Web-Letter Issue 210 – Silky Alpaca Lace Open Front Cardi

Last week we featured the accessories winner in Unwind’s Silky Alpaca Lace Design Contest. This week we are thrilled to unveil the winning garment, Suzanne Shaw’s Summer Tank Cover Up! Suzanne’s brilliant shaping, stylish silhouette, and clever use of the yarn won us over. She chose to knit her design in one of our hand-painted colorways held double. When holding variegated yarns doubled, the usual challenges of pooling and striping are eliminated, and the result is a harmonious mélange of colors. The sleeve caps, shaped with short rows, hug the shoulder in a graceful curve. The slight flare at the hip drapes in that distinct way Silky Alpaca Lace does. The open-front look is so hip, and flattering on many body types.

Unwind’s designers are people who knit for fun and maintain full professional lives outside of their LYS. All the designs are beautiful and each designer deserves a round of applause for taking the risk of going public and presenting their vision, not just to be judged by the CEY creative team, but also to be judged by the world at large. We stand awed by their collective talent. Hopefully this will inspire YOU to create your perfect garment! Visit our blog to learn more about Suzanne Shaw's Open Front Cardi in Silky Alpaca Lace, and to see our runner-up!

Chelsea Gable

(file size: 2 MB; published August 27, 2011)

If you have difficulty with the PDF, try these: page 1 – page 2 – page 3 – page 4

The Yarn:

Silky Alpaca Lace
70% Alpaca • 30% Silk

Silky Alpaca Lace is a beautiful blend of fibers, spun into a gossamer yarn that knits into amazing lightweight pieces.

The alpaca in this yarn provides warmth and a soft halo, the silk adds a subtle sheen to the knitted stitches. Worked in lace with larger needles, Silky Alpaca Lace makes lovely, light-as-air shawls, garments and accessories.

For more on Unwind's Design Competition...

Last week, our decision inspired heated conversation amongst our readers. This was our first amateur design contest, and seeing all the entries come in was so fun! The judging? Not so fun. The runner-up in the garment category, the Belmont Hoodie, was squarely on our list of favorites. You will be shocked to learn that Karen Larsen, the designer, is a beginner knitter! Such talent! Learn more about both garments on the blog this week.

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