Innehållsförteckning för Issue 117 från The Knitter

We’re passionate about home-grown yarns, and this month our designers have used gorgeous British fibres to create timeless knits to make for yourself or gift to others. From glorious Fair Isle and intarsia colourwork to intricate cables and delicate lace, there is a range of techniques for you to enjoy. Our projects include relaxed sweaters, a tailored jacket, indulgent shawls and wraps, and stylish accessories - so why not cast on something special for winter? HAPPY KNITTING! from The Knitter team Our featured designers Anniken Allis Norwegian designer and knitting teacher Anniken has lived in England since 1990, and hosts popular online lace and beading clubs. Anniken’s skills with lace is legendary, and she shares her design secrets in a masterclass in our supplement, along with a pattern for a…

STASH STORIES A knitter’s yarn collection, or ‘stash’, is a special thing: gathered over the years, it can hold the secrets to our knitting dreams and ambitions, our successes and failures, and memories of special times and people. The new book from yarn expert Clara Parkes explores the stories behind our yarn stashes. She invited designers, authors, yarn producers and shop owners to contribute essays to A Stash of One’s Own. The results range from comical and lighthearted to deeply personal and philosophical. We hear from some of the biggest names in the knitting world, including Meg Swansen, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Gudrun Johnston, Franklin Habit, and Rachel Atkinson (pictured below right, with Clara Parkes). The book is wonderfully entertaining, and will make an ideal Christmas gift for any dedicated knitter. Abrams…

THIS CABLED capelet will be quick to knit, as it is worked in an aran-weight yarn. Helen Ardley’s design uses Erika Knight’s Vintage Wool, which is spun from Masham fleece and knits up into a beautiful fabric; it’s available in 10 muted colours. The capelet features a chunky cable pattern and a fold-over ribbed edging, with a split seam. It can be worn with the open seam at one shoulder, or at the front of the body. SIZE 50cm (19½in) wide at bottom edge 29cm (11½) tall with top folded over YARN Erika Knight Vintage Wool (Aran weight; 100% wool; 87m/95yds per 50g skein) Leighton (305); 5 x 50g skeins NEEDLES & ACCESSORIES 1 pair 5mm (UK 6/US 8) knitting needles 5mm (UK 6/US 8) circular needles, 60cm long Cable…

A YEAR OF TECHNIQUES by Arnall-Culliford Knitwear (£20) THIS INFORMATIVE, accessible book is the culmination of a project from the Arnall-Culliford Knitwear team, where online subscribers received a knitting tutorial each month plus a pattern from a popular designer. The idea behind the project was “there’s always something new to learn,” whether you’ve been knitting for just a few months or for many decades. A Year of Techniques is an excellent way to try different methods and improve your skills. The 12 chapters cover a wide range of techniques, and contain in-depth photographic tutorials. (Accompanying video tutorials can be viewed on the Mason-Dixon Knitting website at www.masondixonknitting.com.) There are two cast-ons in the book to try. Judy’s Magic Cast-On is demonstrated by a pretty blanket designed by Tin Can Knits,…

DIAGONAL LACE mesh alternating between vertical cabled rib motifs that are worked on the bias create an interesting result in the direction of the fabric. Knitted in a chunky-weight yarn, this stole is lightweight, warm, and quick to work up, with a simple rhythm that is easily memorised after the first few repeats. Working the two-stitch cables without a cable needle makes it fly off the needles even faster. SIZE 45½cm (18in) wide and 170cm (67in) long, along longest edge NEEDLES & ACCESSORIES 1 pair 6.5mm (UK 3/US 10.5) knitting needles, or 60cm long circular needles Cable needle (cn) YARN Brooklyn Tweed Quarry (Chunky weight; 100% Targhee-Columbia wool; 183m/200yds per 100g skein) Moonstone; 4 x 100g skeins Alternative yarns: The Fibre Co. Arranmore (Chunky weight; 80% merino wool, 10% cashmere,…

JULIET BERNARD’S scarf is covered with geometric patterns inspired by the colours of Morocco. The stranded colourwork is knitted using two self-striping colourways of DY Choice Apollo; it’s worked in the round with a steek, then cut open. The scarf is long and wide, and will bring colour and warmth to the chilliest of days. SIZE 160cm (63in) long x 30cm (12in) wide YARN DY Choice Apollo (DK weight; 85% acrylic, 15% wool; 870m/951yds per 300g ball) A Pluto (01); 1 x 300g ball B Aurora (04); 1 x 300g ball NEEDLES & ACCESSORIES 4mm (UK 8/US 6) circular needles, 120cm long Stitch markers TENSION 22 sts and 28 rows to 10cm over patt on 4mm needles YARN STOCKISTS DY Choice c/o Designer Yarns 01535 664222 www.designeryarns.uk.com For general abbreviations,…

