Design Inspiration – Stitch or Silhouette

Designers get inspiration from many places. Inspiration can come from nature, from art, from the runway or even from the streets. Sometimes a design can start with a stitch pattern, or grow out of a silhouette.

Stitch or Silhouette, that is the question.

For me, I mostly get inspired by a silhouette first and then think about stitch patterns.

In the case of Sachertorte, I took my inspiration from a vintage fur coat that I’ve always loved, but never worn.

I can’t remember if this was my mother’s or my grandmother’s, but I’ve always loved the cut. 

I love the 3/4 straight, unshaped sleeves, and the slight swing shape. Although the coat is symmetrical, I liked how it had an asymmetrical look when it was buttoned, so I made the cut of Sachertorte fully asymmetrical, with different width fronts.

But I wanted to update the look by lengthening the body, and changing the giant fur collar to a seed stitch oversized tab collar

The most important thing about translating a non knit garment to knit, is thinking about the fabric and drape. One thing that made the fur so great was the stiff fabric held the shape. In this close up you can see the weight of it.

It’s that great 50’s Persian Lamb fabric. I knew exactly what would hold the shape, my favorite thing in the world . . . cables!

I started swatching until I created a center panel that I liked. I wanted something wide that would fill the front and back, and then I surrounded it with smaller twists.

I loved the swirlyness (yeah, that’s a word) of the persian lamb, and it seems like an intricate center braid was the way to go!

I love the way that Twist Collective styled it for the magazine, but as if that wasn’t fab enough, check out the “Twist Style Friday” for a little wardrobe inspiration.

For more inspiration, check our my Silouettes I Love Board on Pinterest