This is a how-to book for knitters who are new to Fair Isle. It also includes a section on colour, and gives suggestions for putting together your own charts. There is a section on the history of Fair Isle knitting, along with a piece about a fibre trip to Shetland.

pdf of the Fine Spinning Workbook by Elizabeth Lovick

All you ever wanted to know about ganseys but were afraid to ask….

Knitwear Design for Spinners and Knitters

Two sets of hats and mittens, each in three sizes - child, teen and adult.

Northern Lace Booklet available in either hard copy or PDF format

This is a collection of three hat patterns, originally designed in North Ronaldsay aran weight wool. They will work equally well in other aran weight yarns.

VOL 1.jpgOrkney, a group of islands to the north of Scotland, has its own knitting traditions. This book uses eight lace patterns used in Orkney over the years as the basis of a collection of items for you, your family and your home, Some of the lace patterns are shared with Shetland, but others seem to be found only within the islands.

The shawl is worked from the neck down. It can be made as long as you like, but remember longer lengths will require more yarn!

This simple aran hat is very stretchy and will fit a wide variety of heads.

The brim is knitted sideways first, then stitches are picked up near one edge. Clear instructions and a photos are given for this.

This simple hat is very stretchy and will fit a wide variety of heads. The brim can be worn down over the ears and eyes when walking the dog in the wind, or further up on the head in town.

Matching boys’ and men’s sweaters.

From the windows of my island home I see the lights of three light houses, and the screams of gulls fill the summer air. So here they are, knitted in the yarn traditionally used by fishermen to make their ganseys.

A fitted Fair Isle jacket with cable and lace details. Cables shape the waist and form the peplum. The mandarin collar and sleeve cuffs are also cabled, with a narrow Horseshoe lace edging.

These are ideal projects for trying at steeking. The bag has a facing which covers the edges of the steek, and the steek on the hat becomes the back seam after the brim is knitted to and fro.

Heritage is J&S’s new worsted spun yarn developed in conjunction with the Shetland museum. It reproduces the colours and yarn of long ago. So here is a hat using stitch patterns taken from some of the oldest pieces in the museum on Fair Isle itself, in a shape used for a very long time.

A simple but effective sleeveless pullover for men and women. The front cable splits at the V neck, and meets the two cables on the back at the shoulder.

This pattern is a re-working of the pattern given free when you subscribed to Yarn Forward magazine.

Using traditional gansey stitch patterns, this shawl is an ideal way to use up yarn left over from other projects. Or work it all in one colour!

Light as a feather and oh so easy to wear, this top is an ideal way of using up left over yarns or using one of ColourMart’s sets from Ebay.

The shawl and throw can be made in a wide variety of different yarns. The approximate sizes for each are given at the end of these notes.

This scarf is in the book Variations on a theme of Orkney lace and also available as a separate pattern.

Inspired by ripped sweaters on the catwalks, this sweater is knitted in a cotton/linen mix with deliberately dropped stitches to give it a well-worn look. The needles are a bit large for the yarn, so that it will stretch and look lived-in from the start. Worn on its own or over a shirt, this tangerine colour goes particularly well with denim or ...

A swingy skirt which is long enough to be practical but short enough to be sexy! The ribbed waist has elastic behind, so can be placed on the waist or below as desired.

Named after the Golta peninsula on the island of Flotta, Orkney, this jacket uses patterns found in Orkney ganseys.

Choose a Brim - Choose a Pattern - Knit an Exclusive!

So simple even your man will wear it!

‘Hap’ (meaning to wrap up for warmth) was the name given to the shawls knitted and worn in the Northern and Western Islands of Scotland in the Nineteenth Century. They are based on garter stitch, so are very stretchy, and are therefore ideal for both babies and adults.

pdf pattern for the Sea Dog Gansey

Everyone needs a Guardian Angel! Make yours in sparkling white with silver wings or use flesh tones for the body and colours for the dress and wings.

A long or short sleeved raglan sweater for girls and women.

The motifs from this sweater are taken from a Robe of Glory , the blanket that was given to the first child in some Orkney households. The pattern runs to 13 sides, with plenty of helpful notes. It is suitable as a first Fair Isle sweater.

Dolphins leap round the hem of this tunic, and on the front and back yokes. If you don’t want it so long, you can ignore the bottom panel and start knitting above the waves.

This is a proper Faroese shawl, with decreases in the wings to make it stay on your shoulders.

The bag is knitted in the round from side to side using steeks. Stitches are then picked up and the top band is knitted on. There are full instructions and photos of how to do this.

For princesses of all ages and sizes, this pretty bolero is an ideal cover up by day or night. The sleeves are bracelet length – add a couple of inches for full length. The back length is also easily adjusted – if boleros are not for you, it is easy to make it waist or hip length.

Practise your gansey skills on a couple of cushion which use old and new motifs

Wear it alone or with trousers, with cap sleeves or without, this easy-to-wear tunic will take you from day to evening.

Uses 75 to 200g of the Colourmart Cashmere 4-ply yarn, depending on size. Pattern sold as a pdf download.

