Inside The Designz: The Macramé Look Vest

Inside The Designz for National Crochet Month:
The Macramé Look Vest

Shannon spent many long hours designing the Macrame Look Vest for Crochet Geometry so photographing it was no small order.  We knew the photos of this piece would either make or break it. We both felt that photographing this garment in an urban environment was a must... one of those occasions where both of our visions played out the same. We both also pictured the same model for the shoot, Andrea. We've used Andrea for a number of years and she has that approachable friendly appeal that we thought would really pull the viewer into the photo with her. So we called her up and set up a date for an early morning shoot just down the street from her downtown apartment.

Now, Andrea is a lot of fun to shoot with for a number of reasons. First, she looks AMAZING in just about everything we put her in. Second, she is a total professional who comes prepared to get the shots we need without ever a complaint about locations or how long it takes to get that one perfect shot. Lastly, she gets us and our quirky sense of humors match perfectly. 

A quick note about this location: this is not where we set out to do this shoot… at all! This neighborhood in Seattle is actually our old stomping grounds. Both of us lived in various locations in this part of town then, when we moved in together, lived in three different places in this same neighborhood. When we lived here (back in the old days?!?) this was a garage where most of us took our cars to be worked on. Oh… and there was this dirty little alley nobody ever went into. Imagine our surprise when we came around the corner and saw, to our delight, a completely refurbished block of buildings complete with the original columns and brick walls from the old businesses. We were in LOVE!!

Please note the gardener and abandoned baby doll that went unnoticed by any of us…

If you've never been on a shoot like this before, let me explain that location shots like this take at least a good 30 minutes for each garment and I'll take a few dozen photos to get the shot we need.  I have to constantly stop and re-check settings for the changing sun every few minutes and to review photos in my camera (or on a computer) to ensure that I'm not missing something in the viewfinder.  Much like this shot!  It's a great photo of Andrea, love the composition, love the lighting, it just works... not so fond of the guy watering the flowers, however! He showed up minutes after we started shooting and I was so focused on Andrea that I missed him walking into frame.  
​Oh Well!  Moving on...

Dream location!

Luckily there were three locations I wanted to shoot here. The alley between businesses, gritty stairwell, and sunny/shady upstairs garden area. Lots of areas to play with! ​You can see this area had the urban look we wanted, but still had lots of texture on the walls and columns to keep it from looking too hard and edgy. Again, keep in mind that this entire area was not someplace you'd really hang out unless you were waiting for your brakes to be replaced or your oil changed.

While I loved the upstairs garden area, and we used it a great deal, the issue that arose was that of the sun.  The forecast for that morning was for early clouds and sun after 12:00.  In theory that should have given me 4 hours of filtered light with minimal shadow… plenty of time to get done what I needed. However, Mr. Sun decided to make an early entry and I was forced to move my location around a bit to get a beauty shot without heavy sun or excessive shade. This shot, although in a beautiful setting, the look of squinty-eyes-because-the-sun-came-out-from-behind-a-cloud-just-now isn't a great look on the model and this particular shot really does no justice to the piece with the heavy shadow across the garment… and that was truly what I was there to capture. Luckily, a few minutes later, the sun went behind a cloud and gave me the perfect light for the overall shot we needed and we were able to move on to the other three garments we had to shoot that morning.

Too much sun and kind of a cramped location.

One more look before we wrap for the day… just to be sure…

It's shoots like these that make me love being a photographer of crochet and knit fashion. I really am allowed to play with venues and lighting to show off the pieces in such a way that other photographers aren't. On occasion, if I get a really extraordinary shot that I think will look great in their portfolio I'll show the models a quick unedited shot. It makes my day to be able to share a good shot with them early. And, of course, kicking back at the local coffee shop is a good time to review and make sure we have everything we need before packing up and heading home for the day.

All in all this was an easy item to shoot, thanks to a great model, location, and cooperation from the sun. I hope it inspires you to make one for yourself!

Oh yeah… little did we know: this was the shoot that would become the COVER of Crochet Geometry! The two images below are the original photo (left) and the cropped photo that became the cover (right).

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Original photo used to create cover of Crochet Geometry.

And the cropped image on the cover of Crochet Geometry!

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The Macramé Look Vest

Comprised of a series of simple rectangles, The Macramé Look Vest is the perfect gateway piece for crocheters who are new to garment-making to take on. The intermediate lace pattern and beginner solid panels look impressive but the real secret is the simple construction of this waterfall front vest.  Truly, this is a vest that most stitchers will have fun creating... and wearing.

We used Malabrigo Sock yarn to create this care-free vest. The lightweight yarn shows off the macramé inspired lace pattern while being "comfortable and drapey"... that's a real word. Add a button or one of the FAB shawl pins from Jul Designs to close the fronts and show off your FAB crochet skills.

This pattern is one of 15 crochet patterns found in Crochet Geometry.  Get your copy today and let us know what your first project will be!

Stitch On!
S&J