Q I’ve tried intarsia, but my fabric always looks messy. Any tips? A Intarsia knitting looks fantastic when done well, as our ‘Teign’ shawl on page 43 shows. There are a few simple tricks to achieving a neat fabric. First, it’s helpful to wind bobbins of the different colours you’ll be working with before you start to knit. 1-2 When changing colours, always pick up the new yarn from underneath the previous one and gently pull up to tighten its last stitch. Try to keep an even tension as you knit - keep checking by smoothing out the knitting to make sure it will lie flat. 3 Before blocking, neaten the stitches. On the wrong side, pull up the loose strands, then check the right side and straighten the stitches.…

SIZE YARN A SUBTLE chevron pattern formed from knit and purl stitches and little cables decorates the yoke of this feminine sweater. Designed by Sarah Hatton, the garment has a relaxed fit, textured edgings worked in moss stitch, and a keyhole detail at the front neck. It is knitted in Illustrious DK, which is spun by West Yorkshire Spinners from Falkland wool and British alpaca. BACK Using 3.25mm needles cast on 99 (103:111:115:121:125:133:137) sts. Row 1 (RS): K1, *P1, K1; rep from * to end. This row sets moss stitch. Work 9 rows more as set. Change to 4mm needles. Beg with a K row, work in st st until work meas 35 (35:36:36:37:37:38:38) cm, ending with RS facing for next row. SHAPE ARMHOLES Cast off 6 (7:7:8:9:9:10:11) sts at…

MARY HENDERSON has combined her two favourite styles, Fair Isle and lace, to create her yoked tunic. It’s knitted from the top down, with a stranded colourwork yoke, and a lace panel on the centre front for added interest. The tunic has short sleeves and positive ease, to allow it to be layered over a blouse or T-shirt in the winter months. SIZE YARN Plus 1 x 100g skein of each: B Kensey; C Red River; D Tiddy Brook PATTERN NOTES PROVISIONAL CAST_ON Using a crochet hook and waste yarn, make a chain a few stitches longer than the total number of cast-on sts. With yarn B and 3mm circular needles, 40cm long (or DPNs), pick up the number of required stitches from the chain (working into the ‘bumps’ at…

I’M TIDYING. I’m doing the thing with the stuff that Marie Kondo is telling me to do. Listening to the audiobook of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is, frankly, like enduring a sweet-voiced nag session from the cubicle mate you never really liked. I know. I know I know I know. Marie Kondo is, however, onto something. Her instructions: Hold each item in my hands. Does it spark joy? Keep. No joy sparked? Discard. Repeat until I have laid hands on every single item in my house. Put the items I love back into my home in an orderly way. Because of this tidying, my life will now be forever changed. I will end up either divorced, more deeply in love with my husband, or going to nursing school.…

To advertise in The Knitter Boutique please contact Jordana Widt on 0117 300 8539 or Chris Gibson on 0117 300 8109 SOUTH WEST Spin A Yarn www.spinayarndevon.co.uk customerservices@spinayarndevon.co.uk 01626 836203 Exciting and unusual yarns from around the world. Rare and Touch yarns from NZ, Rowan, Debbie Bliss, Noro, Arctic Qiviut, Malabrigo, Mirasol, Araucania and Juniper Moon. 26 Fore Street, Bovey Tracey, Devon TQ13 9AD ONLINE John Arbon Textiles www.jarbon.com info@jarbon.com 01598 752490 British manufacturers of luxury yarns and tops... from VIOLA to ALPACA SUPREME to KNIT BY NUMBERS, etc. Based in Devon, we are one of the few worsted processing and spinning mills still operating in Britain. ONLINE Apple Oak Fibre Works www.appleoakfibreworks.etsy.com appleoakfibers@hotmail.com Hand Dyers of Co. Clare, Ireland. We specialise in botanically dyed Yarns, Fibres and Accessories Also…

DESIGNER LUCY Neatby lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, where she pushes the boundaries of knitting with her technical and spectacular approach to colour and construction. Her range of books and DVDs, and her busy teaching schedule, have helped many knitters to expand their skills. Who inspired you to take up knitting? “My strongest knitting influence as a child was my paternal grandmother, Marion. She knitted at every available moment, mostly twin-sets from women’s magazines in the ’60s. She supported my efforts to learn, and later bribed me to knit a project - a blue acrylic rabbit called Reggie.” Do you have a favourite artist, writer, poet or musician who inspires you? “I particularly enjoy tribal or ethnic arts; Turkish rugs, Moroccan ceramics, South American motifs, African woven designs, raffia cloth.…

