Brazilian Brilliance — Paula Pereira’s Debut Collection Is Inspired!

Brazilian Brilliance — Paula Pereira’s Debut Collection Is Inspired!

Get ready for some serious texture. Next week the lovely Laine Publishing will launch the debut collection by Brazilian knitwear designer Paula Pereira and we’re totally in awe.

Paula’s knits focus on colour, shape, and construction. Both in her native Brazil and in Angola, where she currently lives with her husband, Paula finds inspiration in the motifs in the art and architecture that surrounds her. It’s easy to see that inspiration in the pages of Textured Knits, which brings together 20 designs for sweaters, shawls, cardigans, and a pair of socks. Plus, Paula has used some of our very favourite yarns to craft this collection. We cannot wait for this collection to launch on 2 June! Preorder your copy now and start planning your knits with the preview pages on Ravelry. Here are our favourites:

Milhazes is a great example of Paula’s creative approach to knitting, and the homage her work pays to her sources of inspiration. This cardigan is named for the Brazilian contemporary artist Beatriz Milhazes, who often works with circular motifs in bright colours and combines traditional Brazilian imagery with contemporary Western techniques. Paula’s circles are constructed using an innovative technique where a “loom” of yarn overs acts as a base for weaving in an airy yarn with a tapestry needle. La Bien Aimée Merino DK is the base yarn here, with La Bien Aimée Mohair Silk used for the woven circles, and while the sample uses the same hue of the Merino DK and the Mohair Silk, Paula encourages the knitter to get creative with colour. We all know how good Aimée’s yarns are for that!

The Manacá sweater is named for the manacá tree and inspired by a sweet childhood memory that has stayed with Paula for life: as a schoolgirl walking home in Rio de Janeiro, she would collect the manacá flowers that had fallen to the ground. This sweater is a fitting memento of that habit that allows the knitter to symbolically collect flowers with Paula, and there could be no more perfect yarn for such a treasure than mYak Tibetan Cloud. mYak co-founders Paola (Paula and Paola? a match made in heaven!) and Andrea work with Tibetan nomads who collect the fibres that become this beautiful yarn in a very gentle fashion each spring, combing their animals rather than shearing them — not dissimilar to picking up flower blossoms from the street.

Balaio is the perfect design for Daughter of a Shepherd.
Photo © Paula Pereira

We were so excited to see that Paula’s Balaio sweater used no less than three colours of Daughter of a Shepherd Ram Jam Worsted. We have always been totally in love with the tonal story Loop alumna and Daughter of a Shepherd founder Rachel Atkinson tells with her rustic yarns and we are so excited to see Paula does as well. This pattern celebrates the wonder of universal symbols. Elements of the colourwork motifs here can be found all over the world, from Norwegian and Fair Isle knitting to Brazilian basket weaving. These little things that connect us all are so important. 

Brooklyn Tweed Shelter is the star of the architecture-inspired knit Cobogó. This sweater is named for a traditional Brazilian architectural element designed to let sunlight through a wall to create beautiful patterns that shift throughout the day. This boxy cardigan has all the warmth of stranded colourwork and dense cables to see you through the chilly months (or just chilly mornings) but its sunny inspiration will always remind you of warmer days ahead!

We’re totally in love with the gorgeous and subtle colourwork in Florada. Meaning “flowering” in Portuguese, Florida is a beautifully understated sweater with a different take on the floral motif seen in Paula’s Manacá sweater. The pattern uses a fingering/4-ply base (Woolstok Light, Grey Sheep Co. Hampshire, or any of our wool 4-ply/fingering weight wools would work well) and the incredible La Bien Aimée Kumo accents to really stunning effect. We love the tonal play of the sample, but our minds are already reeling with other colour options. How fun would it be to mix Woolstok Light in “Golden Meadow” with Kumo in “Buzz” for a zingy neon riff on the muted tonal story of Paula’s version? We can’t wait to see your version!

We hope you’re excited to be inspired by Paula Pereira’s Textured Knits!

Robinia Kits in Loop’s Special Vintage Pink

We know you all love Anne Ventzel’s Robinia sweater. When we first made kits for this gorgeous knit they sold out almost instantly! We’ve since restocked those kits several times, and now we’re very excited to bring you an extra special version: Robinia in Loop Vintage Pink! Fluffy, romantic, and in one of our favourite colour combos. What’s not to love?

Buttons Galore!

Oh my goodness there are too many wonderful new buttons in the shop. We always love scouring the world for the very best haberdashery bits and pieces to offer and the new additions to our button collection are the crème de la crème. The funky and bold Retro Bird Buttons, fractal-reminiscent Psychedelic Buttons, and simple but darling Baby Wood Flower Button (the swirls in the wood almost make it look like these flowers have little ringlets!) are just a few of the absolute treasure trove of new favourites. Come see for yourself in the shop or on our Haberdashery page!

Wildwood and Flower Power from Mette Mehlsen

Crochet, kits, and naturally dyed colours? Where do we sign up! We have more of Mette Mehlsen’s incredible creative wonders in the shop. Her Wildwood and Flower Power kits virtually need no introduction at this point, and her legendary plant-dyed yarns are unparalleled. We love how each one of these handcrafted scarves turns out a little bit different, as the creator makes subtly different choices about where and how to use colour.

Amirisu

Don’t forget to preorder your copy of Amirisu 26! We previewed this water-themed spring/summer 2023 issue of the magazine on the blog a few weeks ago and we haven’t stopped thinking about it since. This issue hits the shelves (and ships) on 9 June!

Wishing you a woolly weekend.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.