The Rhinebeck Sweater Collection – Spring Brook

Posted on | October 16, 2013 | 1 Comment

I was thrilled when Ysolda first shared with me over a year ago her vision of a Rhinebeck sweater collection and asked me to be a part of it. I thought, ‘What a cool idea!’ Rhinebeck is the perfect inspiration for a sweater collection. And having designers design their idea of a perfect Rhinebeck sweater — something they’d like to wear themselves in yarn available at Rhinebeck — gives the collection an intimate, personal feel.

Every third weekend of October, the streets of Rhinebeck, NY are filled with knitters, spinners, weavers, and other yarny folk converging on the Dutchess County Fairgrounds for the New York Sheep and Wool Festival — better known simply as “Rhinebeck”. The timing is ideal for sweaters. The hot, endless days of summer have given way to the shorter, crisper days of fall. Gorgeous foliage makes a beautiful backdrop for the yarn, barnyard animals, festival food, and meetups with friends — both planned and fortuitous.

For most knitters attending Rhinebeck, knitting the “Rhinebeck sweater” has become an annual tradition. Choosing the perfect yarn and pattern, last minute knitting as the deadline looms, all of this is very familiar to frequent festival-goers. And so it was with me and my sweater for Ysolda’s collection.

What better location for a photoshoot for the Rhinebeck Sweater Collection than Rhinebeck itself? But somehow, I found myself blocking my sweater the night before and setting up fans and the air conditioner to blow forced air over the damp piece to encourage it to dry more quickly. On the ride up, as my husband carefully navigated the winding roads leading up to Rhinebeck and my daughter babbled in her carseat, I was weaving in the last errant ends.

Somehow though I did manage to finish and I’m happy to finally be able to share the results.

For me, vests are the ideal transitional weather sweater and very versatile. They’re easy to wear and can be dressed up or down depending on what you decide to wear underneath. I kept the armhole edges and hem raw and unfinished because the yarn I used, Bijou Basin’s Tibetan Dream Sock Yarn, drapes beautifully. But if you’re using a springier, bouncier yarn, you may want to crochet an edging to help everything lie flat. A curved lace that mimics the look of cables cover the fronts, with some subtle shaping to narrow the lace as the neckline approaches. Mine is knit with a close to moderate fit, but I can see knitting this with a moderate to generous fit and lengthening it to be more flowy and romantic.

Check out the other great designs in the collection in the Rhinebeck Sweater Collection in the lookbook. I’m honored to be in the company of so many wonderful designers. Ysolda will have copies on hand at Rhinebeck, or you can order a copy online here.

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Comments

One Response to “The Rhinebeck Sweater Collection – Spring Brook”

  1. KarenJ
    October 17th, 2013 @ 4:38 pm

    The sweater is lovely but I have to admit that what really tugged at me was the final picture. I now live in the south of Portugal and our idea of fall has nothing to do with beautiful sweaters and gorgeous fall leaves. I’m usually in the States in the Spring but on the rare occasions that I’m there in the fall I go up to central N.Y. to visit my daughter and we drive down to the Rhinebeck festival. I still have in my stash yarn that I bought there about twenty-five years ago when the festival only took up about three or four halls and shared the fairgrounds with three other functions, including the gem and mineral show! I love it there and miss it! Have fun!

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