2012 Spoonflower Staff Challenge Pt. 2: Nirvana Through Knit brought to you by Team Prana

This is the second in a series of posts describing the projects that are part of our 2012 Spoonflower Staff Challenge. Voting begins on Thursday, March 15, 2012.

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Team Prana consists of design wrangler Caroline and print wench Janet, otherwise known as Coco and Jaja. Coincidentally we have both lived in Sweden and came up with our idea one day while having our regular Monday fika. I was telling Janet about the yoga classes I've been taking and how everyone was very stylish and colorful. I have a bright purple mat, but usually wear all black and thought it would be fun to spice it up a bit. The discussion moved on to colors, how they  correspond to the various chakras and what they represent. We began by thinking it would be fun to combine meaning with form and function. After considering a few ideas involving coats that turned into sleeping bags, we changed gears and focused on brainstorming and creating designs for the pieces in our collection. What started as a few pieces and the idea of a couple of designs blossomed into 6 distinct pieces and 12 different designs. We decided to focus on the top three chakras and design around those colors and use elements traditionally associated with yoga (the OM symbol) and India.

Violet/purple governs the CROWN chakra, at the top of the head and represents BEAUTY, CREATIVITY &  INSPIRATION. 

Indigo governs the BROW chakra or third eye, in the centre of the forehead and represents INTUITION, MYSTICISM, & UNDERSTANDING. 

Blue governs the THROAT chakra and represents KNOWLEDGE, HEALTH, DECISIVENESS.

 

SUMMARY OF PIECES

VINYASA WRAP SWEATER (reversible):

(Janet takes over here...) We wanted to create a sweater that could be worn to yoga class and could also be worn out after class. I set out to design a sweater that would be comfortable and loose-fitting but also stylish and versatile so it would look great with yoga pants as well as a pair of jeans. I decided to go with a "blanket wrap" style sweater because I thought it would drape really nicely with the Spoonflower knit fabric. 

   


A blanket wrap sweater is really simple to make.  Start with one large rectangular piece of knit. Drape it across your shoulders horizontally to decide where you want the arm holes to be. Cut two identical arm holes in the fabric. Next cut two identical sleeves out of the remaining knit. ( I traced a sleeve pattern from another pattern that I had laying around the house). Make sure that the width of the sleeve goes with the stretchy direction of the fabric. I hung the sweater on a dress mannequin and then pinned the sleeves onto the sweater before sewing them on to make sure that they hung well. Caroline had designed so many great patterns that halfway through the project I decided to make the sweater reversible. To make it reversible cut the exact same sweater and sleeve pieces out on a contrasting fabric and assemble them into a second sweater.

 

Here's the fun part: Lay the identical wrap sweaters directly on top of one another,  pattern-sides together, and pin them. Because the sweaters are two large rectangle shapes you can sew them together just like a large pillow case. Make sure that the sleeves and edges line up and that you leave a small opening to turn the new sweater inside out. Then just tuck each sleeve into its coordination sleeve. Now you have a reversible sweater! I used two yards to Spoonflower knit to make each "side" of the sweater. 

ACCESSORIES:

Along with the reversible sweater we created additional yoga accessories to complete the look. 

We used a complementary pattern to create an infinity (loop style) scarf out of knit. I took one yard of Spoonflower knit, folded it over the long way and sewed it together to make a double sided scarf. Caroline then added snaps to each end so that the scarf could be snapped together to take on multiple shapes. You can unsnap the scarf to wear it long, snap it together to create a long loop, or loop it twice to have a warm neck scarf.

 

 

We used another knit pattern to create a simple headband to keep your hair pulled back while doing yoga. I used a fat quarter of Spoonflower knit and was able to make several small headbands. I measured the circumference of my head and measured it out on the stretchy direction of the knit. I cut the fabric twice as wide as I wanted the headband to be so that I could fold it over and make it double sided. Then I sewed it into a loop.

The last thing I made was a stylish yoga bag to carry gear to and from yoga class. I traced another shoulder bag that I had and used it as a template. The body of the bag consists of 5 pieces: the front and back pieces, two thin side panels, and the bottom panel. The bigger the side and bottom panels are, the more your bag will be able to hold. I sewed the pieces together and then made a small pocket for the front of the bag and two straps. I used the Spoonflower linen because it is sturdy and strong.  I lined the bag with Spoonflower sateen in another one of Caroline's complementary patterns.

 

(Back to Caroline...) Two more essentials of every yoga practice are an eye pillow and a mat carrier. I used the cotton-silk for the eye pillow because of its soft and luxurious feel. I used one swatch folded in half to create the pillow and filled it with bergamot scented flax seeds.

 

 

The carrier is a design that I came up after noticing that people either struggle with an unruly mat and no way to keep it together or just simple straps that are usually in black and can easily get tangled when not in use. This carrier design brings vibrancy and fun to your practice, is easy to wash and can be carried in your hand or over your shoulder.

If you would like to check out the designs we used in our projects and the other pieces in the Prana collection, click on each image here and you'll go straight to that fabric page. Namaste!

APPRECIATION:

We would like to thank our beautiful models, designer and illustrator Amanda Wright of Wit and Whistle and her puppies Mabel and Oliver. Side note: if Amanda's home looks familiar, it's because it was featured recently on Design Sponge.