs. Kid mohair is fine and lustrous and has many of the good qualities of wool. It’s soft and can absorb moisture yet still feel warm and dry. Mohair (the fiber) comes from Angora goats (the animal). Angora goats are small and friendly, and they’re shorn two times a year. Their fleece makes a yarn that is soft, lustrous, lightweight, and warm. Most often, mohair is spun with a binder for durability. Picture a two-part yarn: the fuzzy part, what you see and touch, and a core to support the fuzzy part. In Giselle, the fuzz is 100% kid mohair, and it is worked into a core made from of wool (for softness and warmth) and nylon (for strength). This allows the yarn to have body- it’s silky smooth to touch and wear, but not so drapey that your sweater will lose its shape. Knitted on a large needle, it’s lightweight and airy. The lustrous mohair also takes dyes beautifully as you can see in the dreamy 13 available colors of Giselle.
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The Pattern:
Here are the free downloadable Giselle Accessory Set patterns.
If you have difficulty downloading or printing the PDF pattern above, try these: page 1, page 2, page 3
The Stitches:
Both the Giselle Ascot and Beret have tabs added on with buttonholes worked in them to slide the button sewn onto the other side through and close the piece. The buttonholes are worked by binding off stitches on one row and then casting on above the bound off stitches on the next row. Below are some links to more information for binding off and casting on in the middle of a row.
Learn more about binding off stitches for a buttonhole.
How to do the Backwards Loop Cast On Method.
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