One thing I love about knitting is that there's always something new to learn. This week I am learning about Shetland Lace. I've done lace knitting before but never knitted lace. "There's a difference?" I hear you cry. There is!
In lace knitting there is a "resting row", a plain row every other row between the patterned rows.
In knitted lace there can be pattern stitches (yarn overs, decreases etc) on wrong-side as well as right-side rows.
The Shetland Isles have a long history of fine lace knitting, including the wedding ring shawls - shawls made so fine they can be passed through a wedding ring. The stitches and patterns date back at least as far as the 1850s and probably much further.
I'm really enjoying this book, The Magic of Shetland Lace Knitting by Elizabeth Lovick, as a beautiful and informative resource about Shetland lace. The book gives a brief history of the Shetland knitting traditions, a basic knitting tutorial, and then there are pages and pages of stitch patterns to choose from, laid out according to the number of stitches they require with charts and clear colour photographs. There are also patterns for different projects to knit (socks, shawls, a hat and more) for those who don't feel ready to design their own yet.
I feel inspired to just dive right in! My first knitted lace pattern is going to be a shawl, made in Wollmeise Lace-garn. I have an idea, I've done the maths, I think this is going to be fun! Watch this space!
In lace knitting there is a "resting row", a plain row every other row between the patterned rows.
In knitted lace there can be pattern stitches (yarn overs, decreases etc) on wrong-side as well as right-side rows.
The Shetland Isles have a long history of fine lace knitting, including the wedding ring shawls - shawls made so fine they can be passed through a wedding ring. The stitches and patterns date back at least as far as the 1850s and probably much further.
I'm really enjoying this book, The Magic of Shetland Lace Knitting by Elizabeth Lovick, as a beautiful and informative resource about Shetland lace. The book gives a brief history of the Shetland knitting traditions, a basic knitting tutorial, and then there are pages and pages of stitch patterns to choose from, laid out according to the number of stitches they require with charts and clear colour photographs. There are also patterns for different projects to knit (socks, shawls, a hat and more) for those who don't feel ready to design their own yet.
I feel inspired to just dive right in! My first knitted lace pattern is going to be a shawl, made in Wollmeise Lace-garn. I have an idea, I've done the maths, I think this is going to be fun! Watch this space!
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