I know you have seen the Kohno Kimono before, since it was published in knit.wear Fall/Winter 2016, but I wanted to show the photos my husband took of me wearing it in our garden last February, just before I sent it off to Interweave. This is how I introduced it: Inspired by the sculptural aesthetic of architect Hugo Kohno’s work in Tokyo, is this oversized long kimono style jacket with short wide raglan sleeves. It is adorned with a domed check pattern ending in wide moss stitch borders at the front, bottom and in the sides.
The yarn I suggested and had used in my swatch was a favourite combination of Rowan Lima – an alpaca and merino blend in a chainette yarn – together with Rowan Fine Tweed. Instead editor Meghan Babin suggested using The Fibre Company, Acadia and that was a clever choice since it is a lovely yarn to knit with and has a luxurious feel to it. This is how it is described by The Fibre Company themselves: “Acadia is a 2-ply yarn with a rustic look and a soft hand. A subtle tweed effect created by the silk noil is combined with a heathered base and then overdyed”. It is made of 60% wool, 20% alpaca, 20% silk with 133 m/145 yards on each 50 g skein and takes a 4 mm/US 6 needle. The gauge is 21 stitches and 32 rows in stockinette stitch measures 10 cm/4″ square. The sample is knitted in Sea Lavender, a soft grey with lilac undertones. The Kimono takes 13 (13, 14, 15, 16, 16) skeins. The Fibre Company Yarns are distributed by Kelbourne Woolens in the US.
The Kohno Kimono is oversized and I am wearing the third size with a bust circumference of 124 cm/49″ with 32 cm/12.5″ of positive ease. The finished size: 112 (118, 124, 132, 137, 142) cm/44 (46½, 49, 52, 54, 56½)”. I was delighted to see one of the knitters attending my workshop in Stavanger had started knitting it. The English pattern is available as a single pattern to download but also as part of the wonderful knit.wear Fall/Winter 2016 digital issue available both as a digital issue or as a print issue. I have ordered a few more colours of Acadia and cannot wait to see them and swatch with them.
