The Vintage Shetland Project: Stories & Stitches

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It was an early morning in March 2013 that I first heard Susan Crawford talk about her Vintage Shetland project. We were at the inaugural Edinburgh Yarn Festival catching our breaths over a morning brew before the doors opened. And then Susan started sharing her ideas and I forgot all about my cuppa. The idea was stunning: Susan was doing research into Shetland knitting, but she was not just researching a much-loved knitting tradition but she was doing so using her background in fashion history. Could a tradition such as Shetland encompass fashion history? Of course it could, Susan argued, and she wanted to write a book about Shetland knitting and fashion-as-social-history. 

Over the next few years I saw Susan work hard on the book. Working in the Shetland Museum and Archives, she whittled down the pieces she wanted to write about - not only did they need to be unique and beautiful, but they also needed to contain multi-layered stories. The items had to tell stories about Shetland, about the people who live there, and about the vagaries of the Shetland knitwear industry. They also had to reflect larger trends within the early 20th century. Shetland knitting is a complex tapestry of interwoven stories, and Susan knew her selection had to be right. In the end she decided upon 25 pieces that she wanted to analyse in-depth and recreate. Some of the pieces proved to be technical headaches - I will come back to one of these - whilst others prompted Susan and her husband Gavin to launch a new yarn line simply so the garments could be reknitted in the 21st century to the right gauge and colours.

cardigan-horz

Fast forward to 2015 and Susan has now launched a crow-funding venture via Pubslush. The initial goal of £12,000 was reached within a few days, but it is heartening to see how people keep wanting to support Susan's book. Anything above the goal will be spent on extra material for the book, help Susan with the cost of hiring extra hands, and take some of the pressure of the publishing process. I have been seeing much of this process up-close and it really does carry an enormous amount of pressure and stress. And I cannot help but be so proud of Susan for imagining this whole project into being and doing so with so much care. It goes without saying that Vintage Shetland backers are richly rewarded: from yarn rewards and ebooks to exceptional experiences like taking a tour of the Shetland Textile Collections with Susan or taking a special workshop at Susan and Gavin's farm.

I have my personal favourites, of course. A stunning late 1920s/early 1930s jumper knitted in natural shades with incredible geometric stitch patterns. A hugely wearable cardigan from late 1940s/early 1950s with bands of light blue and red motifs (you can see it on the left in my little photo montage - who wouldn't want that in their wardrobe?). A fabulous 1920s tunic/crossover jumper which is just so heart-achingly on-point. And then there's this beret which is deeply intriguing.

swirlhat-horz

I saw an early sample of this hat at the Crawford farm last year. The construction is quite hard to figure out and I spent ages discussing it with Susan (before she let me have a closer look at the hat!): was it some sort of strange intarsia technique? Was it constructed sideways and worked with short rows? What was going on? It turns out the strips of colourwork were re-purposed from another project of sorts (maybe swatches that the knitter couldn't bear to leave unused or maybe surplus strips knitted to line a buttonband? Maybe strips cut from a too-large project? I will let Susan tell you the actual story!) and then re-assembled to make a beret using scraps of yarns - evident if you look at how the crown shaping works. The beret looks quite straightforward at a glance, but it is one of the most technical pieces in the book. I know it was tricky getting the various gauges right between the colourwork bands worked in one direction and the 'joining' stocking stitch worked in another direction. This is what I love about knitting - it is both so straightforward and complex.

Please do check out the other participants in the blog tour - you can find details below. There are so many ways to approach Susan's project - from vintage lovers and Shetland experts to people who just love the stories Susan will be telling (like me!). I have enjoyed reading every single entry in this blog tour. This project has really captured people's imaginations.

Please also keep up with Susan via her blog which is always a great read. I also recommend you listen to her interview with Jo of Shiny Bees - it is a fantastic interview that really showcases Susan's passion for knitting history and fashion. And do support the Vintage Shetland project if you possibly can.

