Pattern Book Review: Thrown Together by Kim Hargreaves

Looking for a smart and sexy shrug pattern to create using the ten skeins of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk I scored at my LYS's seasonal closeout, I must have scoured hundreds of books and webpages. Although i found a few patterns that had potential, there really wasn't anything that seemed absolutely perfect.

After months of fruitless searching, I came across a pattern book called Thrown Together by Kim Hargreaves. Straight out of school, Kim made her name as a knitwear designer with the yarn company Rowan, putting in over 20 years of work and greatly contributing to the success of the company. Still loyal to the name she made and reciprocally made her, she uses exclusively Rowan yarns in her designs.

This is Kim's third independant pattern book following Heartfelt and Nectar along with several other collections of women's and children's designs. According to her website Hargreaves designs follow knitwear trends in fashion, but she doesn't exclude her mature readers "with attitude not age being Kim's guideline".

Thrown Together is a collection of sixteen designs with a definite retro flair from nearly every decade in the 20th century. Although Hargreaves believes it is 'attitude not age', there is a definite bias towards the 20 or 30-something fashion conscious knitter. The models are no older than 25 which, as I have read, can be offputting to many seasoned knitters among us. Many of these knitters wore these fashions the first time around and understandably want something age and decade-appropriate.

On the other hand, there is a place for designs slanted towards trendier knitters of any age. I am currently working on the pattern gracing the cover, Aimee, and the tips I received on the pattern were from a fellow Raveler well into her fifties.

The detailing on Kim's designs are what give this collection its wow factor. The ridges on the sleeves and closure of the 1930s cardigan Evie, the darting on the back of the equestrian-inspired Beatrix and the ruffled Rosa add a special and unique dimension to Hargreaves' designs.

Trendy yet classic, simple yet tastefully embellished, Kim Haregreaves' Thrown Together is enough to excite the haters and keep fans on their toes for her next collection.