Textured Knitting

Aran Knitting

Just as Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting is the definitive guide for color pattern technique, so her Aran Knitting is for textured knitting. Until this new edition arrived, knitter's had to hope that their library or used book store might yield up a copy, for it languished out of print for far, far too long.

Now the happy day has arrived when Aran Knitting is once again available! In it, you'll find anything and everything you've ever wanted to know about the techniques and lore that surround Aran sweaters and textured knitting in general. You'll even find twisted-stitch knitting here, Aran Knitting is just that complete.

Perhaps even more exciting are the 15 sweaters designed by Alice in styles ranging from traditional to beautifully modern, plus the final section that teaches you how to design your own Aran sweater. There is mouthwatering goodness in this book, enough to inspiring more knitting each time your knitting inspires more reading. Truly a masterpiece!

Cables, Diamonds, Herringbone

The subtitle for Cables, Diamonds, Herringbone says it all: Sabine Domnick has delved more deeply into the history, mystery, patterns, techniques and lore of British fisherman's sweaters than any other writer on this topic to date. This is the first book on the subject published in years that has actually contributed new material in the realm of historical techniques and design, as well as making some lovely contributions to modern renditions of Guernsey, Jersey and Aran sweaters.

In fact, Cables, Diamonds, Herringbone stands as the best handbook on this aspect of the knitter's art and craft that has been published thus far. It is a slim volume, but packed with excellent photos detailing and showcasing construction techniques and embellishments, patterns, sweaters and more. Domnick's step-by-step introduction is accompanied by the clearest combination of text and photos ever - whether you are familiar with the craft of fisherman's sweaters or not, you will love knitting along with her. She will never lead you astray, either - "clarity" must be her middle name. In addition to exploring and explaining all the "parts" of these sweaters so that we can design our own, she also offers some full sweater patterns for men and women that are most enticing.

It is a joy to be able to offer this book, a beautiful "must have" for any knitter interested in this tradition.

Twisted-Stitch Knitting

I feel as though we have all been gifted by the return of this collection - this time in English. For far, far too long this classic and unparalled collection of patterns from the countrysides of Bavaria and Austria has languished out of print. As knitter's we owe a debt of gratitude to Schoolhouse Press for bringing it back to life and also for translating it into English.

Originally, Twisted-Stitch Knitting was a trio of Austrian books (originally titled, Überlieferte Strickmuster ) created by Maria Erlbacher to continue the preservation of folk knitting in Austria. Her three little books (now in this single volume) were always my favorite sources for this style of knitting. There is a warmth, a heart to them that no other such books convey in quite the same way.
And they are packed with everything a knitter could want: 174 intriguing twisted-stitch designs plus instructions for a number of jackets/cardigans, vests and elegant stockings with separate motifs in the calf-shaping. Meg Swansen and Amy Detjen have expanded the technique section for this English edition, explaining more fully things that had stymied them and other English-speaking knitters.

Pure joy!

PS The perfect yarn for this style of knitting is Edelweiss - its spring and life are perfect for the tight knit of the twisted-stitch. We carry it here at www.euronaturayarn.com.

Cornish Guernseys & Knit-frocks

What a treat to have Mary Wright's little book back in print! Cornish Guernseys & Knit-frocks is a treasury of history, knitting technique and inspiration which has been missed for many years by all knitters who have ever seen it. Now that it's available again, we can once more enter the world of 19th Century Cornwall, North Atlantic fishermen, and contract knitters whose hands placed knitting patterns that spoke of life into guernseys so textural rich that over a hundred years later we still marvel at them.

In addition to priceless photos and fascinating historical background, Mary Wright also gives us 30 patterns copied from Cornish guernseys (some available nowhere else!) and advice and instruction for creating your own guernsey. Step into history, emerge with a sweater to cherish.

Fishermen's Sweaters

Fishermen's Sweaters is a delicious journey through the fishing communities of Scotland, England, Ireland, then across the Channel into Norway, the Faroe Isles, the Baltic Sea and back to Breton, France; and then Alice Starmore takes a leap across the Atlantic and creates new "traditional" sweaters for New World fishermen, as well. In each of these sweaters, in her amazing way, she has picked up elements of design that really speak to the places and people she contemplated. Then she transforms them into something very new that carries those traditions into the present, beauty and purpose intact. I just love see the ways Alice Starmore plays with designs, always keeping a wonderful, lively balance between the old and the new.

This collection is so inspiring that not only do I want to knit each and every one of the sweaters, but I am already playing with ways to create new designs, new directions. Fishermen's Sweaters is one of those design books that goes well beyond just offering patterns and directions for lovely sweaters - Starmore's world comes alive in it and you'll find you're able to travel a ways down the road with her, creating as you go.

Knitting Ganseys

Beth Brown-Reinsel has produced a beautiful tribute to a beloved classic sweater style, and in the process actually carried on and expanded upon the work of two of my favorite authors: Gladys Thompson, who brought us Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys and Arans and Mary Wright, whose classic Cornish Guernseys and Knit Frocks is, alas, still languishing out-of-print. If you are at all interested in exploring the magnificent world of gansey knitting, Knitting Ganseys is a must-have.

Gansey sweaters were standard wear for 19th Century British fishermen. With their intricate knit-purl patterns, dropped shoulders and easy fit, these sweaters have remained an all-time favorite - still beautiful and a pleasure to wear even in our modern, urban world.

