Review of French Girl knits

Just because something is functional does not mean it cannot be beautiful also. In her book French Girl Knits author Kristeen Griffin-Grimes states, “The French were masters of an art that had nothing to do with money and everything to do with an appreciation of the small, lovely moments in life”. This book is an example of all that is artistic and imminently wearable. Using seamless construction, varying needle sizes within a garment, and carefully placed increases and decreases Griffin-Grimes creates unique garments that are lovely, feminine and well designed.

To create seamless designs (or nearly seamless designs) Griffin-Grimes uses a mix of provisional cast-ons, grafting, side-to-side and top down construction depending on the pattern. The book has the patterns and then copious notes of how-to’s for each pattern explaining her design process and why she made the choices she made. She states on page 77, “The design process continues to surprise me: an unexpected “accident” or “mistake” might lead to a serendipitous outcome.” She explains in detail the steps to the outcome.

I wish I had all of the time in the world to make the Sophia, the Wrenna, la Creatrice, Delphine, and many others. The advantage of top down seamless construction allows you to try on the garment being made and make adjustments in fit as you go. In French Girl Knits the models are shown wearing the designs as only French woman can, they look stylish and lovely, but I can imagine them dressing up my usual attire of black or blue jeans. The sweaters, tops, and tunics have a look that is both visually appealing and yet they all seem straightforward to knit. Not that they are uncomplicated, but they seem reasonably challenging. I have always tried, without success, to cultivate a “look” and with this book I can see the dream of the “look” becoming possible. The author encourages you to make her design your own, by changing the shaping to fit you or by changing the materials used among other things. She wants you to experiment if you want to or knit them from the pattern verbatim. Whichever way you proceed I suspect it will be worth the effort.