Introducing my newest brioche pattern, Coffee at the Grand! This new knitting pattern is available on both Ravelry and in my online shop here at knitgraffiti.com! Follow the links there to check out the pattern and see loads more photos. I am offering an introductory discount as well: use coupon code COFFEE at checkout to receive 15% off the pattern through tonight at midnight CT.
She only loved the espresso at the Grand Hotel, and frequently spent her evenings there, drinking coffee in her favorite cocktail dress :: An elegant rectangular stole with chevron stripes, tweedy texture, and pom tassels, inspired by early 20th century fashion. All knit using a combination of one-color, two-color, and three-color brioche.
This stole was completely inspired by the amazing ladies of Lattes and Llamas, and their love for coffee. The colors of the yarn we chose together for this design remind me of the beauty found in the film, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, created by one of my favorite film-makers, Wes Anderson. I picture a lady of leisure wearing this stole around her shoulders over her favorite cocktail dress for an evening of Coffee at the Grand. If you’re curious or have any other questions about this pattern, head on over to Ravelry to see all of my notes!
This was a very exciting collaboration with Lattes and Llamas, two dyers that I’ve been following since before I started designing knitwear! They are actually one of the main reasons I got into knitting….like obsessively! I came across their Geek-A-Long, and thought it was just hilarious. I tried double knitting and thought that was pretty cool. So when they approached me to create a design using one of their new yarn bases, I jumped right in! Interlude yarn is just gorgeous, a blend of Cashmere, Silk, and Bluefaced Leicester. It was begging to become something luxurious and decadent. I had been researching different brioche knitting textures recently, and was wanting to try three-color brioche! So we chose these three colors together: Palpatine, In Omnia Paratus, and Little Princess, to work with. I will admit, they are a bit out of my normal comfort zone. But as soon as I started working with them, I was delighted with the result!
If you are wondering how to choose your own colors for the stole, choose three colors of different tones for the best result: one light, one medium, and one dark! If you are wondering if your yarn will work, take a black and white photo of the yarn and compare! I highly recommend choosing three solid, semi-solid, or tonal colors for this shawl. Three-color brioche creates a gorgeous texture, but could be lost with a variegated or speckled yarn.
And finally, the icing on the cake: the Pom Tassels. Something was missing to me after I blocked out the stole. It needed a little pizazz to really finish it off. But I wanted to do something a little different than just a normal tassel. I scoured the interwebs for something interesting, and came across these fun Pom Tassels!! If you want to add them to your project, I have included a 2-page photo tutorial in the pattern on how exactly I made mine. I used a mixture of yarns, and did some fun experiments. And luckily there is enough leftover yarn to create them!
All of the different stitch patterns used create an entirely reversible fabric!! This last photo shows the Contrast Side, which looks equally interesting.
I hope you enjoy my newest pattern!! This was so fun to create, and is even more fun to wear. Now I need a date night so I can wear it out in public….or not! Who says I can’t wear it to the grocery store, eh? 😉
Thank you so much for following along in my journey, and feel free to leave comments with any questions! xx Lesley.
