Xiao Mai 小麥 by Layla Yang of Qing Studio is one of the patterns from my new book, Neons & Neutrals. An oversized jacket with wide kimono sleeves, it has a truly stunning chunky stitch over the whole body and sleeves that is made using 8 strands of lace weight yarn (or any other combination of yarns that will give a chunky weight gauge).
For the second version of Xiao Mai, I knew I wanted to make a dark one. Unfortunately, It is one of the patterns that we did not have time to have a second sample made in time for the photoshoot for Neons & Neutrals. We finished this new sample very recently, just in time for me to take it to Vogue Knitting Live with me.
Here are Max and Tanya modelling both versions of Xiao Mai at Vogue Knitting Live!
La Bien Aimée is currently offering yarn bundles to knit the chunky stitch of Xiao Mai which adorns the body and sleeves. You will find the quantities of yarn needed to knit the body below. So let's get into the details of which yarn I used.
We knit the dark Xiao Mai in size 1 using two strands of La Bien Aimée Merino Bouclé and one strand of La Bien Aimée Mohair Silk, both in colorway Alcide Herveaux. We don't dye black at LBA, so Alcide Herveaux, a very dark navy blue, is the darkest color we offer.
Doesn't it look super cool as a vest as well?
For the chunky stitch, I used 8 different yarns:
- La Bien Aimée Kumo in Avoine
- La Bien Aimée Kumo in Fluoro Morganite
- Qing Fibre Melted Baby Suri in Ametrine
- Isager Silk Mohair in colors 22, 60, 34, 69, 62 (one ball of each color)
Check out my project page on Ravelry.
We will have original bundles online very soon! We are just waiting for that yarn to arrive...
In the meantime, and because we know that you are excited for this one, we have made LBA Dark bundles in similar colors of La Bien Aimée. They contain:
- La Bien Aimée Kumo in Avoine
- La Bien Aimée Kumo in Fluoro Morganite
- La Bien Aimée Kumo in Julia (a variegated pink with speckles to replace Ametrine)
- La Bien Aimée Mohair Silk in Goldenrod, Loam, Kitsune, Dawn, and Moria
Here are the quantities of yarn you will need to make a similar version:
SIZE
1 (2, 3, 4, 5) (6, 7, 8, 9)
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Bust Circumference (worn open): 44.25 (48, 51.75, 55.5, 59.25) (63, 66.75,
70.5, 74.25) “/ 112.5 (122, 131.5, 141, 150.5) (160, 169.5, 179, 188.5) cm.
Recommended ease: 11.75–13.75” / 30–35 cm of positive ease.
Body:
LBA Merino Bouclé (yarn is held double): 8 (8, 9, 9, 10) (11, 11, 12, 12) skeins
LBA Mohair Silk: 2 (2, 2, 2, 2) (3, 3, 3, 3) skeins
Find all the La Bien Aimée bundles online now! And stay tuned for the Original Dark bundles, which should be online very soon...