New Season Knitwear: Pretty Pictures

In this third part of New Season Knitwear, I look at the trend for intarsia colour work designs in knitwear on the catwalks- and give suggestions for how knitters can be inspired by this trend, including some pattern suggestions.

Intarsia was a big feature in the collections of Autumn Winter 2017-18, (see my article Trending: picture knitting), and this continued in 2018-19.

These picture designs ranged from subtle accents to dramatic, all-over designs, and from animals and floral images to far more abstract splashes of colour.

There were trailing floral motifs at Gucci, roses at Miu Miu, cute squirrels at Loewe, monkeys at Prada, and lips and leopards at Sonia Rykiel.

Loewe Intarsia mohair-blend cardigan (from net-a-porter.com)

Marni Intarsia Knitted Cardigan (From net-a-porter.com)

Miu Miu Oversized Intarsia Mohair Blend Cardigan (from net-a-porter.com)

Clockwise, from top left: Loewe Intarsia mohair-blend cardigan (here), Miu Miu Oversized Intarsia Mohair Blend Cardigan (here), Marni Intarsia Knitted Cardigan (here).

There was a strong 1980s vibe at Burberry, Valentino and Saint Laurent with their colourful, abstract swirls of colour. Mary Katrantzou’s use of intarsia was similarly abstract, but with more crisp, geometric designs that were a little more reminiscent of Mondrian paintings than 80s sitcoms.

Mary Katrantzou Hartigan colour-block wool sweater (from net-a-porter)

Valentino Oversized intarsia mohair-blend cardigan (from net-a-porter.com)

Burberry Colour-block Knotted Sweater (from net-a-porter.com)

Clockwise from top left: Mary Katrantzou (here), Burberry (here), Valentino cardigan (here).

Knitting inspiration

There are some amazing intarsia patterns available -see a few suggestions below- but you could also design your own, simple intarsia pattern using some graph paper, e.g. a single colour flower or other emblem.

If you’d like to learn more about knitting intarsia, and find some more intarsia knitting pattern suggestions, see my article from last season:  Trending: picture knitting.

#7 Floral Cardigan by Josh Bennett (Photo copyright SoHo Publishing LLC; knitting pattern available from ravelry.com)

oh my bear! by tiny owl knits (knitting pattern available from ravelry.com)

Happy Triangles by Kiyomi Burgin (Knitting pattern available from ravelry.com)

Clockwise, from top left: #7 Floral Cardigan by Josh Bennett (here), Happy Triangles by Kiyomi Burgin (here), oh my bear! by tiny owl knits (here)

#18 Intarsia Sweater by Mari Tobita (photo copyright SoHo Publishing; knitting pattern available from ravelry.com)

Volt Sweater by Sue Stratford (knitting pattern available from ravelry.com)

From left to right: 18 Intarsia Sweater by Mari Tobita (here), Volt Sweater by Sue Stratford (here).

For more in the New Season Knitwear series, see category ‘Trending’ or see the complete collection listed in the post New Season Knitting.

Over to you

Do you enjoy knitting intarsia? Can you recommend any intarsia knitting resources or tips for intarsia knitting? I’d be really interested to hear about any intarsia designs you’ve knitted, or any favourite intarsia sweaters you’ve seen or worn!