Fiber Beat #24 "Haiku to Habu" featuring Takako Ueki & Darlene Hayes

Hello Habu Textiles Fans!

My name is Michael Wade and I produce a podcast called Fiber Beat. I recently interviewed Takako Ueki as well as Darlene Hayes for episode #24, Haiku to Habu.



I'd be ever so pleased to know what you think of the piece.  Oh, and be sure to enter the contest we have for two prizes: (1) a yarn tasting sampler of some cool Habu Yarns AND (2) the Fameuse cardigan pattern from Knit Cook. More contest details can be found on the Fiber Beat site and you can continue the conversation in the Ravelry Fiber Beat forum.

Thanks for your time and big thanks to Olgajazzy for granting me permission to post in this forum.

Cheers,
~Michael Wade (WonderMike on Ravelry)

Habu Spring Shawl

A couple of you remember my obsession with this Habu Spring shawl.  I looked at it online literally for years, inhibited by the $180 price tag.  Somehow I separately acquired the Shosenshi paper linen yarn and the cashmere required for the shawl, and the pattern itself.  When I started knitting it, I discovered that I didn't have enough cashmere and that the color I was using was discontinued.  I couldn't find it anywhere, or any substitutes that even remotely matched it.  I also discovered that I couldn't achieve gauge. 

Jump ahead to Winter 2011 - I found the shawl on eBay for half the price!  But by now, I had already bought enough yarn equal to the cost of the kit.  I should have just bought it in the first place.

Anyway, I'm happy to have it.  But I'm still not getting gauge in width or length, no matter what I do.  Given that it is a rectangular shaped garment, the width isn't as important as length.  You see, the leafy panels and stockinette panels are knit separately, then attached by picking up stitches on the edges lengthwise, then joined by a three needle bind off.  The knitter should begin first by stringing 121 beads on the yarn used for the bind off, then holding the right side  of the pieces on the outside and the wrong side in the middle, bind off, which hides the "wrong side" seam. The beads should be slipped between the stitches.

Still with me?

I barely have the patience to write about it, let alone do it.  And besides, as I've said, I can't knit the correct gauge for one piece, let alone matching gauge so that the joined pieces aren't skewed.  Frankly, cutting and rejoining The Coat was easier.  So.  The plan is to join the panels with hand-sewn chain stitch, picking up the beads as I go along.  Fingers crossed.

I still expect the unexpected with this shawl.  Stay tuned.

Habu Hempathy Skirt Pattern

I finally finished writing the pattern for my Ralph Rucci-inspired Habu Hempathy Skirt. It is on my Knitwear Designs page.  There's only one pattern there now, but there are more to come.  Many, many, many thanks to Deb and Olga for their much needed advice, editing, and modeling.   The original post can be found here.

Not a Habu kit-this is Stella...made with Habu textiles shosenshi linen paper and tsumugi silk.



the colorway is dark red and eggplant,which blends into a deep rich color.The sweater is light and airy,perfect for the summer,but will easily transition into the fall and winter...



I'm just not sure about the button-the pattern seems to need a large button...I like this,but I need opinions-is it too much?too heavy?,please be honest...



Whatever-I'm wearing it and loving the Habu...

Japanese Efficiency - Kit-70 New Gauge

Hi Everyone!

Just to let you know, this is my very first time posting on the KAL.

I've visited the group before, but didn't have anything to contribute until now :)

I purchased my Kit-70 last year, but didn't get started on it until this week. It was actually supposed to be a Christmas present for my Aunt in London, but now it will have to be a birthday present instead (I'm kind of a slow knitter and have been sidetracked by other projects).

Once I reviewed the instructions, I found that I really loved the style and efficient 'beauty' of Japanese knitting patterns and the use of numeric 'sequences' to guide the knitter.

Since those numeric sequences were so different than what I'm used to working with, I decided to 'map out' the whole thing in Excel (I love my spreadsheets, plus Kirsten and a few other knitter's kept mentioning the irregularities in this pattern and I was scared to jump right in).

After inputting everything for the sweater's back panel, I zoomed out and noticed how wide it looked...

It was alarming!

Somehow, the shape was horizontally 'skewed', as if it were stretched lengthwise:

Since something was visibly wrong, I double checked the Habu schematic. All the measurements looked good and the illustration was drawn like it was supposed to fit a 'normal' adult human (not an orangutan with really long arms that drag on the ground).

Then, I decided to break out the calculator and dig deeper...

The instructions note that you should get a row gauge of:
18 rows = 4" (4.5 rpi - rows per inch)

On the schematic, they want you to achieve the following measurements WITH that gauge:
162 Rows = 26" (6.24 rpi)
100 Rows = 16" (6.25 rpi)
140 Rows = 22.4" (6.25 rpi)

Does anyone else see a conflict here?

