When it comes to knitting techniques, fair isle is a
particular favourite with the KnitPro team and we are always excited to learn
more about it. So we jumped at the chance to look at a new book featuring the
history of Shetland knitting, the home of the technique, and to attend an event
where we could get up close with the garments featured.
The Vintage ShetlandProject by Susan Crawford is more than a pattern book, although there are
some great patterns in there. Over the past few years Susan has spent time at
the Shetland Museum’s textile archive researching the techniques and patterns
of traditional Shetland knitting. The result is a stunning book containing a
series of essays on a range of topics to do with the history of knitting in
Shetland, the development and recording of patterns and how knitting styles
changed over times.
These are followed by a collection modern patterns derived
from some of the garments and accessories held in the museum.
For anyone with a love of colourwork there are some
interesting and indeed challenging patterns, but that said they are not outside
the reach of any knitter willing to take things one step at a time.
Each pattern comes with a lot of information about the
sizing and how each garment in constructed and it is important to read through
these before starting your garment, especially the sizing because these
patterns have been developed from actual vintage pieces they do not necessarily
come in standard sizes.
As is traditional in fair isle many of the patterns are
worked in the round with steeks- sections of knitting designed to be cut to
allow buttonbands and sleeves to be added. This has the advantage of allowing
you to work the colour pattern in the round which for most people is easier and
creates a more even tension.
Seeing the pieces close up, we were able to look at the
wrongside of the garments as well and see how neat the “floats”, the strands of
yarn not in use on the reverse of the pattern are. They form a design all their
own as you can glimpse in some of the images here. One common mistake people new
to stranded colourwork like fair isle make is to catch the yarn not in use
every couple of stitches. In fact you can let it run behind the work for seven
or even nine stitches, by which time in the majority of traditional patterns it
is back in use.
This is a book that knitters can return to time after time
for inspiration and to create classic garments with their own colour twist. A
true investment for anyone who loves colourwork on their needles.
Our top tip for fair
isle knitting:
Learn both English and continental knitting techniques so you
can work with one colour in each hand. This evens out your
tension and reduces the chance of yarns tangling.
