Traditional Fair Isle Knitting

by Sheila McGregor

Situated far to the north of the Scottish mainland, the Shetlands are famous for the dampness of their climate and the excellence of their wool — a pair of distinctions that fostered the development of a vibrant form of patterned knitting. Fair Isle's unusual technique employs two colors in each row; the wool not in use is stranded along the back in short loops, resulting in an extremely warm and weatherproof double fabric.
In this definitive guide, the author shows how any circular-method knitting technique can yield the popular Fair Isle patterns. Its treasury of designs features more than 70 pages of patterns that can be used for mittens, jerseys, jackets, and hats. In addition, its practical advice on designing garments and the use of color offers valuable assistance to knitters who wish to create their own patterns and seek the inspiration for an endless array of variations and adaptations.
Long out of print, this volume is well known as the best source of authentic Fair Isle patterns. Its republication offers a new generation of knitters a reliable resource for projects in the traditional and much-loved style. 31 halftones and 17 color illustrations.

Genres: Knitting, Crafts, Reference, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2003

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second favorite book on Fair Isle knitting. Even though it is my second favorite, it is probably my most used book, simply because half of the books contains Fair Isle peeries. The book was published in 1981 and has never felt old or outdated. The chapters are Background and Origins; Design, Technique and Colour; and, Patterns. It contains photographs of knitters actually knitting with the old style long wire needles and the knitting belt. A wonderful book!

[Stephanie]

Wanted more knitting history, but the patterns were sick as hell.

[Sarah Monsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has graphs of traditional fair isle patterns and is available for download, perfect for knitterly musings!

[Mette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice addition to my knitting book library.
It's shorter than the one about Scandinavian knitting and also less substantial in historical information, however it does include a wealth of patterns. Not sure whether I will ever design my own fair isle knitting pattern, but it's nice to have for some small projects where you might want to add some patterns.
Some of the information was new to me (like the fact that traditional ganseys have shorter sleeves, so they don't get wet and dirty) but some was a bit old fashioned, like the advice on knitting with two strands (it doesn't even consider that you could hold both strands in the left hand).
All in all a classic that's nice to have.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great info.

[Peep1031 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great introduction to the style of Fair Isle knitting. It had a nice discussion on the roots and development of the craft and has a lot of instructions on how to knit a garment in the Fair Isle style. The best feature of the book however is a comprehensive collection of different Fair Isle patterns to use in developing your own project, especially a group of the “peerie” patterns.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best aspect of this book is the extensive pattern diagrams. It is an excellent source for designing Fair Isle projects.

The first half does a very good job of explaining the history of Fair Isle knitting, providing guidelines for designing garments. The text is filled with solid photos of Fair Isle designs. The chapter on techniques (Chapter 4) is informative, but the accompanying illustrations are not very helpful.

I consider this an excellent reference book for experienced knitters or those interested in the history of Fair Isle knitting.

[Sarahknitter]

very good book of Fair Isle charts

[Francesca Roqueta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great. The index of stitch patterns is fantastic.