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The Story:
Classic Elite's pattern legacy has no equal. For variety of style, showcasing fresh young talent, and their endless respect for natural fibers and the environment over the last thirty years, they should get a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The great thing about having examined their pattern backlog so closely is that you become aware of how consistent their business outlook has been over the decades. They've always been devoted to sustainability and were early champions of naturally-colored cottons (Fox Fiber) and recycled fibers (the Evergreen line). In fact, Classic Elite has always been devoted to natural fibers of all kinds.
And the designers! No one has a more extensive list of diverse talent on their historical roster than Classic Elite. A very abbreviated list of their designer lineup would include Annie Modesitt, Beth Brown-Reinsel, Candi Jensen, Celeste Pinheiro, Deborah Newton, Fiona Ellis, Linda Pratt, Margery Winter, Melissa Leapman, Michele Rose Orne, Norah Gaughan, Pam Allen, and Susan Mills. But the most distinct influence and presence was Kristin Nicholas, CEY creative director for many years, whose color palettes and design style (combining colourwork with cables, for example) did so much to shape their image and the possibilities of handknitting in general.
Many of Classic Elite's models became very famous later on. Among them are Jill Goodacre (wife of Harry Connick Jr.), Yasmin LeBon (wife of Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon), Nigel Barker (photographer and judge on America's Next Top Model), Josie Borain (Calvin Klein muse), and a 17-year-old Uma Thurman even appears five times.
One of the best days in our company's history was the arrival in Summer 2008 of a 26 lb. box full of hundreds of Classic Elite patterns for scanning and publishing (the oldest was from 1985). In a way, we think we've helped to polish and restore them to the public, where they belong. It's been a honor and a privilege, and we can't wait for Pattern 1000.
Julia Grunau
www.patternfish.com
The Yarn:
Montera
50% llama, 50% wool
Montera is a single-ply yarn spun from 50% llama and 50% wool. It’s soft yet strong and knits up quickly at a gauge of 3½–4 sts per inch. Montera is available in 100-gram hanks in 35 solid colors and 13 heathered colors. From warm winter sweaters to Fair Isle mitts and lacy hats worked on large needles, Montera is a wonderful, versatile and time-tested yarn.
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The Pattern:
Purchase the Montera Hat pattern from Patternfish.
The Stitches:
Lace patterns use yarn overs to form eyelets (holes) and decreases to compensate for the extra stitches gained by the yarn overs. The way that the decreases slant, either to the right or to the left, also become part of the design. The Montera Hat is worked in the round and in order to keep the pattern lined up, at the end of round 10, it is necessary to “borrow” a stitch from the next round. Round 10 ends with a sk2p (slip 1 st, k2 stitches together, pass slipped stitch over), but there are only 2 stitches left before the marker for the beginning of round. The sk2p must then be worked by slipping 1 stitch, removing the marker for the beginning of the round, knitting 2 stitches together, then passing the slipped stitch over. The marker is then replaced BEFORE the sk2p and the sk2p counts as the first knit stitch of round 1.
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