Colour Inspiration for the Polina Vest by Teti Lutsak

We fell in love with the Polina Pullover that Teti released in January last year and have been enjoying all the colour combinations you have been coming up with. Of all the kits we have put together in recent times it has been one of the most popular and rightly so. So when we saw hints of a Polina Vest in the making the excitement began bubbling up in us again. A year after the Polina Pullover jumped onto our needles the Polina Vest is here and here is why we love it so much.

The Polina Pullover and Vest take inspiration from the naive art of Ukrainian self-taught painter Polina Raiko (1928 – 2004). At the age of 69 she began decorating the walls of her home in Oleshky village in southern Kherson. The walls and ceilings of her home were decorated in enamel-painted drawings of fantastic birds and flowers, Christian iconography, and interpretations of her own dreams and life events. Unfortunately most of her work is lost due to the flooding of her house after the destruction of Kakhovka dam in June 2023. As a response to the wars destruction of her homeland Teti Lutsak designed Polina to incorporate those lost cultural images.

The Polina Vest is knit from the bottom up starting in the round and then working flat from the underarms. With a-line shaping and English tailored shoulders. The bold botanical motif runs around the body and the rest is worked plain. It’s finished with a high ribbed neckline that can be either rolled down or up for cosy cold weather beating warmth. If you loved the Polina Pullover then you will love this. If you thought the Polina Pullover looked too daunting then the Polina Vest is a great project to try. The colourwork although big and bold is not quite as concentrated as the Pullover. I would say you need a little bit of confidence in working stranded colourwork so if you haven’t done much I would recommend a decent swatch to get used to managing floats. If you are worried about long floats between the motifs Teti also provides a chart that avoids them.

We have chosen the beautifully naturally dyed Hey Mama Wolf Ylva. It has the exact same meterage and 3ply construction as the original yarn Teti used. Ylva is a 100% plant dyed German Wool. Dyed with a range of plant materials like Madder, Indigo and Weld on bases ranging from a natural off white to grey. Hey Mama Wolf has worked with a specialist dyer in Vienna who has created a surprising palette of the rich and deep colours. The fibre used for the yarn is core to Hey Mama Wolf’s values of sustainability and all sourced from small sheep farms in Northern and Eastern Germany. By choosing to support small farms they are able to ensure the farmers get a fair price for their fleece.

It’s rustic and woolly to the touch with a good crisp feeling. It has an honest genuine wool feeling that I really enjoy. It blooms beautifully after blocking with a slight halo. It strikes me as the sort of yarn that will give you knitwear that will last and last and only get softer and more beautiful the more you wear it. With this in mind it would be ideal for jumper projects especially colourwork or textured ones. Check out Maya’s earlier blogpost for a beautiful colourwork swatch in Ylva. As the yarn has been dyed to such an intensity it is a good idea to note that some of the darker colours may bleed while blocking. If for example you are doing colourwork it would be advisable to pre wash your yarn before you knit it. For notes on the different colours check the Ylva product description.

I always enjoy seeing what colours you come up with when the orders come in. So please do share any swatches or WIP’s with us as you knit. If you are looking for some colour inspiration here are some of my favourites:

Madder Red and Hibiscus Pink. Channeling the vibes of Teti’s original with a deep red background with pale pink flowers.

Weiss Natur and Light Indigo Blue. A classic blue and white theme but giving it a slightly muted tones with the cream against the greyish blue. A bit more of a nautical feel with this one.

Walnut Brown and Reseda Yellow. An earthy combination using the deep dark brown as the main colour. The yellowy green just compliments the brown so well while still adding a nice contrast.

Light Grey and Delphinium Green. This green is giving me 50’s kitchenalia vibes. It’s so beautiful it needs a neutral so that it can really shine. The undyed natural grey sets it off wonderfully.

Birch Bark Pink and Coburg Fox. The Birch Bark Pink has to be one of my favourite colours of the Ylva range. It has an earthy rusty quality to it create a really colourwork punk by pairing it with the warming beige tone of Coburg Fox

We have done all the calculations for you so simply choose the size you would like to knit and the colours you like and all the numbers are worked out. Shop for your Polina Vest Kits here.



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