Vera Sanon says that yarn is her passion, but you might say it’s in her blood. Her great-grandmother was a master of all needle arts and taught Vera to knit and crochet as young girl. Her mom owned a yarn shop, where Vera got her start in knitwear design.
Vera’s Sandy Shores Buttoned Top is a cute, cropped cardigan knit in Berroco Elements. The short-sleeve sweater is knit from the top down, featuring four rows of eyelet stitches along a raglan neckline. A relatively quick knit, Vera says it was designed with spring and summer in mind – a perfect layer to throw on over any outfit. You can get the pattern in the new issue of I Like Knitting.
Any interesting stories about your design process?
I love math. Designing is like a puzzle for me that needs to be solved. Most of the time, I design in a variety of sizes because I love playing with the numbers. Often, I get inspired by a shape or a lace pattern that I really want to incorporate into a garment design.
Did you make design this for anyone in particular?
When I design garments, I look at ease of knitting, and I want a sporty and versatile garment. I often run my design ideas past my 19-year-old daughter and my 21-year-old high-fashion model son. Plus, if I like the idea, I know that I am going to go ahead with the design.
How did you choose this yarn?
I like the high quality of Berroco yarns and I liked Elements because of its shine and its lightness, even though it knits up at 18 sts per 4”/10 cm. Often thicker, quick-knit yarns are only okay for heavy winter sweaters, but this yarn is perfect for spring and summer.
What’s your favorite project you’ve ever made? Why?
I used to live in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and was lucky to have survived the earthquake in January 2010. Shortly after the earthquake, I knit up the most hideous cardigan. Partially, it is hideous because of the yarn that I used, but it is my favorite thing that I have ever knit because with every stitch, as I was knitting it, I felt like I was putting my soul back together again, one stitch at a time.
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.