LISA RICHARDSON’S little jacket has an all-over moss stitch fabric, which has a traditional look thanks to the use of Rowan’s Valley Tweed yarn. This is a lofty, pure wool that is spun and dyed in Huddersfield, and here two colours of the yarn are worked together. The jacket is sized to fit busts from 32in to 50in, and features set-in sleeves and a tailored shape, along with a small collar. PATTERN NOTE The garment is worked entirely using one strand each of yarns A and B held together. BACK Using 4.5mm needles and one strand each of yarns A and B held together, cast on 81 (91:99:109:117) sts. Row 1 (RS): K1, *P1, K1; rep from * to end. Row 2: As row 1. These 2 rows form moss…

11 November London How to Knit Cables with Martin Storey http://bit.ly/libertyms 020 7734 1234 11-12 November Nottingham Nottingham Yarn Expo www.nottinghamyarnexpo.com 14 November Henley on Thames Intarsia Colour with Brandon Mably www.ladysewandsew.co.uk 01491 572528 16 November Oxford Introduction to Brioche Knitting www.oxfordyarnstore.co.uk 01865 604112 17 November Salisbury Entrelac www.borntoknit.co.uk 07557 985935 17 November Bovey Tracey Scandinavian Fair Isle Sweater with Anniken Allis www.spinayarndevon.co.uk 01626 836203 18 November Warrington Fair Isle and Steeking with Juliet Bernard www.blacksheepwools.com 01925 764231 18 November Lichfield Christmas Knitting Project 01543 415837 18 November Oxford Double Knitting Socks www.oxfordyarnstore.co.uk 01865 604112 19 November Edinburgh Steeking and Finishing your Fair Isle Knitting with Confidence www.beinspiredfibres.wordpress.com 0131 629 2059 19 November London Shaping: The Future Of Double-Knitting with the Sockmatician www.wildandwoollyshop.co.uk 020 8985 5231 23 November Liss, Hampshire…

THIS ELEGANT, wedge-shaped shawl has a patchwork appearance, yet it is worked in one piece using the intarsia technique to form different-coloured squares, and a lace stitch pattern to add texture and interest. The edging is worked in a rich claret colour, and also features the lace pattern. Francesca Hughes has used two yarns spun in Devon by John Arbon: his classic Knit By Numbers organic merino, and a heavy laceweight called Alpaca 2-3ply. SIZE 137cm x 104cm (53in x 41in) YARN John Arbon Knit by Numbers 4ply (4ply weight; 100% organically farmed merino; 400m/437yds per 100g skein) A Burgundy (75); 1 x 100g skein B Olive (57); 1 x 100g skein John Arbon Alpaca 2-3 ply (Heavy laceweight; 90% alpaca, 10% nylon; 600m/656yds per 100g skein) C Natural Fawn;…

“THE EVE River meanders along near my home town in Canada, with leaves floating in the quieter pools, and ripples and waves in the faster currents,” says Barb Brown. “The pattern on these socks reminds me of the river; it’s a complicated-looking stitch that is easy to execute.” The socks are knitted in a luxurious yarn from Sweet Georgia, which has a touch of silk and mohair. SIZE YARN Sweet Georgia Bulletproof Sock (4ply weight; 50% superwash merino wool, 15% silk, 15% mohair, 20% nylon; 400m/437yds per 100g skein) Pumpkin Spice; 1 x 100g skein NEEDLES & ACCESSORIES 1 set 2.5mm (UK 13-12/US 1-2) doublepointed needles (DPNs) 3 stitch markers TENSION 34 sts and 44 rows to 10cm over st st on 2.5mm needles YARN STOCKISTS Sweet Georgia Yarns www.sweetgeorgiayarns.com…

Abbreviations alt alternate approx approximately beg beginning ch chain cn cable needle cont continue dc double crochet (US single crochet) dec decrease (work two stitches together) DK double knitting DPN double-pointed needle dtr double treble (US treble crochet) est established foll following inc increase K knit KFB knit into front and back of stitch K2tog knit the next two stitches together kwise knitwise meas measures M1 make one (see M1L) M1pw make 1 st purlwise: with RH needle lift the strand between next and last st from front to back and purl through the back loop M1L left leaning increase: with left needle tip, lift strand between needles from front to back. Knit lifted loop through back of loop M1R right leaning increase: with left needle tip, lift strand between…

About our expert Anniken Allis is a designer, teacher and founder of online shop YarnAddict.co.uk. She specialises in lace patterns, and her designs have been published in magazines including Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits and The Knitter. WHEN I start thinking about a new shawl design, I sometimes begin with a specific shawl shape and then find a stitch pattern to suit the shape. Other times, I begin with a specific stitch pattern I‘d like to use, and look for a shawl shape that is suitable for that stitch. Sometimes, I find a yarn that I‘m keen to use, so I make decisions about stitch pattern and shape based on what will suit the yarn. CHOOSING THE SHAPE When you decide on a shawl shape, you also need to think about…