It seems like the only way to get those measurements is to use a row gauge of 6.25 rpi or 25 rows per 4", making the correct gauge for this pattern 25 rows and 16 stitches per 4" square.

Here's what it looks like with the row gauge corrected:

At least now, I feel more confident casting on.

Hopefully, this is the only bug in the pattern?

Habu linen paper sweater

This sweater was my first experiment with Habu yarn. The first thing I made was the paper silk shoulder bag (kit 13S), and I knew I had to knit with the paper yarn again - no doubt, you all know the feeling.   I combined three strands: Habu linen paper and lace weight merino wool, and Crystal palace kid merino, which I already had.  The border at the bottom is in khaki linen paper and grey merino, the body is in grey linen paper and olive merino wool. The third strand is the same color for the whole project. I like the color, but I don't think I'll use Crystal Palace kid merino again, apart from the price there is nothing much to say for it. The sweater is in soft A-line, sleeves are bell shaped at the bottom. To give the illusion of a longer neck I tried a “deception device”: to make a crew line in the front and a stand-up collar in the back with an edge in khaki linen paper. It’s light as a feather and surprisingly warm - it kept me warm in December in Moscow!  It was not easy to photograph (especially with one’s computer camera), I am afraid. I tried!

kit 24 - stainless steel jacket

habu kit 24, stainless steel/silk jacket

recently completed jacket in delicious midnight blue, totally perfect for layering.

this was a planned long-term project for me. i wanted something light and large to knit over the australian summer months (the thought of heavy, warm wool on my lap for extended periods is not desirous in 40 degree heat...).

i found the pattern simple and straightforward (aside from the incorrect row count on the front piece).

materials: 1 yarn black ss thread, 1 yarn navy ss thread.

as this is an open weave mesh, i spent considerable time stitching the pieces together to achieve an even and consistent seam which will be visible though the garment.

my biggest issue: to add the buttons or use a brooch instead... at this point, i am wearing it with the brooch with the intention of putting the buttons on in winter to then wear the collar up as designed. maybe next time i will knit it with a round neck and no collar for a brooch...

and my copy of this arrived in the mail yesterday. hmm. the list is getting longer.

Habu Trunk Show at Woven Art

(This is also posted on my blog When a Door Closes...)

Where does time go? I was in Michigan weekend before last and it's already the 19th. Of course I lost a week when I got back - I promptly caught a cold and slept it off several days in bed. No knitting. Not the time of year to be sick, is it?

I attended a Habu Trunk show at Woven Art while I was there. Man what a show! It consisted primarily of the garments designed and knit by Setsuko Torii found in Setsuko Torii Hand-Knit Works.

The Japanese-language book is still available at Yesasia.com and Amazon Japan. There is no English-language version and no plans to publish one at the moment. I have it from a good source that only 2000 books were printed.

Most of the garments are now available in kits from Habu Textiles. The pix I took don't do the garments justice - they are truly breath-taking individual works of art and innovation. I spent the first hour looking and staring - awestruck really. I was on sensory overload. Then I finally started trying things on, much later remembering to take pictures. My first impression years ago of most clothing made with Habu yarn was that they were best suited for smaller frames, but after watching everyone try them on, it quickly became apparent that practically every piece flatters every figure and every age. They are classic and timeless.

I can't choose a favorite. I loved some aspect of each piece: the careful color gradation knit into a jacket; the simple buttonholes created by enlarging and binding the opening of a stitch; the drapiness of the hand of knitted stainless steel or paper, or both together; unusual color combinations that would never have occurred to me but really work; the innovation of a sideways knit making a deceptively simple jacket; or the rustling (a whisper) of a paper linen and stainless steel jacket when it moves. Design and concepts so simple in some cases that you wonder why you didn't think of it yourself.

The color gradation is created by knitting different shades of solid gray yarn at certain intervals. The yarn is not variegated.

It was hard to choose a kit to buy. I finally settled on a new Torii design created after the book was published: a short wrap jacket with a shawl collar knit from DK wool and 2 tiny strands of ramie, and a white-on-white Kusha Kusha scarf.

I loved this cotton and stainless steel jacket.

The top half is made of cotton and stainless steel knit together. The cotton gives the jacket shape and form. The bottom half is knit with two strands of stainless steel, one off-white and one gray, giving the impression of modern, ultra-lightweight and airy chainmail. It floats in the back.

The "Washi and Tsumugi" coat flattered everyone who tried it on. It doesn't hang in a boxy way, instead it skims the contours of the body. Everyone loved it.

A mohair pullover edged with heavier tsumugi combination silk gives the garment weight and drape unimaginable in mohair.

The red jacket in the foreground had knotted "shippo tails" on the sleeves making it much more than just a simple jacket. We were all surprised that it had hidden pockets!

It is made of shosenshi paper and stainless steel, and rustles gently when you move in it.

