You know how you can have a closet full of clothing and nothing to wear? Cassie Castillo can relate. A talented knitwear designer, Cassie says she had fallen into a bad habit of designing clothing and accessories that she “aspired” to wear. In reality, most of these items just stayed in her closet. That’s when she decided to design something she really wanted to wear.
Cassie’s Starbrook Pullover is comfortable, warm and exactly her style. The scoop neck sweater is knit in the round from the bottom up using Berroco Ultra Alpaca. The lantern sleeves and kangaroo pocket give the design a casual feel, while the v point lace stitch adds a touch of femininity.
How did you come up with this design?
Starbrook was inspired by my favorite sweatshirt. I used the same basic silhouette and pocket shape, but added a simple lace pattern and made the sleeves more of a relaxed fit.
How did you decide on the yarn?
I have used Ultra Alpaca a few times before, and I am in love with its squishy softness and warmth.
What’s your favorite project you’ve ever made? Why?
I think my Djoser Shawl is my favorite project. It was really fun to design and, of all the shawls I have made, this one I wear the most. It is a two-color crescent shawl with a lace border that falls somewhere between casual and fancy.
Any knitting disaster stories?
I was almost finished with the front panel of my Minnette Pullover when I noticed a mistake near the beginning of the piece. I was under a very tight deadline, so ripping everything out and starting over was out of the question. It was worked in a counterpane construction, so I had to unravel an entire quarter section to fix it. I laid it out on my kitchen table and told my husband I would not be available for any kind of conversation until I had it fixed. He watched a movie, and I spent the whole duration of the movie picking up stitches in the lace pattern with a small crochet hook. I managed to fix it and you really couldn’t tell that I had unraveled such a large section. I still don’t know how I did it and I probably couldn’t do it again.
What’s your favorite thing about knitting?
My favorite thing about knitting is being able to create wearable, functional art. I have loved creating things for as long as I can remember, and being able to make something useful fulfills my artistic and practical urges.
Do you have a cool design you want to share? Or did you recently finish a project with Berroco yarn? You can email Ashley: apalumbo@berroco.com or post it to the Berroco Lovers forum in Ravelry.
very beautiful but so difficult for beginners .