Fair Isle Knitting
Fair Isle knitting originated from a tiny 3 x1 mile island that is Northeast of Scotland. It is the best known sample of British knitting. It is a form of stranded circular knitting where short floats are formed on the wrong side of the knitting. It commonly uses 2 different colors of yarn per row, usually not more than 3, with one of the colors being the base or background color that will be the canvas for the others.
The advantages of knitting in the round are that the right side is always facing you, and you can watch as the patterns develop, making the knitting go faster. There is not a worry in gauge differenced between a knitter’s knit and purl stitch. Fair Isle can surely be worked flat as well.
In this class you will learn Fair Isle techniques, patterning and design. You will design a Fair Isle hat.
SKILLS you must have to complete this class: Know how to cast on and knit.
Supplies to bring:
- 4 different colors of a worsted weight yarn (about 4 ½ to 5 sts per inch)
- 16inch circular needle in a size that gives you a nice stockinette fabric for your knitting style and the yarn you have selected
- graph paper You can download some graph paper by clicking <HERE>
- colored pencils
- notions such as scissors, darning needle, a row counter is handy, measuring tape, etc.
COST of Class: $50.00
I. The many patterns of Fair Isle
A. TRADITIONAL OXO - The original traditional patterns of 15 to 17 rows
**Many of the following patterns were developed after cross stitch patterns that were popular in the 1800’s
B. PEERIE PATTERNS - Small patterns of 1 to 7 rows
C. BORDER PATTERNS - 9 to 13 rows
D. SEEDING PATTERNS - Large stars, peaked and wave patterns used between larger patterns
E. ALL OVER PATTERNS
II. Casting on
A. Casting on using more than one color
B. Corrugated ribbing
III. Tension
A. How to avoid the spaghetti! Holding the colors
B. Controlling tension and float strategy
IV. Designing with Fair Isle patterns
A. The Use of Color
B. Anything goes!
C. Make light and dark colors work for you
V. STEEKS! OH MY! Take a deep breath now…..
- An overview of how steeks work with sweaters