200 Fair Isle Designs

Introduction

How to use this book

Essential skills
The basics, Using colour, Using the patterns

The Directory
Swatch Selector, The Directory

Index and Resources

About Mary Jane Mucklestone

Mary Jane Mucklestone is a knitwear designer, teacher and author of several knitting books who is based in Maine, US. She has a varied background in art and textiles earning a BFA in Printmaking from Pratt Institute, studying fashion at Parsons School of Design and Textiles and Historic Costume at the University of Washington. Her work has been featured in publications like Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits and various books, including Fair Isle Weekend, also published by Laine.

Mary Jane specializes in Fair Isle knitting, also called stranded knitting. With her friend Gudrun Johnston, they host popular, once in a lifetime trips to Shetland and together they have co-authored Grand Shetland Adventure Knits, originally published through Laine Publishing, as she is endlessly enchanted and inspired by Shetland's windswept isles.

Find Mary Jane on Instagram @mjmucklestone and at MaryJaneMucklestone.com

Lets Knit

Once you have fallen for Fair Isle, you are sure to want a wide selection of projects and ideas to enjoy. Fortunately Mary Jane Mucklestone's 200 Fair Isle Designs has enough to keep you busy for the foreseeable future. With help from this title, you can learn to read charts and grow in confidence as you begin to use Mucklestone's stunning designs to create your own garments and accessories.

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The Yarn Loop

Mary Jane Mucklestones boundless enthusiasm for stranded colourwork knitting is infectious. Through her books, blog and patterns, she shares her love for Fair Isle, and for anyone wanting to create their own Fair Isle garments and projects, this sourcebook is a must-have. Mary Jane treats us to 200 life-sized swatches of the most beautiful, exquisite patterns. Each is accompanied by four charts, including a black-and-white version so you can choose your own colours, plus alternative colourways. The mix and match feature helps you to combine patterns with confidence, while at-a-glance photo indexes make it easy to pick out patterns you like. Along with essential technique information, this book will have knitters playing with colour like never before.

http://www.theyarnloop.com/article/top-10-best-ever-knitting-books

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Knit Today

May 13

A lot of knitters put off trying Fair Isle knitting because they think it looks too hard to master. Think again! It's actually far easier to work than it looks, but you'll need to know a few basics first, all of which are contained in these pages. Learn how to read the colour charts and then use them to create your own colourful knits. This book is very well ordered, the instructions are easy to follow and it's a delight to flick through when you're looking for inspiration.

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Craft Focus

OCT/NOV 12

A must for fashionable knitters, this guide features 200 beautiful Fair Isle designs. From simple one row "peerie" patterns to complex allover repeats, this book will thrill and inspire the knitter, experienced and beginners alike. Organised by row and stitch count, each of the patterns is accompanied by an easy-to-follow chart indicating both the patterns stitches and the colours used, and each sample is shown in an alternative colourway. A "mix and match" feature lets you combine patterns with confidence. This book also includes guidance on yarn choices and special techniques unique to Fair Isle knitting.

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julietbernard.blogspot.co.uk

Sept 12

Nothing can compare to the book I have just finished by Mary Jane Mucklestone 200 Fair Isle Designs. You may know Mary Jane from Ravelry or Twist Collective where you can find her beautiful designs. The book is mainly a directory of Fair Isle designs but it gives an interesting account of some of the history and the different techniques used as well as exploring how to put colours together in your own Fair Isle.

How many times have you wanted to re-colour a design but not known where to start or had the confidence to play with colour? Mary Jane takes you through harmonious colour choices and helps you to understand how colours balance each other. For me what really sets this book apart is the directory itself. Each design is shown both as a chart (in colour with different colourways, or black and white) and as a knitted sample. The latter isnt just a few stitches to "give you an idea" but is a glorious, wide strip so you can really get a sense of how the pattern and colours work. Mary Jane has so inspired me that I cant wait to design a new hat for my husband or put together some of these patterns in a cowl. As you can see I have already started playing.