Thursday 9

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KnitBritish

Saturday 12

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By Gum By Golly

Monday 13

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Hazel Tindall

Wednesday 15

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Ella Gordon

Friday 17

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Jess James

Saturday 18

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Jen Arnall-Culliford

Sunday 19

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Maja Karlson

Monday 20

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Karie Westermann

Tuesday 21

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Rachel Atkinson

Wednesday 22

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Woolly Wormhead

Friday 24

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Deb Robson

Saturday 25

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Julia Billings

Sunday 26

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Helene Magnusson

Monday 27

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Tom Van Deijnen

Wednesday 29

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Kate Atherley

Friday 31

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Jamieson & Smith

Sunday 2

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Donna Druchunas

Monday 3

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Felix Ford

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knitsonik

Tuesday 4

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TBC

Wednesday 5

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TBC

Thursday 6

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Donna Smith

Friday 7

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Susan Crawford

All images copyright Susan Crawford and used with permission. 

Sizing Tips for the Scollay Cardigan

The Scollay-along is having its Cast-On Party this Friday, July 17. It is not too late to sign up in the Ravelry thread - people have been swatching, discussing yarn choices, and pondering buttons. I have also had a few questions about which size to choose, so I thought I'd write a few words about fit, measurements, and how to think about sizing.

First a little story.

Once upon a time I worked for a yarn company helping people figuring out sizing and fit. One thing happened again and again: people saw a super-slouchy jumper, decided they wanted to knit it and then went up two sizes because they wanted a super-slouchy look. I always wanted to cry at this stage, because the slouchy look was built into the design. Part of being a designer is thinking about how we want things to fit and we do most of the work so you can just start knitting.

So, let's start by looking at the cardigan itself. I will share my fit consideration - then we'll discuss how you can make informed decisions based upon that!

On the left, you see the cardigan on me; on the right, you see the Knit Now photo shoot of the same cardigan! Lyndsey and I are both wearing the 1X cardigan, but as you can see we look vastly different.

Scollay was designed to be a go-to cardigan with a few inches of ease. Ease means there is extra room to spare between the circumference of your bust and the circumference of your cardigan. Designers think about ease when we design - and you need to check how much ease is included in the garment when you are choosing your size and you also need to think about how you like to wear clothes.

Lyndsey wears Scollay with the ease I intended. It makes for a casual cardigan which will look fabulous over a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. It has a relaxed fit which makes it easy to wear.

Quick Recap: designers think about how we want our designs to look when we write the patterns. Scollay is designed to be worn with slight ease.

Although I am wearing the same cardigan, I am far more busty than the gorgeous model and so I am wearing Scollay with negative ease. Negative ease means that my bust circumference is larger than the circumference of the garment. I am wearing Scollay with roughly 1.5 inches of negative ease - but because knitted fabric has a lot of give, you are not seeing gaping buttonbands (unlike what you'd expect from woven material). The negative ease showcases the stitch pattern a bit more and I personally like the snuggly feeling I get with negative ease.

Be honest with yourself about how you like your Scollay cardigan to fit. How do you usually wear cardigans? Do you like a relaxed fit? Then pick the size that is closest to your normal size. Do you like how it fits me with zero-to-negative ease? Then pick a size down.

This is the really important bit: find out your measurements.

For some reason (i.e. society and arbitrary high street sizing) we tend to think ourself far bigger than we usually are. I know a lovely lady who's about a size L who knitted herself a size 3XL cardigan because she went with what she thought she saw in the mirror rather than her measurements. One of the things I really love about knitting is that it allows us to make clothes that fits us in shapes and colours that flatter us - so get a friend to help you measure yourself. Be honest with yourself and write the measurements down. Then compare your measurements with the ones given in the pattern (which includes ease, so choose your size with that in mind)

Customising Your Scollay Cardigan

I have really long arms and a short body - the sleeves fit me perfectly and the cardigan hits me just below the hips. You may want 3/4-length sleeves and a slightly shorter body that hits you just above the hips (or maybe you have a long torso and want your cardigan longer). Because all the stitch pattern work happens by the edges and the yoke, it is fairly straightforward to customise the length of the sleeves and the body. There is no recalculation of the lace pattern - you just need to work fewer/more inches in reverse stocking stitch before working increases/decreases.

Likewise you may find you have very generous hips, so cast on for a larger size and decrease down to a smaller size. Or you have very slender wrists, which means you start out with a much smaller size and work your way up to the right number of stitches. Or if you feel you want to include short rows for your bust, you'll be relieved to know you just need to work them in forgiving reverse stocking stitch.

