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Japanese Crane Sweater
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The Japanese Crane sweater is a one of a kind conceptual sweater which was inspired by Cranes in Japanese woodcuts and from my own fascination with all things Japanese. I spent a year as a child living in Japan and ever since, Asian and especially Japanese, motifs have been a large part of my design aesthetic . This cardigan is knit with very fine Japanese silk thread and contains approximately 40,000 individual stitches and took a little over two months to create. The body of the sweater represents several different pictorial images: The back has an image of three cranes flying against a Japanese Sun while the fronts panels each have one larger Japanese Crane. The cranes on the front panels are interacting with each other in a subtle way—the way they would be in nature—near each other, but doing their own thing—one is reaching up, perhaps to check out something in a high branch and the other is rummaging on the ground for something tasty to eat.
The way in which I have combined fairisle knitting and lace motifs is a new technique for me. The lacy designs on the neck, sleeves, button bands and bottom edge are all designed to replicate feathers. The sleeves are shaped like wings and have a very intricate lace pattern which is has a feathery fairy-tale quality. The dramatic and unusual neckline simulates the long reach of the cranes neck and also has especially intricate feather-lace motifs knitted into it.
The button bands have very delicate and tiny feathers lace-knit into the length of both sides.
Finished measurements: body width =1 ½", hem to neckline 2", neckline to top of collar in the back: ¾", armhole to tip of wing/sleeve tip 1 ¼"
©All Text and Images are Copyright Althea Crome 2001
