Traditions Today : Cardigan Knitting Patterns

Essentially Knittable

Karin Strom — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:00:00 GMT

Editors’ Note: We asked Karin Strom, Interweave’s editorial director for the yarn group, to share her interview with book author Lene Holme Samsøe.


	Essentially Feminine Knits: 25 Must-Have Chic Designs by Lene Holme Samsøe.

Every so often a knitting book comes along that is full of patterns so thoroughly knittable and wearable that it’s hard to choose a favorite design. When I looked through an advance copy of Lene Holme Samsøe’s new book, Essentially Feminine Knits: 25 Must-Have Chic Designs, I knew this was one of those.

Feminine without being too girly, the garments and accessories have timelessness to them. I wondered how Lene, who is Danish, was able to come up with so many projects with such a universal appeal.

The designs in your book are classic and fashionable. Do you get your inspiration from vintage knits or from the world of current fashion?

Both! I am very inspired by vintage sweaters and traditional knitting, such as Aran and Guernsey patterns, but I try to combine these classic knitwear elements with current fashion.

The photography and styling are lovely, and the book has a very Scandinavian feel to it but has a timeless quality. Were you involved with the photo shoot?


	The Cecilia lace sweater.

Yes, I was very much involved. The stylist suggested some clothes, and then we worked together to match outfits with projects. I wanted it to look fashionable but not trendy. We were shooting the photos in a Danish home on a cold December day with both sun and snow, so the light is very Scandinavian.

The book is divided up into sections based on technique—Garter Stitch Patterns, Leaf Patterns, Structure Patterns, Cable Patterns, and Lace Patterns. Most of these terms will be clear to knitters, but can you explain what “Structure Patterns” are?

In general, structure patterns for me are knit and purl patterns, as on the Gerdas Guernsey, but in this book, I’ve broadened the meaning to include all kinds of patterns that give structure to the knitted surface.

Do you have a favorite technique?

Not really—but if I had to choose, I guess it would be Aran and cable patterns. I really like to knit cables, and I love to make both nice small cables on a baby sweater and big bold Aran patterns in chunky yarn.


The Amanda Aran cardigan.

Do you have a favorite garment in the book? Or a sense of which projects will be most popular among knitters?

Lana, which is on the cover, is the garment from the book that I have been wearing most. It is very versatile and also quick to knit. Fiona, the garter-stitch coat with the tucks, is another garment that I have in my own wardrobe.

I enjoyed creating the patterns for Hella and Bella, with their large leaf patterns, and for Cecilia, and I think that knitters will have fun knitting them. I have been teaching some workshops in Denmark, where we knit Hella hats, and it only takes 2 to 3 hours to knit a hat! And I’ve noticed that a lot of people have been knitting Amanda, the Aran cardigan. This makes me happy because it is so classic and could have been designed many years ago. On the other hand, many people have been knitting Cecilia, which is completely different from Amanda.

I love that each piece has a woman’s name. Were you thinking of specific friends as you designed and named them?


	The Penelope moss-stitch jacket.

Unfortunately not! I simply tried to find a name that matched the knitted piece. For example, Palma seemed to suit a leaf-patterned sweater.

You’ve included more accessories in this book than in your first Interweave book, Feminine Knits: 22 Timeless Designs. Why is that?

I have tried to mix large and small projects. Knitters often have a yarn stash, and accessories are a great way to work from your stash, and they have the advantage of being quick. Plus, they also make nice gifts!

Lene’s book would make a nice gift for a knitter, too. Oh, and my favorite pattern? I think it’s the Penelope moss-stitch jacket. But it could be the Palma. Or Amanda.

Cheers,

Discovering Inspiration with Alice Starmore

Karin Strom — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT


	Linda Ligon and Alice Starmore having fun after Interweave's very first Knitting Lab.


Interweave held its very first Knitting Event in San Mateo, California, in November 2011.

Editor's note: We invited Karin Strom, Editorial Director of Interweave's Yarn group to tell us about her recent adventure at Interweave's premier knitting event, the Knitting Lab.

Pinch me—I just spent three days with Alice Starmore. Yes, that Alice Starmore. The knitting legend joined us in San Mateo, California, for the recent Interweave Knitting Lab, where she presented a thoroughly inspiring keynote address. It was her first trip to the States in thirteen years. Alice traveled all the way from her home on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, to be our guest at the first-ever Interweave knitting event. After the event ended, I was lucky enough to be able to spend a few days exploring the Northern California coast with Alice and Linda Ligon, Interweave’s founder and PieceWork’s creative director.