There will be plenty of help, laughter, and chat in the KAL threads.

Thank you to Kate Heppell for kind permission to use the photo of Lyndsey in the cardigan. Photo by Dan Walmsley for Practical Publishing; hair & make-up Cassie Stewart; styling by Kate Heppell. My photo's taken by David Fraser. 

Making A Big Decision

Late last week I made a big decision. It had been brewing in my head for some time, but I finally said the words out loud: "I am going to make a book." I have no idea how exactly this is going to happen, but I am going to make a book.

This I do know:

• the topic
• the design vocabulary I am going to use
• it's a book that will combine patterns and essays
• my colour palette (yes, there's a secret moodboard)

I am also sure about these things:

• the yarn support
• the technical editor
• the photographer(s)
• the art direction
• the sources I will use

I learned a lot from doing the Doggerland e-book which is why I know I will be doing things differently this time. Doggerland was so, so much work for me because I was learning on the job - and I was doing pretty much everything myself (with the admirable help of my partner). This time I want to delegate a bit more, so this book won't take me three years to complete. I also want to get some people on-board that are far better at certain things than I am.

• book layout
• distribution
• random arse-kicking (because I designed over 25 pieces for the 8-piece Doggerland e-book thanks to useless bouts of perfectionism)

Now all that's left is to figure out how to make this work as I balance doing all this with my other work commitments. I have plans. Plans with action points.

Anyway, I have joined the 21st century and acquired a smartphone. I am now on Instagram if you fancy keeping up with my day-to-day existence - do say hello.

Authors & Artists: The Mahy Shawl

The Mahy shawl is the second instalment in the Authors & Artists series. It is a traditional hap shawl knitted in Shetland Organics 1-ply and some of the motifs are traditionally Shetland - yet the shawl also takes it cue from a place on the other side of the world.

I was 13 when I first came across Margaret Mahy's The Changeover. It was a YA book about Laura Chant who lived with her divorced mother and her baby brother in Gardendale - a modern suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. I recognised myself in Laura: she was stubborn, a head too old on her shoulders, and she felt uneasy in her surroundings. Many's book was cleverer than I realised when I first devoured the book. It is a subtle post-colonial book about finding your own identity in a young country; it references Alice in Wonderland constantly; and Mahy plays riffs on rites of passage. I had my first literary crush on the male protagonist, Sorry Carlisle - the complicated boy with labyrinths in his eyes.

Waitangi River

But it was the mundane exoticism of New Zealand that caught my eye. I recognised the remoteness, the myths woven into every branch and stone, and the complexities of the past mixed with the present.

The Changeover sparked a lifelong romance with New Zealand. I would later drive through Paraparaumu - a town dismissed by Laura in the book - and I felt like I was walking inside the book. I re-read the book at least once a year and I still find myself reflected in it.

Lion Rock on Piha Beach

The Mahy shawl owes its name and soul to a New Zealand author - but much of its philosophy belongs to another Margaret from New Zealand: Margaret Stove. Stove is a lace knitter and designer who I admire very much. Her book Wrapped in Lace is not just a fine collection of patterns, but Stove also writes passionately about the need to develop a local lace vocabulary. While Stove understands and respects lace knitting traditions, I am utterly fascinated by Stove's insistence that her work needs to reflect her landscape and flora. In the book she charts local New Zealand flowers and plants - kowhai features heavily together with ferns - and I find that overwhelmingly inspirational. Why should we not respond to the world in which we live? Why should we not design inspired by what we see around us rather than base our work upon age-old stitch patterns that do not reflect our own lives?

The Mahy shawl uses old Shetland patterns as inserts, but the main motif is inspired by the stylised ferns I saw carved everywhere in New Zealand. The carved section is reflected by the applied border which is a smaller version of the carved section.

I wanted to knit a hap shawl out of the beautiful yarn, but the design itself surprised me. I find knitting is a form of autobiography, but I had not expected to dwell on my love for The Land of the Long White Cloud. And yet it seems so obvious to explore a landscape which has had a huge impact on me: Laura Chant's infinitely complex inner life in Mahy's book, the music from Karekare beach, the lighthouse dwellers, the man on the Lone Kauri Road, and even comedy. For a myriad of reasons, this seems the most personal of designs.

