Our hurt book sale is happening now, so give one of these lovelies a good home. This is a great pattern if youre looking to practice some fair isle. This book will lead you through the history of fair isle knitting, designing, pattern and color selection, knitting with two or more colors, steeks, and finishing. Hazel tindall authentic fair isle knitting patterns. Fair isle is a very specific type of stranded knitting from fair isle, a tiny island in the north of scotland and part of the shetland islands. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. While starmores book left me intimidated, this book inspired me to take up my circular needles and give fair isle knitting a.
Fair isle knitting for beginners easy method to knit. Its exciting to turn your imagination into reality and also satisfying to contribute a unique design to an historical tradition. Fair isle is the most remote inhabited island in the united kingdom. A shetlanders fair isle graph book by the shetland guild of spinners, knitters, weavers. There are thousands of fair isle designs in the world, but often none of them are exactly what you would make if left to your own devices.
This is the book that took an esoteric knitting technique out of scotland and introduced it to the world. So the perpetuation of the design thanks to sewing pattern companies as culturally made necessary because of war time clothing rations and wwii soldiers bringing fair isle pieces home to america is my personal theory why the fair isle style experienced a trend revival in the 40s and through today. There are other fair isle knitting books with the same clear instructions on the technique and good pattern libraries but at least they have nice and varied projects. It not only explores the arts history, patterns and.
I used this book to design a wonderful scarf and have plans for utilizing many more of the patterns in this book. Legend has it that spaniards, stranded on the island after the break up of the spanish armada in 1588, taught the islanders to use the colours and patterns typical of fair isle knitting. It not only explores the arts history, patterns, and traditional techniques but also encourages knitters to develop their own creativity. Easy way to knit fair isle and other stranded colorwork in. Book of fair isle knitting is an essential reference book for a knitter who is. For a list of great knitting patterns in our favorite stitch, check out stockinette stitch knitting. Fair isle cardigan with straight sides and an optional small pocket or two.
To work the fair isle colourwork pattern, all you do is knit a few stitches in one colour, then switch to another colour, and knit a few stitches in that. The distinctive patterning of traditional fair isle knitting is a clever way to combine the many odd bits of differentcolored yarn that came originally from the native shetland sheep, which have evolved a variety of natural fleece colors. This book is a fair isle bible, covering the techniques involved stranding, weaving in and steeks, the history of shetland and fair isle knitting, and a masterclass on colour combining. Knittingscottish and fair islepatterns, knitting, books barnes. The book contains a good pattern library and the explanation of the fair isle technique is clear. Knitters will delight in a modern look from a traditional technique. I found the history of fair isle knitting very interesting. Buy alice starmores book of fair isle knitting dover knitting, crochet, tatting, lace green ed. Fair isle knitting patterns book by mary macgregor bakka.
This pattern supplements the fine art of fair isle with shetlands hazel tindall, which is available as a download or dvd. The charts show just how many stitches to do in each colour. Choose from 100s of free knitting patterns to download and make today. Book of fair isle knitting is an essential reference book for a knitter who is interested in stranded colorwork. Fair isle crochet guide resources for your handmade home. Daisy and i want to share one of our favorite books, wanderlust by tanis gray. In fair isle knitting, only 2 colors are used per round and yarn is carried for a limited number of stitches. A true fair isle garment made on fair isle will win you recognition anywhere. Its a musthave for every serious fair isle knitter. This video is a slow walkthrough of a simplified version of knitting fair isle, which is perfect for beginners who really want to make fair isle patterns as soon as possible.
And the islanders knitted with two yarns to create two layers that trap air and create warmth. This knitting book provides a rough framework for a variety of knitting projects. The knitting technique yields garments with dense multicolored patterns characteristic of the region and also associated with some scandinavian nations. Fair isle knitting patterns by mary ann stephens as downloadable pdfs. The full step by step tutorial is at download this tutorial in pdf at. Scotlands fair isle is celebrated the world over for its distinctive, strandedcolor knitting, and alice starmore is famous for her expertise in designing and instructing knitters in this appealing regional tradition. Scotlands fair isle has long been known for its distinctive, strandedcolor knitting. Fair isle pdf pattern freshly pieced modern quilt patterns. Fair isle knitting originated on the remote island of fair isle a tiny jewel in the ocean lying midway between the orkney and shetland islands to the north of scotland in the uk, at the point where the atlantic ocean meets the north sea. The patterns are lovely, and the colour combinations precise. A designer from the region, alice starmore explores the history and. The fine art of fair isle knitting hello, im hazel tindall, from shetland, and i am delighted to welcome you to my website where i present a selection of my unique shetland and fair isle knitting patterns, available for immediate download i was privileged to grow up in shetland where i was surrounded by knitters who needed to knit quickly and to a high standard in order to gain an income.
