Gianfranco Ferre, Men's RTW 2009I spotted these HUGE knits by Gianfranco Ferre on the NY Times website the other day and fell in love. They're "just" giant garter knit scarves, but I can't help it!
Whenever I see garter stitch used in fashion I have to admit I get a little jealous saying "Why didn't I think of that?" The stitch is so simple it takes little to no effort to create it. In other words, if you just learned to knit this morning, you already posess the skills necessary to make this scarf. Sure, it would take a lot of yarn (read: $$$!) and a good four months of knitting, but you could do it.
This type of accessory is always great for knitting stores, since it sends people running to buy yarn or take a class. Usally the culprit has Marc Jacobs name all over it, but we'll see about this one.
Garter stitch close up
Garter Stitch is often overlooked, but when used wisely the results can be quite striking. Compared to otherstitches, it is more dense, giving it this incredible sculptural quality, the benifits of which you can clearly see in Ferre's collection. In any other stitch this scarf might cling like a wet piece of seaweed, drag, tangle, choke or worst of all-- fade into the back ground.
Gianfranco Ferre, Men's RTW 2009
For some reason I always second guess the choice to use garter stitch. It seems too easy. With all this practice and confidence I have as a knitter, why choose the easiest stitch? Isn't that a cop out? Shouldn't I be designing elaborate fairisle sweaters with Obama's face on them or something?
Sticking to a seemingly tired "old standby" might actually result in something refreshing and modern. Check out my pal Kj who makes People Profile Scarves working just in garter stitch:
Elizabeth Zimmerman is the QUEEN of garter stitch! This is a version of her Garter Suprise jacket.
I think I'm going to embrace Garter Stitch with more confidence from now on!