Wehrle - Metropolitan Knits Chic Designs for Urban Style

CHIC DESIGNS for URBAN STYLE

MELISSA WEHRLE

To my grandmother, who had the patience to teach me this wonderful craft long ago

I d like to extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this book possible, especially all the wonderful people at Interweave. Thank you for all your encouragement and for believing in my work. It means more than you will ever know.

Thanks to Allison Korleski for reaching out to help me organize my ideas into an incredible proposal.

A big thank-you goes out to my editor and fellow New Yorker, Erica Smith. You helped make the daunting task of writing a book easy, and your assurances that all would go well were very comforting.

Thanks also to art director Liz Quan, for understanding my vision, making a New York photo shoot happen, and letting me tag along. Photographer Heather Weston and her crew, as well as stylist Elysha Lenkin, carried out a fantastic photo shoot.

I would like to thank Connie Chang Chinchio, Kate Gagnon Osborne, and Courtney Kelley for all your helpful advice.

Thanks to my friends Connie Chang Chinchio and Shana Wernow for lending me some of your precious time for sample knitting and Kathryn Zmrzlik for the feedback, button sewing, and keeping me well fed.

Thank you to my wonderful husband, David Bryan, who encouraged me throughout the entire book-writing process, sacrificed the precious little time we have together so I could work through many a weekend, and gave his honest opinion whenever it was requested.

Thank you to my family for all of your love, support, and passing along the crafty genes.

I also thank you, my dear knitter. Without your support, this book would have never become a reality.

N ew York City is a realm of fascination and wonder for many artists, songwriters, poets, designers, filmmakers, and others throughout the world. For the last fifteen years Ive lived in this wonderful city, and Ive seen just about everything one could imaginefrom the most fantastic art and music the world can offer to people grooming themselves on the subway. Growing up in a small farming community in southern New Jersey, I didnt know at first what I was getting myself into. It took me a while to adjust, but now I couldnt imagine my life without New York; the city has helped shaped me into the person I am today. I have come to embrace, and feel I am ever embraced by, all of the sights and sounds of this city. New York is the muse that inspires and carries me through my days as both a designer and an artist.

New York is a great place to live, work, and play. Everything is right at your fingertips twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. (Not to mention we have more yarn stores than I can count on the fingers of both hands!) Cultures, ideas, and creativity blend seamlessly into source of never-ending inspiration.

For this book, I tried to capture the heart and soul of the city, designing knitwear that will take you through the many and varied experiences the city affords to residents and visitors alike. In these pages, you will find just the right sweater for the occasion: From walking the busy thoroughfares of Manhattan, to relaxing at your favorite coffee shop on the weekend, to enjoying the many peaceful green spaces and parks throughout the city. While the city often seems to be always in a constant state of change and upheaval, I hope that these designs will be timeless, well-worn additions to your wardrobe that will last through the never-ending, sometimes fickle, changes in trends and fashion. These pieces will show off your knitting skills and maybe even teach you some new skills along the way.

Great care was given to the selection of yarn for each design. A wide range of yarn weights, price ranges, and materials were used to suit everyones taste. I used yarns that I personally love for one reason or another, carefully matching the yarn properties of drape, shine, and feel to each individual design. However, yarn weights are also provided should you wish to substitute with a yarn of your liking.

It is my sincere intention that within these pages you will find designs that not only inspire you but that will also become cherished additions to your sweater collection. Also, I hope to bring a little bit of New York style home to you, wherever you may live.

T he heart of the city is all about kinetic energy: the entangled traffic and underground trains; the constant hum of international business and trade; the bright theater district and coy street performers; the frenetic tourists at sophisticated shops, fashion week, concerts, and museums. And yet in the midst of all of this chaos, there is calm.

The steady hum of the intricate parts makes the city a center of limitless creativity. The city is a living, breathing organism, changing, growing, and moving. As the human heart is the life forcethe energizing organ that sustains us and gives us lifeso, too, is the heart of the city.

This chapter is about movementof light, sound, touch, and sight. In this section, the designs are slightly more sophisticated in silhouette and material, suited to any uptown girl. But dont let that limit you; these pieces feel just as much at home in a more casual setting as well. The designs that follow have an abundance of little details to discover, just as one might stumble upon that great little old-fashioned bakery nestled in between towering glass skyscrapers.

You may or may not have musical talent, but either way, you certainly can make yourself a smart pair of mitts worthy of wearing to the performance. The mock honeycomb pattern is very simple to memorize and moves along rather quickly in the round. This is the perfect project for that luxury skein of yarn youve been holding on to for a special occasion.