A textured wrap with lots of knitting interest.
If you’re a lace wrap or shawl knitter then Emilie Hallet’s name is one you may have already come across. Designs such as the Vesperia Shawl and Eurybia Socks showcase her love for textured stitches and have brought both joy and comfort to knitters with their attentive details and well written patterns.
Emilie has a great eye for incorporating both beautiful and thoughtful details into her designs, making her a wonderful designer to work with, and we were excited to collaborate with her again for The Almanac Series III. For those new to Emilie’s work, the Wetlands Wrap is a versatile piece that combines texture and comfort in a stunning easily styled accessory. Émilie’s use of lace in the Wetlands Wrap highlights her talent for skillfully combining stitches to create timeless pieces that pair beautifully with the yarn she is working with.
The Designer
It was a moment of compassion and creativity that truly set Emilie on the path of design. When Canada extended a warm welcome to Syrian refugees, a project emerged to knit hats for them. Emilie developed a desire to create something unique and turning to a book of stitch patterns, she expertly combined stitches to craft her very first hat pattern.
From that point, knitting became a means of connecting with others and making a meaningful impact on the world one stitch at a time, leading to a deep love fro designing a diverse range of projects. Emilie is an avid fan of blending textures and techniques, relishing the challenge of reinventing delicate designs in a simple to understand way.
The Inspiration for the Wetlands Wrap.
Emilie is fascinated by water as an element and the essential role it plays in global ecology, so she knew she wanted to create a statement piece that would highlight water’s integral place on the planet, with lots of texture and elegant stitch patterns that are fun to both knit and to wear.
Inspired by the shapes that are made as water laps gently, the Wetlands Wrap design was developed after Emilie decided to showcase her love of cables and twisted stitches to emulate the movement of gentle waves retreating from the shore.
The Perfect Partnership.
Emilie admits, that like a lot of us she has a pretty substantial stash! Her collection is eclectic as she loves all the colours, whether they are vibrant or more subdued. She says, ‘I have a lot of single skeins bought simply because I loved the colour.’
When it came to designing the Wetlands Wrap, she chose Arranmore Light as a perfect partner for the ideas in her head, as it is warm but lightweight. She also loved the range of shades that the Donegal tweed offers, due to the addition of wool nepps (small nubbly balls of wool) to the blend. This produces a yarn with unmatched richness and depth, with up to eight shades being incorporated into some colours in the range, adding even more texture and visual interest to the wrap.
‘Arranmore Light is a great yarn for this project due in part to its lightness. It makes it possible to create a lightweight wrap that will still keep you warm. The Donegal tweed also adds a ton of visual interest to the final object.‘ – Emilie Hallet
Styling The Wetlands Wrap
Emilie knew she wanted to design a versatile piece that could be worn multiple ways, as a scarf, on the shoulders or wrapped elegantly around the neck.
The rectangular shape, which does not require any shaping, allows the stitch patterns to flow easily and provides versatility for those knitters who already have an extensive shawl wardrobe.
The generous size and lightweight nature of the wrap allow it to be styled in several ways. The lace work means it could be worn when dressed up for festive parties but it works equally well with jeans and boots when out shopping, or as an over-sized scarf to get cosy at the movies, offering you lots of options to enhance your outfits, whatever the weather.
Learning New Skills
Emilie is passionate about textured knits, cables and twisted stitches being her favourite way to add definition to her designs. As a knitter who admits she is easily bored, she loves to challenge herself with new techniques or stitch patterns. These are skills that she has diligently designed into the Wetlands Wrap, so you can use it as an opportunity to learn too!
Worked flat from the bottom up, the rectangular wrap combines relaxing garter stitch with lots of techniques such as twisted rib, slipped stitches, cables and lace stitches offering you the chance to learn and practice new knitting skills.
If lace knitting is new to you, or you would like to improve your skills, Emilie has produced three detailed charts for the left, right and central sections. There are also extensive written instructions to talk you through each row.
We also have lots of knitting tutorials on our YouTube channel to help you learn new stitches or pick up some useful tips.
Click on the links below to see some of the techniques that you will come across in the Wetlands Wrap pattern.
About The Almanac Series III
The Almanac Series is an ongoing collection celebrating each month of the year with a Yarn of the Month. It is based on the original farmer’s Almanac, a nature-inspired guide to the seasons. In our first two Almanacs, we looked to land with our theme of herbalism. Then to the skies, with our theme of astronomy. Now we look to the seas.
Our third Almanac Series is inspired by the oceans to acknowledge the importance of maintaining a balanced and thriving ocean ecosystem. The moodiness of the deep ocean, the chill of polar seas, the patterns and rhythm of winter swells, and the great migrations of sea birds were some of the inspirations behind this Almanac Series.
Knitting the Wetlands Wrap?
We’d love to know if you are knitting the Wetlands Wrap so please do share it with us!
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