Show & Tell - July 2022
More finished projects in our regular Show & Tell series (you can find more here).
This time we're focussing on Jamieson's of Shetland Spindrift with two customer projects and some hat inspiration.
Jamieson's Spindrift is a 4ply woollen spun yarn. Grown, shorn, dyed and spun on Shetland from shetland sheep.
Very popular for stranded colourwork projects this yarn grips and blooms creating a smooth fabric that's warm and squishy.
There's also a huge colour palette - we have over 130 shades in stock. Check out our full range here.
First up is Balmaha. Knitted by Lisa for her daughter the pattern is designed by Kate Davies. It's the cover star of her hugely popular Shore book and you can also buy the pattern on Ravelry.
Balmaha is a seamless yoked jumper. You knit the body and two sleeves before joining them together and working the stranded colourwork yoke.
The pattern is written in Kate's clear step by step style and the colourwork is charted only. The motif features a zig zag which creates an diamond pattern and there's additional texture from purl stitches.
{photo credit: Kate Davies Design}
Balamha is written for Kate's own Milarochy Tweed yarn. We'e found the Spindirft a good substiture for thickness and feel and tension although Milarochy Tweed does have 30% mohair for an extra halo.
For her jumper Lisa used Spindrift in Nighthawk for the main colour along with Seabright, Paprika, Scotch Broom and Natural White.
Next up is a traditional fisherman's kep hat knitted by Ann.
This pattern is part of a fund raising initiative for the George Waterson Memorial Centre & Museum, Fair Isle.
It houses a collection exploring Fair Isle’s social history, fishing and crofting culture, natural history and archaeology.
The hat is designed by Anne Sinclair and is only available to buy through an active and supportive Facebook group. The pattern itself includes a variety of traditional Fair Isle patterns and you can choose which to use to create your personalised Fair Isle fisherman's kep.
A kep is essentially a fancy colourwork hat that looks a bit like a nightcap. You can read a little more about it on Kate Davies website.
For her kep, Ann used Jamieson's Spindrift in shades of blue and yellow and included a tassel. You can see lots of other projects on Ravelry (over 700!) and if you fancy knitting your own join the Fair Isle Fisherman Kep's Page on Facebook.
Hats are a great way to try stranded colourwork. They're a small enough project to try out colours and perfect your stranding and understand your tension.
We have four stranded colourwork hats in the Pittenweem shop - all using Jamieson's of Shetland Spindrift.
You can read about the Kellister hat here and Soft Hearted here (scroll down).
Bousta Beanie and Merrie Dancers are both Shetland Wool Week patterns - a hat designed by the patron of Shetland Wool Week an annual celebration of yarn on Shetland.
Bousta Beanie is the 2017 pattern by Gudrun Johnston and Merrie Dancers is 2018 and designed by Elizabeth Johnston. Free for a year these patterns are now available to buy on Ravelry.
This year's Shetland Wool Week pattern was recently released. The Bonnie Isle Hat is designed by Linda Shearer. You can read more about the inspiration behind the hat and also download a free copy of the pattern at the Shetland Wool Week website. The pattern is free for a year, but you can also make a donation to support this annual event.
{photo credit: Shetland Wool Week website}
If you'd like some help with stranded colourwork (colours, needles and technique) you are always welcome to pop into the Pittenweem shop. We're happy to help!
We also recommend these resources online...
- How to Knit Fair-Isle Patterns by Tin Can Knits
- Knitting Colourwork with Two Hands by Andrea Rangel
- Favourite Fair-Isle Techniques by Very Pink Knits on YouTube
- Stranded Colourwork in Magic Loop by Andrea Mowry on YouTube
And you can see our Jamieson's of Shetland Spindrift collection here.
