This week I’m excited to have a new design in the Fall 2012 Twist Collective.  It’s always such an honor to be included in their magazine, it’s so well produced and they take so much care with all the little details.

The design I did for this issue is Osage which is a tailored jacket.  You can also find it on Ravelry here.

This jacket has been in my imagination for a long time, I drew the curve of the front edge and collar in a notebook a few years ago.  I knew the shape I wanted but didn’t yet know how to design the shape exactly the way I wanted.  The whole design grew out of that front curve.  This happens to me a lot with design, I won’t have a complete design plan in my head but I will have a basic shape or feel and the rest of the design just falls in place around it.

That curve and collar felt elegant, with a retro feel, so I wanted it to be tailored with a clean shape.  The yarn we used was Briggs & Little Heritage.  This is a real ‘woolly’ wool with a firm dense texture, combining this with a moss stitch pattern created a firm, flat, uncurling fabric that could be moulded to the curves I needed.

Due to the style I wanted for this jacket I opted to knit it in pieces.  Anyone who knows my work will know that this is pretty unusual for me :-)  It really did fit with the tailored style though, as firm seams would help it hold it’s shape.  I think that it also makes each of the individual curves easier to work as you’re only working on one or two shaping elements at one time.

To preserve the clean lines of the front I wanted it to just fasten with one giant button which would be the central decorative element.  This is a great way to use up that one large special button you’ve got in your stash!  However you do need more than a single fastening to close the front of a jacket so the other snaps or hooks (your preference) are hidden at the top inside.  You could of course also add a second button hole and button if you wished – just because I like a single button look doesn’t mean you will!  So go knit your own tailored Fall jacket and add your own personal twist.