You run from the river, when it long ran over you..

Mahy is now available from Ravelry.

Knitting Mahy - Yarn Choices

 The weather gods were in our favour. We finally have proper photos of the Mahy shawl. I'll write about the inspiration behind the shawl in the next blog post, but first I wanted to talk yarn. Mahy was knitted using roughly 770 yards of Shetland Organics 1ply.

Gulp, doesn't 1ply mean that this is cobweb, sewing-thread thin and ethereal? Oh, Karie!

No.

In this context it simply means that the yarn consists of a single strand rather than several thinner plies twisted together. The yarn is registered on Ravelry as a cobweb and I find that grossly misleading.

Shetland Organics 1ply is a heavy laceweight. I used the light grey shade which runs 700 yrds per 100 g. The shawl is knitted on 5mm needles which results in a lightweight, yet substantial fabric.

This is not an ethereal, dainty shawl. Mahy is delightfully light on my shoulders, but it is also warm and practical.

The yarn was given to me by Louise Scollay who understands my taste in yarns.  In many ways, this yarn is reminiscent of Garthenor 1ply  (which I used for my Ronaes) and also of my beloved Snældan 1ply (which I used for Hoxne and Storegga): it is a heavy laceweight which has a lot of body despite appearances, blooms beautifully after blocking, and has a great deal of character whilst you work with it. I recommend both the Garthenor and the Snældan as good substitutes. Any excuse to use Snældan, really..

But what if you don't share my passion for crunchy, rustic and woolly laceweights? Well, here's another photo of Mahy and then we'll talk yarn subs.

Susan Crawford's Fenella 2ply would make a really lovely shawl. The yarn is a smidgen heavier, but it looks beautiful worked up in garter stitch. The colours are all subtle and beautiful - and the yarn is very well-sourced (if you care about such things - I find I increasingly do).

Mahy is a true hap shawl using traditional Shetland techniques - and if you want a traditional feel and also want colour, Jamieson's Ultra is a natural choice. Note that the balls are 25g balls, so you'll need to order accordingly. I find the Ultra slightly more frail during blocking than other similar yarns, so take care.

As for handdyed yarns, why not think outside the box and go for slightly heavier yarns? Dublin Dye Co. Plush Lace runs 600 yrds/100g (you'd need two hanks). MoonlightYarns does an amazing gradient set which would look stunning with Mahy. You can use finer yarns, but make sure to swatch (i.e. simply work up enough of the central triangle!) to check you like the fabric you are getting. You may also want to consider using handdyed sock/4ply/fingering yarn - it would make for a bigger shawl and you'd definitely need to watch your yardage - but I love that idea. Due to the stitch patterns used, Mahy can take a fair amount of colour shifts, actually.

Recap:

• I used roughly 770 yards of a heavy laceweight (700yrds/100g)
• 1ply does not automatically mean cobweb etherealness!
• Think about yardage/weight if substituting yarn.
• Choose a yarn that looks lovely in garter stitch on 5mm needles.

(One day I shall convert you all to squishy, crunchy, oatmealy, rustic, woolly goodness.)

Mahy will become available as soon as my technical editor gives me the thumbs up. As for now, it's wrapped around my shoulders.

No Pressure, Karie, No Pressure.

Another photo shoot beckons. I am a perfectionist and I haven't been happy with the photos we've managed to get so far. The first shoot was basically us trying out a couple of locations. Obviously the first location we tried turned out to be my favourite - isn't it always so? - but we had only shot a couple of photos. I wanted more. So, yesterday we headed out for another shoot. I was tired and I think it showed in the images.

I used to joke about modelling being a real job, but now I know it's actually hard work. Usually our shoots lasts between fifteen to forty-five minutes: you have to account for the light, get a variety of shots, get pattern details, and find that magic connection between yourself and the camera. So, going into a shoot with a tired body and a tired brain wasn't the best thing.

But this is your first real glimpse of Mahy, isn't it?

I absolutely love this shawl and I think this is one of the reasons why I've been so hard on the photos. I want to capture just how special this feels to me. I want the photos to convey just how amazing it felt to knit the shawl and how fantastic it feels to wear it.

No pressure, Karie.