I have knitted 7 garments from this book and each one has been a beautiful end product. It is administratively part of the parish of dunrossness, shetland, and is roughly equidistant from sumburgh head, some 38 km 24 mi to the northeast on the mainland of shetland and north ronaldsay, orkney, some 43 km 27 mi to the southwest. The concept of intricate color patterns done seamlessly with shetland wool was and is quite appealing. Books jamieson and smith, real shetland wool, fair isle knitting. It teaches you about design choices and techniques. The pattern is in a book which is out of print, calls for very specific yarns from a company which has gone out of business and she doesnt have experience with the specific fair isle stitching. Traditional fair isle patterns have a limited palette of five or so colours, use only two. Newer yarns are now colored to automatically create fair isle color patterns. See more ideas about knitting, fair isle knitting and knitting patterns.
Fair isle knitting patterns by mary macgregor explore over 60 different stencil pages of robert willliamsons fair isle patterns from the 1920s in this excellent source book, useful for beginners and experienced knitters alike. Alice starmores book of fair isle knitting dover knitting, crochet. All the details are included to help you master fair isle crochet. History, technique, color and pattern by ann feitelson isbn. Feitelsens book discusses the history of fair isle knitting, techniques, and how to choose colours. Moreover, while the limited mv collection does not offer traditional fair isle sweaters, she said, it is a product linked to the history and tradition of fair isle through the patterns. Fair isle is magnificent and quite unlike anything else id done before. Starting with the very basics of fair isle knitting, history, supplies and. Fair isle fral is a traditional knitting technique used to create patterns with multiple colours. Fair isle knitting is a style of knitting which is used to create patterned garments. Fair isle is a remote island situated between orkney and shetland to the north of mainland scotland. A woman an experienced knitter decides that she will knit a fair isle sweater from a specific pattern.
Elizabeth zimmermanns knitters almanac by elizabeth zimmermann. It was developed on fair isle, an island to the north of scotland between orkey and shetland islands. The basis for fair isle knitting is stockinette stitch, so youll want to come prepared. Watch the free videos to learn how to change yarn colors, the center single crochet stitch, and even how to join at the end of each round. A design notebook rounds out the book, giving readers further ideas for using fair isle knitting.
I like to think of each stitch as a pixel in the picture. Fair isle knitting gained considerable popularity when the prince of wales later edward viii wore fair isle jumpers in public in 1921. There is a pattern for a miniature fair isle teddy bear size sweater aka tea cozy in nicky epsteins book, knitting on top of the world, and here is a blog post with many photos from someone who has made this for reference she made this as. Alice starmores book of fair isle knitting dover books. Alice starmores book of fair isle knitting by alice starmore. Alice starmores book of fair isle knitting, 1988, taunton press, usa new edition 2009, dover publications, usa also published as the fair isle knitting handbook, 1990, blandford books, uk. A nordic sweater was the inspiration for this holiday quilt, done in classic solid colors. Knittingscottish and fair islepatterns, knitting, books. Why fair isle sweaters have a threeyear waiting list. If you are confused about how to read a knitting chart, we have a full tutorial here. Once you see it this way, its pretty easy to catch on to the fact that pretty much any imagery can be translated into a fair isle pattern. Suitable for advanced knitters wanting to further their designs. Alice starmores book of fair isle knitting virtual yarns.
With rich and detailoriented knitting projects including hats, socks, mittens, jumpers and cardigans which all use this classic colorswitching knitting. This 1998, 2009 edition, of alice starmores book of fair isle knitting has a soft cover. This book was originally published in 1988, went out of print, and was recently republished, so that alice starmores knitting expertise can be available to knitters again. Books jamieson and smith, real shetland wool, fair isle. Fair isle is a beautiful knitting technique thats used to create some gorgeous garments, but it can be a little daunting for novice knitters. It is named after fair isle, one of the shetland islands. Modern stranded knitting techniques the fair isle vest. This wonderful book covers the history of fair isle and includes many wonderful patterns to incorporate into your projects. Many people use the term fair isle when they mean stranded knitting, and this is inaccurate.
Fair isle style offers a collection of patterns from a variety of established, rising, and new knitwear designers and focuses on fresh, modern uses of color for todays knitters. See more ideas about vintage knitting, knitting and vintage patterns. Fair isle knitting patterns for knitters looking to advance their skills and stitch awesome iconic colour work, look no further than this beautiful collection of fair isle knitting patterns. Each step is demonstrated in the dvddownload and skills shown can easily be used with other knitting projects. This volume is profusely illustrated with color photographs, plus drawings and charts that illustrate the arts history, patterns, and techniques. There are many books on fair isle knitting and each one has its strengths. See more ideas about knitting charts, knitting, tapestry crochet. It is a very readable and fun book due to the authors fabulous writing ability. I found the pattern instructions in this book easier to understand than in alice starmores book. Her richly illustrated guide offers both beginning and advanced knitters a complete workshop in the fair isle style. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about knitting history andor knitting a fair islestyle sweater.
Fair isle free knitting patterns lets knit magazine. We annually purchase the raw fleece from over 700 local crofters and farmers. Alice starmores book of fair isle knitting by alice. Fair isle print patterns are pretty easy to work with and pick up on. Mary jane mucklestone and hey join my classes now blueprint. Daisy is pretty sure i need the mittens or fair isle infinity cowl from this book. The complete book of traditional fair isle knitting. Exclusively fair isle history of fair isle knitting.
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