Wednesday, February 15, 2017

The Next BIG Thing

A few days ago winter tried to make a return in this neck of the woods (or perhaps I should say, this shore of the lake). All in all, it's been a remarkably mild winter and I see that Environment Canada is predicting a high of 8C this weekend. Spring-like. Nonetheless, I have a hankering for a knitted coat. A big knitted coat. Something voluminous, something to wear indoors on chilly days, or outdoors in spring or fall. I want a big shape, with big collar, big wool, and (probably) big buttons. I took a quick tour of Ravelry, looking for elements I liked in coats. There's the Pickles Fall Coat.


I love the neutral colour and the drape at the back of this. I don't love the fact that it doesn't have any buttons, although I notice that a bunch of Ravelers have added I-cord trim and buttonholes to it.

Then there's Regina Moessmer's Polar Coat, shown here as knitted by dreamsbythesea.


What do I love about this? The length and the pockets. Quite apart from their usefulness, pockets allow a coat to be worn with a certain casual slouchiness.

Final example: Drops Designs' Silver Haze.

This is actually more a jacket than a coat, but I really like the collar. It's reminiscent of my own Petrova. A big coat needs a big collar.

So, where does all of this take me? Here.


I've knitted about a third of the coat so far. It's blocking in the winter sunshine. If I like what emerges, expect to see the finished product fairly soon. Big needles + big wool = quick project.