Knitting the floral trend for fall 2021

My mom bought me Kaffe Fassett’s Glorious Knits for Christmas,1985.  Exuberant colors and intricate designs showed a side of knitting I had never seen. Using scraps of yarn in scores of shades, he knit with abandon, using whatever colors he liked to create a sophisticated landscape of fabric.  Subtle gradients filled fanciful floral motifs and crisp geometrics.

Even simple stripes showcased his painterly take on knitwear.

Like millions of others, I was an immediate fan girl and have admired his work for more than 30 years.  When I look back, it was probably the idea of having a limitless supply of Rowan yarns and colors at my disposal that made me want to own a yarn store.  

Fast forward to this season, and Rowan is featuring a glorious collection of everything I love most about Kaffe Fassett in Say it with Flowers.  The motifs are familiar timeless classics - Persian Poppy, Turkish Carnation, and Damask Rose, to name a few.  Rowan has given Fassett the freedom to design not only the garments, but an entire palette of Felted Tweed to enhance the existing Felted Tweed color range and provide the additional tones to make the designs sing.

This collection is especially timely as florals are an unexpected trend in fall fashion. These designs feature the deeper tones and earthy neutrals that work for fall and winter.  This combination of tones make these designs perfect transitional garments as we are trying to extend our summer wardrobe a bit and ease gracefully into fall.  If you don’t get your piece finished for fall, no worries - the same principle applies as we transition into spring.  

Showy floral garments are definitely statement pieces.  They’re a knitting challenge and a work of art.  But if these pieces don’t suit your style, or they’re not something you want to take on right now, that’s totally okay.  

You can enjoy Fassett's palette in a simple stripe like this beautiful sweater that captures the essence of a floral but serves as a perfect transitional piece as well as a wardrobe basic. 

Or this fun geometric which you could make even easier by substituting new Felted Tweed Colour.  

On the podcast this week we'll be looking at this fall's floral trend and sharing with you all the designs from Say it with Flowers.  I'll also be doing a quick review of Felted Tweed Colour so you can see this new version of one of Rowan's best loved yarns and all the designs for it. 

Fall colors don't have to be browns and golds - they can be rich plums and burgundies, reds, and fresh brights as well.   

As with most of Kaffe's patterns, there are lots of different colors, so I've prepared kits so you can just choose your size and go!  Check them all out here

See you soon, and until then, create something beautiful!

Warmly,
Ellen

ps - here's my copy of Glorious Knits.  I left work to go to a yarn shop where Kaffe Fassett was signing books.  I had a stack of his books for him to sign.  he was super gracious, and I was so starstruck, I could hardly speak (hard to imagine, I know, but it's the truth  LOL