In Knitting Ganseys , Beth Brown-Reinsel teaches you how to design and construct your own ganseys. You'll discover special cast-ons, cables and increases, shoulder straps and gussets, and more. She even includes instructions for a miniature sample gansey, which will allow you to experience all the techniques in a matter of a few hours.

When you're read to knit a full-sized gansey, you can choose from six of the authors designs, or use her instructions for creating your own original design. There's plenty of information on sizing, graphing, and technique, as well as blank graph paper and a terrific worksheet (thorough beyond belief!).

Knitting Ganseys is a book to treasure and use and use and use - as classic as the sweaters it showcases.

Meg Swansen's Guernsey Pullover

Guernsey or Gansey, no matter what you call it, they are favorite sweaters to make and treasured sweaters to wear and pass along to the next generation. Meg Swansen invites us along on one of her "knitting vacations" along the gloriously beautiful Oregon Coast (near Coos Bay, I believe, judging from the scenery).

In addition to walking us through the basics of Guernsey construction, history and yarn, Meg takes us along many a side road, into realms of little known techniques, some clever, some simply brilliant. The result is a Guernsey to love and inspiration to carry you on to your next dozen!

Some of the things you'll learn are:

• Channel Island cast-on: a variation of long-tail cast-on that results in a charming picot edge along the bottom of the sweater
• Split lower garter stitch welt
• Indian Corn stitch (one of the most difficult to find documented! [though easy to accomplish])
• gussets - and the value of purl stitches
• texture patterns and some of their unique behavior
• garter-stitch weaving
• knitting-up around armholes
• decreasing to cuffs
• EZ's Sewn Cast Off

A Spiral Yoke

Discover the joys of knitting a yoke sweater. Meg's sweaters offer two style options: a textured sweater using Bavarian Traveling Stitches or a color-pattern sweater evocative of Icelandic designs. She also gives you instructions for either a 42" adult's sweater or a 27" child's version. Not to mention marvelous instruction for techniques as well as some delightful, chatty insights. This DVD is a treat, both to watch and to learn from.

Some of the techniques you'll discover:

• Two kinds of cast-on
• Phoney seams
• Hems
• Short Rows & Wrapping
• Knitting Back Backwards
• Mirror-image increases
• Travelling stitch
• Weaving
• Sewn Casting Off

Inspired Cable Knits

If cables could talk, what would they say about themselves? And, what questions would you ask them? Where would the conversation go? And where would a cable go if you gave it free reign to express itself, to reveal the heart of its motion?

Inspired Cable Knits is packed with answers to just this sort of questions - in fact, it is the only knitting book in my experience where the word "inspired" within the title is not hyperbole. It's as though Fiona Ellis were a yarn whisperer (you know, like a horse whisperer, only she listens to yarn and knit designs). She has listened closely to all manner of cable designs - sometimes they want to melt into the rich textures of nature, losing some of their even rhythms in favor of a more intriguing, deeper pattern; sometimes, they have their beginnings in prosaic conventions that simply leap into surprising, delicious outcomes; and other times, they move right off the fabric, change their being completely and reveal their purpose as a completely new direction.

I could go on, but I'm sure you already get it - this is a book that illuminates, inspires and delights. To look through it is to find page after page of designs you'll want to knit and love to wear. And in each one a secret is expressed in beauty. This book is a joy.

You can see some of the designs and read a really interesting review of Inspired Cable Knits in The Yarn Harlot's March 24, 2006 entry. Enjoy!

Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys and Arans

This is one of the first "specialty" knitting books I purchased when I began my own knitting adventures about 30 years ago. I still have it, still use it, still love it.

I love these sweaters whose patterns are named from the sea. Then there are the stories of the different styles of sweater, changing from village to village and from family to family. Some of the stories Thompson relates of how she came by the patterns still make me smile - following fishermen around while taking notes about the sweaters they were wearing! And the photos of the fishermen! My!

Thompson's instructions for the knitting patterns are crystal clear. The garment instructions are also clear, but an original editor decided that knitting in the round (the way these sweaters have traditionally been made) was too much for American knitters, and broke the instructions for the full garments into flat pieces to be worked back and forth, then stitched together. If you prefer circular knitting, as I do by far, it is really not at all difficult to make whole what has been separated and proceed as though that editor had never touched this book. See Knitting in the Old Way for "translation" instructions from flat to circular construction.

This is a book that will travel with you and your knitting for years and years to come.

Two-End Knitting

In my opinion, is one of the most resourceful and interesting techniques to appear in any knitting tradition. The art of using two two strands of yarn simultaneously is not unusual and can be found in every knitting tradition where people had access to dyestuffs. What is done here, though, takes the process a step further by twining the yarns as they are knit. The result? A fabric that is wonderfully warm, sturdy though soft, with design characteristics that embody both color pattern knitting and textured knitting at one and the same time.

If you haven't already tried it, the technique does take a bit of getting used to -- the yarns are carried over one finger of the right hand and then the finger is moved to present alternate strands in a way that twines them as you knit. It's well worth the effort of learning something new as the results are both gorgeous and practical -- and it isn't all that difficult once you get the rhythm of it. Try it, you'll love it!