Alice’s presentation at the lab was full of lush images from her island home, a rugged place where generations of her family have lived and where she learned to knit in the traditional style of the island. Everything about that environment, from the surrounding sea to rock outcroppings and native wildflowers, serves as a source of inspiration for her color and design work and her own yarn line. In addition to the traditional Fair Isle colorwork and Aran knitting most American knitters think of when they hear the name Alice Starmore, she has in recent years been pursuing photography, tapestry, and painting, as well as conservation of the island habitat that is so dear to her.


The beautiful California coastline where Karin Strom traveled with Alice Starmore, exploring the natural world as creative inspiration.

On our road trip up the California coast north of San Francisco, I got to witness firsthand just how Alice looks at things in nature. We made a special stop at Shell Beach in order to see the very beautiful blue schist that a geologist and knitter had told Alice about at the event. She deftly climbed onto a rocky ledge to study the very beautiful indigo rocks, which I would probably have walked right by. The next day we examined the teeming rainbow of aquatic activity in a tidal pool: beautifully textured bright green sea urchins and golden tentacled anemones paired with delicate pink kelp. By the end of those couple of days, I had an understanding of just how much nature informs Alice’s color combinations in her design work and yarn development. I know I’ll be thinking about my own color choices differently after that adventure!

I just wish I could have spent an extra couple of days with each of the instructors at Knitting Lab, many of them contributors to PieceWork: Nancy Bush, ethnic knitting expert extraordinaire; Robin Hansen, knitting folklorist and mitten maven; Carol Rhoades, expert on all knits Nordic and British; Susan Strawn, historian and raconteur. Just to name a few. Maybe next year . . .

Cheers,

P. S. SAVE THE DATES!

Knitting Lab New England

October 4-7, 2012 at the Radisson Hotel Manchester, NH

Knitting Lab San Mateo, CA

November 1-4, 2012 back at the Marriott San Mateo, CA

Knitted Lace of Estonia

Linda Ligon — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 11:00:00 GMT

Knitted Lace Shawls With a History

When Nancy Bush showed up at Interweave a few years ago with a box full of knitting and a book proposal, we gathered around with anticipation. She had written Folk Socks, one of our all-time best selling titles, and was a dream author to work with. She had also persuaded us to publish Folk Knitting In Estonia—which seemed a stretch. Estonia?? But knitters everywhere embraced it, and the long and rich knitting traditions of this tiny Baltic nation became part of our traditions, too.

Knitters in Haapsalu.

Her latest passion, we soon learned, was the lace knitting of Estonia. Just the lace knitting. We wondered, "How do you make a whole book out of that?" Leave it to Nancy. When she turned in her manuscript and beautiful knitted shawls and scarves, we couldn't wait to get Knitted Lace of Estonia into print. It was so much more than a book of knitting patterns. It was the stories of real knitters—women who lived rich and creative lives in a little country buffeted by war and times of economic hardship. Women who found time to knit lace shawls by the score to help support their families. Women whose open, friendly, serious faces look out at you from old photographs and invite you into their world.

Lace shawl knit with seven stitch nupps.

Bobble or nupp?

There are lots of ways to make knitted bobbles, and they show up in the knitting styles of many countries. The bobbles that you see in Estonian lace knitting are about as simple and graceful as a bobble can be—you don't have to knit backwards, you don't have to turn your work. You just increase five or seven stitches in one stitch, and then knit them all together on the return row. But what is really lovely is how Estonian knitters have used this design element—they call it a nupp—in their patterns. Instead of isolated bumps or tidy spaced rows such as you might see in Aran knitting, you'll see lovely swirls and swags of nupps outlining areas of open lace. For a nupp pillow to knit see Nancy Bush's "Things That Go Bump On Your Knitting," PieceWork July/August 2010.

Raha scarf based on one of the oldest Haapsalu patterns..

How did they come to develop this lace style? There's a practical, almost funny story to it. The women sold their lace shawls by the pound. Adding nupps—LOTS of nupps—made their shawls heavier. So they figured out a way to do this while keeping the delicacy of the design. This is only one of many great stories and insights in Knitted Lace of Estonia—not to mention fifteen great patterns ranging from a simple scarf to heirloom masterpieces, and all the techniques you need to knit them successfully. Being part of this wonderful global, ageless community makes me feel so lucky.

And, I'm happy to note that this beautiful book is a featured title in our annual Hurt Book and Overstock Sale, so you can enjoy Nancy's amazing work for even less.

                 Enjoy,