Lucid Dreams | Colour Fade Gradient Cowl Vest Slipover

As one of my first designs, I loved the idea of making my own version of a gradient cowl vest or slipover. Each Designer has their own method of moving from one colour yarn to another. I’ve always loved mathematics and looked forward to creating a chart which can be read up or down.

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What was the inspiration for the design?

In making the prototype for this design, called Lucid Dreams, I used one flat colour and one variegated colour. “Variegated” means the ball of yarn gradually cycles through several colours. In my early knitting projects I get annoyed using variegated colours for tops. The variegated colour change made thin stripes on the body of the garment, but wide stripes above the armhole. (I know now to swap between two balls on the body and one ball above the armhole to keep the stripes even.) With Lucid Dreams I used the variegated colour just for the cowl and hemline mixed in a colour fade with the Main Colour. This created something similar to an Impressionist painted landscape which would be unique to this one garment.

Sourcing the yarns

During lockdowns all the stores were closed so shopping had to be done online. I came across the Schoeppel Crazy Wunderball and all their amazing colour options. This looked like a lot of fun to knit and would make an interesting colour fade. It would start out in all its magnificent hues and then become less obvious and it faded into one of the shades in the ball.

I liked the idea of moving to the light orange colour. Orange is so warming in winter and autumn. It can be less heavy on your complexion than red and more flattering than yellow. So next I was looking for the orange. I found what I was looking for on Lovecrafts in the UK, West Yorkshire Spinners Signature range. I bought what I thought was orange but, as often happens with online shopping, the colours are not accurate, particularly when you are buying from two different suppliers. Each would be using their own cameras and many suppliers just use the image from the manufacturer, not taking any photo at all.

The process is hit and miss and, in this case, it was a sort of a miss. I say sort of because when I unpacked the Signature yarn to use as the Main Colour it matched the warm red in the Wunderball anyway. Happy days!

Red was not the first choice but the vest turned out beautifully and I love wearing it.

 

Getting the most out of your gradient cowl vest

The Lucid Dreams vest is knitted quite long down to mid hip which keeps the kidneys and waist nice and warm on damp, cold days. I find this knitting design is best suited to casual or smart casual outfits. Pair it with a turtle neck or long sleeved t-shirt. The waist is a more relaxed fit so I would avoid any trousers or skirt that has a big, flowing silhouette. I like wearing this slipover with boot leg pants and boots or skinny jeans and sneakers. There is one skirt I wear with the Lucid Dreams and that is mid-calf but fairly close fitting down to the knees before gently flaring out.

The yarn is soft on the skin so you can wear a low neck top underneath without any scratching. Short sleeves keep the shoulder joints warm compared to a completely sleeveless slipover/vest.

The gradient cowl can be worn a number of ways.

• Turn it down in a neat double layer
• Allow it to fall naturally for a more artistic version
• Lift it forward from the shoulders and double it over at the front to keep your throat nice and warm.
• Lift the back and tuck it into a hat to keep your ears warm.
• Lift the back and lay it over a coat collar so all the glorious colours in your gradient cowl can be seen even when the rest of the vest is covered up.

Sizes available

Lucid Dreams is available in 12 sizes from 30-60 inch or 75-150 cm.

Yarn suppliers

Main Colour – West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-gb/p/west-yorkshire-spinners-signature-4-ply

Contrast Colour – Schoppel Crazy Wunderball in Australia with Cast off Collective, in the UK with Lovecrafts or in USA with Wool & Co.

 

You can purchase the pattern here.

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