French Girl Knits is the unique vision of designer
Kristeen Griffin-Grimes, with sensuously feminine, superbly fitted garments, fashioned
in luxurious yarns, using innovative seamless construction methods. Known in the
knit and crochet community for her pattern company, French Girl, the author utilizes
inventive combinations of texture, color, and stitch patterns coupled with timeless,
figure-flattering silhouettes to fashion-enticing projects for knitters of all
skill levels and body types.
French Girl Knits centers on four thematic vignettes inspired by French
daily life, film, and history that use dramatically different types of yarns,
colors, and stitch patterns: Enfant Sauvage (Wild Child), La Boutique Parisienne
(A Vintage Dress Shop in Paris), Dans La Rue (Street Wear), and Creatrice (Creative
Woman). A Design Workshop features in-depth tutorials that teach Kristeen’s
seamless construction methods featured in the book, providing valuable technical
information for both beginning and seasoned knitter.
French Girl Knits patterns feature unique construction. The need for
sewing seams has been almost completely eliminated by fashioning patterns in one
piece from start to finish. Techniques involve constructing the garment in a more
organic way either from the top down, from the hem up, from the back out, and
picking up and using live stitches when possible.
Another key element in French Girl patterns is the silhouette. All of Kristeen’s
designs are body conscious and figure flattering. Many designs include curve-friendly
waist shaping, empire-waist detailing, and stitch details that emphasize the feminine
form. Inspired by historical costume, she uses unique detailing such as lacing,
openwork, lace edgings, and bell sleeves to further highlight the silhouette.
French Girl Knits invites the reader to be immersed in a world filled
with imagination and creativity, using knitting as a vehicle for self-expression
and encouraging experimentation through that medium.
Paperbound, 9 x 9, 160 pages
150 photographs, 30 illustrations, 20 charts
ISBN 978-1-59668-069-2
About the author:
Seattle designer Kristeen Griffin-Grimes launched her French Girl pattern
line in early 2005. Her patterns are currently carried in 125 yarn stores in the
United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom and on websites such as Jimmy Beans
Wool, The Knitting Garden, and Dream Weaver Yarns. The inspiration for the French
Girl label comes from her jazz singer, French Creole mother (the “original
French Girl”), her New Orleans childhood, and her ten-year love affair with
France. She leads an annual knitting workshop and tour in France each Fall. www.frenchgirlknits.com.
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