Knitting Patterns for Luxury Dupes
8 designer sweaters you can make yourself
I was doing something so mundane I can’t remember, when my phone pinged. It was my friend, jokingly asking me if I was up for a knitting project. She was on set and had just tried on the most beautiful clover green sweater from Celine, the catch was that it cost $1500.
I immediately told her not to buy it and sent her the exact shade of green from the KFO collection. Because this is what I do it seems, advise my friends and family on what is worth buying and what can be made, where it can be found cheaper for the same quality, and ultimately what is actually worth making the investment on. The wise old witch of knitwear, a title I gladly assume.
This text was more than just a text thought, it was a nudge from the universe because I had been sitting on the idea of writing this post for a few weeks. A round up of my favourite luxury sweaters and their knitting pattern counterparts! After all, this is also what I do.
So here are some of my favourite knitwear pieces and what knitting patterns I would use if I were to recreate them. Ive tried to get as close as possible to construction and taken the yarn density into consideration, but of course adaptations will be needed.
Firstly I would like to shout out Skall Studio for sharing the patterns behind their incredible knitted pieces. I think this is such a smart, and generous business model, one that other brands should pay more attention to, as it includes the community that centres the craft their brand is built on. We get access to the patterns but they’re also generating viewership on their website and the products are placed right there for us. Bravo Skall.
Simone Rocha Rugby Jersey x Polo no1 by MFTK
If you’ve seen any of my content before you’ll have seen many updates on this project as I’m currently working on it after trying this rugby jersey on in the SR London store last September (it might be finished by the time this comes out!). Strictly speaking this is not a knitwear piece but it’s been such a rollercoaster ride recreating this that I thought I would share! It was serendipitous when MFTK came out with the pattern to Polo no1 a few weeks after I walked away empty handed, but the fit of the SR jersey just wasn’t quite right (it was menswear after all). Ive used the recommended KFO yarn as the merino makes for rather fine stitches which give it a relaxed vibe, similar to the original rugby jersey. I have to compliment MFTK one more time because the construction of this piece is just exquisite, you can see a lot of thought and care went into making this pattern, although at points I felt the wording could have been clearer, the details are impeccable. It’s a rather complicated piece of knitting, so I printed the pattern and really felt like I was doing serious work once I started casting on. I knitted the frills in just mohair, and Im planing on embellishing this, in true SR style.
JW Anderson wrap jumper x Olga Blouse
I made a reel a few weeks ago about how I was thinking about this specific jumper for this post, only to walk into a shop to return something when I found a dupe in store! The one I bought is from Massimo Dutti but it doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped thinking about how I could make it.
The Olga Blouse by Petitknit is a striped number, but im looking more at the construction of the piece itself, and as it’s a fairly simple piece it’s a good fit for this project. I would just elongate the overall length of it to match the JWA sweater. The wraparound sleeves on the JWA piece come from the side seam, but the Massimo Dutti version I have, actually wraps around from the back (its stitched in) which I think is actually a better way of doing it as I think it puts less pressure on the side seams. My concern would be that they would overtime sag and the whole thing might lose shape. I have to say, I find the wrap around my waist quite comforting and a little forgiving over my lower belly (we all have our insecurities) so I am considering making this one.