Unisex hoodies in sizes for mum, dad and all the kids. The Fair Isle band and intarsia star are smaller on the smaller sizes, and the raglan sleeves make for a comfy fit. And if you don’t like colour-work, leave it out! It will look as good plain. Or striped…

Made from two pieces of 6 triangles joined by a rectangle, the final folding of the work transforms a ball of knitting into a classy shrug!

Elbow length gloves and two styles of hat knitted in the round. The different sizes are achieved by using different needle sizes. The patterns are very stretchy.

Whether you have the neck open or buttoned up, this tunic will keep you cosy whatever the weather. The pattern gives the choice of a straight or A-line skirt

Light and airy, this full circle shoulder shawl uses three Estonian leaf patterns. If you do not want to do the nupps, work a knit stitch instead!

A warm scarf, hat and mitts for all the family. Work the scarf in stripes or all one colour. The scarf can be as long or as short as you like.

This is a square shawl knitted in one traditional Shetland manner - centre first, then borders out and finally the lace. The centre is in Issue 23, with the borders in 24, the lace edging in 25 and details of how to dress/block in 26.

A traditional Northern Isles gansey knitted in the traditional way, but with slightly bigger needles for today’s fit.

This is a typically Cornish gansey, the lighthouse sometimes being called the Eddystone pattern after the Eddystone lighthouse 13 miles off the south Cornish coast.

Two fronts and two backs which mix and match. Ideal for using up ends of cones, or trying out patterns befiore you start on your gansey!

These mitts and hat have a 13 st panel on the front and back which can be used for any gansey pattern. Several possibilities are charted.

This is a copy of an original gansey held in the archives of the Scottish Fisheries Museum, Anstruther, Fife. Although the original was knitted in pink, you can knit it in any of Frangipani’s glorious colours. The herring girls gutted and packed the herring caught down the East coast of Scotland and England, moving South during the year with the...

Bright enough to cheer up any winter’s day. The shawl collar hugs the neck, and the cuffs can be turned back to allow for growth.

Was also available on the Ravelry Day 09 special CD and under “Fishermen’s Sweaters” now consolidated under the Northern Lace heading.

Thistles, sheep and the Saltire – all evoke Scotland. Whether worked in stripes or all in one colour, this useful triangle is fun to make and fun to wear.

The neckerchief takes 25 g of silk, and the shawl 210 g.

Pretty and practical, this collar will either sit on a sweater or tuck into the neck of a jacket or coat.

Toe up pattern for short or knee length socks, with or without a turnover in rib or a fancy top. The calf is shaped, and instructions are also given for replacing worn heels!

Make it with sleeves or not, wear it tight or baggy. This simple top, with a choice of stitch pattern, is quick to knit and easy to wear.

I used 4 strands of 2/28 yarn to make the DK. The 26 in size (actual chest 31 ins)takes 420 g and the 62 in size (actual chest 70) takes 1300 g.

There are 3 sizes, up to about 60 in bust. Each shawl takes between 40 and 60 grams of any of the ColourMart fingering.

From Pattern Description

Sizes and Yarn Quantities

A simple construction, using Shetland lace motifs. There are sections where there are holes on the purl rows (the chevrons), but these are very straightforward.

A three-quarter circle knitted from the top down in a variety of Shetland Lace stitches. Big enough for most plus sizes

Each size is properly designed using repeats of the main pattern elements - the larger sizes do not have acres of 4st pattern repeats!

Tension - 1 pattern repeat of 10 sts is about 1.75 ins wide on both patterns

Sizes and Yarn Quantities

scarves without tassels take about 50 g yarn. The tassels take about an extra 10 g

The shawl is roughly semi circular, with the increases between the pattern bands. It is knitted from the top down with a stocking stitch ground. The top edge is garter stitch and there is a border of 5 sts garter stitch at each front edge. The lace edging at the bottom, which is in garter stitch, is then worked sideways along the main body of th...

This was a KAL for members of the Yahoo Group EZasPi. Now available for sale. Plenty big enough for all big gals!!

Finsihed chest sizes between 35 and 55 ins. The different fibre animals on the sweater are knitted in fibre from that animal, with the background in undyed Shetland wool.

This jacket uses traditional Fair Isle patterns, and is suitable as a first Fair Isle garment. As well as the pattern, there are 23 pages of notes giving hints and tips as you go along. Detailed instructions are given for making grafted buttonholes.

Additional Yarn Information

5 different scarves for men and 4 for boys. Amount of yarn needed varies between 50 and 80 grams per foot for the adult scarves. Can be knitted with any aran weight yarn, or 2 strands of any ColourMart DK, or 3 stradns of any ColourMart fingering

Gansey patterns form the basis of these scarves. They have a ribbed section round the neck, and are ideal to tuck into the neck of jackets. The patterns are all double sided. There are 5 scarves in both men and boy’s sizes, and one in one size only. Instructions are also included to make conventional scarves from the stitch patterns.

Three different cowl pattern each written for fingering, DK and aran weight yarns, plus one for DK and aran weight. Four sizes for each, from child to plus!

The cape will fit a baby up to 12 months.

Aran Pill Hat used about 60 g of Aran weight cashmere. Hat was washed and dried after knitting to bloom the cashmere. Can also use size 9 (5.5mm) or 10 (6mm) needles