When I picture springtime, one of the first things that comes to mind is tulips: growing in our garden, while a watery sun tries to warm the still-chilly air, for sale on the market, in a vase on the kitchen table, growing in the grass by the side of the road… it’s no wonder tulips are one of the national symbols of my home country The Netherlands. Now that I live in the United States I sometimes miss that abundance of flowers, and tulips in particular. For that reason I decided to design a cardigan inspired by my favorite flower.

Tulpen – you guessed it, Dutch for tulips – is a top-down short-sleeved cardigan with tulip lace and a tulip-shaped knit and purl motif on the round yoke and a large tulip lace motif worked as a border around the bottom of the cardigan. Knit in a soft organic cotton, Tulpen is great for spring weather or a cool summer evening. The sample was knit in scrumptious Mirasol Samp’a, which fittingly is produced in Holland in support of the Mirasol Project.