Knitting Lingerie Style

Description

The only knitting book focused on lingerie and lingerie-inspired designsUnderwear has come out. Once kept demurely concealed, lingerie now pervades every fashion category, inspiring designs for day looks, loungewear, evening clothes, and accessories. Slips have become dresses unto themselves. Bra straps are meant to peek out from under tank tops. Camisoles are worn on their own or as layers over or under other clothes. Now, with Knitting Lingerie Style, designer Joan McGowan-Michael interprets this undeniable fashion trend for the knitter and, along the way, shares fascinating stories about lingerie history. Did you know that it was airplane magnate Howard Hughes who masterminded the underwire bra?McGowan-Michael's 30-plus designs, stunningly photographed by Thayer Allyson Gowdy, range from the truly functional-knitted bras, slips, corsets, camisoles, and stockings-to the purely fun. The brassiere inspires a curvature-enhancing twinset. The baby doll negligee is the basis for a lacy little gown and a matching thong set that's both luxurious and (slightly) notorious. And a ribbed, laced-front sweater is an updated-and much more comfortable!-take on the classic corset.The only book of its kind on the market, Knitting Lingerie Style includes projects that are bold and sexy, daring us all to bare a little skin, as well as more understated and demure, with sizes ranging from petite to plus.

Joan McGowan-Michael has been working as a professional designer since 1980. Known for her lingerie expertise, in 1995 she was hired to recreate twenty vintage lingerie and loungewear garments for the Frederick's of Hollywood Lingerie Museum. Also for the museum, she restored valuable lingerie pieces worn by Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Cher and Madonna. In 2001, McGowan founded White Lies Designs (www.whiteliesdesigns.com), which specializes in knitted vintage and lingerie-inspired patterns in a wide range of sizes. Her knitted designs have appeared in many knitting publications, including the top three: Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits and Knitter's magazine.