This lovely Chinese Style Pullover is knit with two strands of shosenshi paper yarn in purple and khaki (actually green).

Photo from Hand-Work Knits.

The most astounding piece, for me at least, was the shippo tail tank.

Photo from Hand-Work Knits.

The MC is purple paper linen, followed by gray, chartreuse, blue/grey I think, then chartreuse, tipped with a bit of gray again. The chartreuse was beautiful with the gray and purple. It's brighter than it appears in the photo, providing a brilliant contrast to the purple. I'd like to make this eventually, but will modify the tail somehow, perhaps placing it elsewhere and modifying the length.

Takako Ukei, owner of Habu, gave an interesting talk about the development of Habu yarn Friday night, and three hour-long classes on reading Japanese charts Saturday morning. Each class was packed. Takako was delightful. She has a wonderful sense of humor and a boatload of patience.

Takako is wearing a sideways knit cardi. She had a pattern for it, so it is probably available as a kit too. Click on the picture for a wider shot.

The pattern reading class was an enormously useful and gave me the chance to ask questions about some of the patterns in the book.

There are more pictures here.

Woven Art was an excellent venue for the show and the class. There was plenty of room to display the collection and try things on. The table was just the right size for the class (and the lazy susan in the center was perfect for treats!) Nancy's shop is the kind of place where knitters just go to hang, have a cup of coffee and knit (or weave. or spin.) as I would do if I lived in Lansing or East Lansing. Nancy is a wonderful host and the knitters there are warm, friendly people with whom I felt immediately at home. (I'll see you guys again soon!)

Why oh why doesn't someone in the Washington Metro area host a Habu trunk show? I would happily attend again.

My simple scarf.

Knitted using the Kusha Kusha scarf pattern but knitted in Kusaki zome 100% silk in colour 23 held with silk mohair colour 2.

Instead of felting it when finished I was very naughty and steam ironed it to even out the stitches! This has given it a lovely drape and it is so soft to wear. The sheen of the silk can be seen and the colour of the mohair gives it an almost variegated look.

There is another picture of it on my blog in the sun and it looks quite different there!

I am looking at the silk stainless yarn now as this was such a simple pleasure to knit.

Lin x

habu trunk show

for all who live in the los angeles area. there will be a habu trunk show at 'wildfiber' ys in santa monica. Takako Ueki will bring her fibers, kits and finished projects.
i am very exited about this, since i never made it to the habu headquarters and usually the stores i go to have only just a small selection of habu yarn. the show is sept.6 & 7. you will find me there
most likely getting more yarn then i should, but also having a fantastic time.
i hope this is useful information for some of you,
ulli

Hello.

I finally gave in to the lure of Habu yarn and bought 2 balls of the kusaki zome 100% silk in colour 23 and 2 balls of the silk mohair in colour 2.

I am planning on making a simple scarf knitting the 2 together, possibly using beads as well although that may distract too much from the beauty of the yarn. I will have to try it and see.

I am not particulary creative and normally tend to knit from patterns so if anyone has any thoughts or other ideas let me know!

I love looking at all your beautiful projects here on the knitalong and Flickr.
Lin x

COUNTING HABU

#24 : A20-2/22 : 3mm-80cm : 161 reduced x 44 : 1 - 154 : 80%

I could technically leave that as it is and continue on my merry way, but I'm sure I would leave behind a lot of confusion.
Numbers are clarity. Control. Legitimate definitions of conclusion. You cannot argue with numbers, and I find a lot of solice within the mathematical process of putting things together. Numbers make sense. Anyone who has read a Setsuko Torii pattern, and in turn japanese knit patterns, will know the entire knitting process is reduced down to numbers seperated by hyphens. Extraneous detail stripped. It makes for a very neat, legible, and for me - highly visual - way of pattern writing, and in turn, pattern recognition/materialisation. Allow the process to manufacture itself. I love that.

To Clarity:

Habu Kit 24 Silk Stainless Steel Jacket in 2 threads of black and navy silk wrapped stainless steel. Knit on 3mm needles, 80cm long, Addi Turbo Bamboo [switching to bamboo has made a huge difference to the statistical weighting of Speed:Fear Of Loosing Stitches ratio]. 161 stitches now reduced by 44 with clever shaping. Currently working on the 1st piece, the back, and now on row 154 which means I am approx. 80% complete on this section.

And enjoying that connection of intimacy I have with something for me, that I have wanted to make for years, made out of a product I love, and from a company and designer I have enormous respect for. That place where your head seeks ahead the next stitch:row:pattern:marking and you find fluidity and rhythm and everything begins a low hum of concurrence - a place of zoned participation hand:eye:heart. And now I just want the molten fibre to melt and drip from my needles - because that's exactly how it feels and photographs, as a molten metallic fabric.

[The original version of this post was posted on 6.5st August 2nd 2007. Different photos, and some additional ones have been added here].