More Knitting in the Sun - WENDY (pleated empire top)

So, last year I had the great privilege of having a knit pattern design accepted to be included in Kristi Porter's new book, More Knitting in the Sun (pattern links to Ravelry here). I have been a huge fan of Kristi's work for many years, so the chance to be included among the other fabulous designers that contributed to the book was a great honor.

I really like the concept for this book which features 32 wonderful warm weather knit projects for kids. And now, having seen the entire book, I love the projects. They are age appropriate while at the same time able to span multiple age groups. A great majority of the projects are suitable for young teens and not just geared towards babies and toddlers. Often times I see kid patterns sized up to 10, 12, or 14 and I think 'sure my 7-year-old niece like this, but would my 14-year-old niece want to be caught wearing this?' Often times the answer is no. With this book, the answer is ABSOLUTELY YES. Kristi did an excellent job of putting these designs together in such a beautiful way.




A little about my design.
When coming up with this design I wanted to create something both my 7-year-old and tween nieces would be willing to wear. The Wendy top reflect my own personal style for simplicity with touches of details along with long lasting wear-ability. Since this book is geared toward kids, I wanted to create something that was relatively fast to make, but was easy to tweak if the garment did take a little while longer to complete.

The idea behind Wendy was that the child could start out wearing this piece as a baby-doll type dress or a long tunic and as she grew, which inevitably kids do, the top could become a tank worn with shorts or capris. In addition, because I was a tomboy as a kid and was often times forced to wear frills, I thought the detailing would be a good compromise, not being too overly girly. Of course the frill edging (done in crochet) can be left off, but I think it's a great way to get more structure and stability to the sleeves/straps and prevent the garment from stretching out. Besides, the edging is a great way for knitters to add elements from crochet.

I really enjoyed working on this design and finished garment. Not seeing the garment in a year, and now now have it modeled and styled, I was totally blown away. The models are all so cute and the photography amazing. I hope you all get a chance to see the book. Go check it out at your LYS or Amazon.

Photos made available by Kristi Porter & Wiley Publishing