Fair Isle (technique)
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2017) |
Fair Isle (/fɛəraɪ̯l/) is a traditional
Some people use the term "Fair Isle" to refer to any colourwork knitting where stitches are knitted alternately in various colours, with the unused colours stranded across the back of the work, but this is inaccurate. The term "stranded colourwork" is applicable for the generic technique, and the term "Fair Isle" is reserved for the characteristic patterns of Shetland.[2]
Other techniques for knitting in colour include
Technique
Basic two-colour Fair Isle requires no additional techniques beyond the basic knit stitch: the
The simplest Fair Isle pattern uses
Traditional Fair Isle patterns normally had no more than three consecutive stitches of any given colour, because they were stranded, and too many consecutive stitches of one colour mean a very long strand of the other, quite easy to catch with a finger or button. A more modern variation is woven Fair Isle, where the unused strand is held in slightly different positions relative to the needles and thereby woven into the fabric, still invisible from the front but trapped closely against the back of the piece. This permits a nearly limitless variety of pattern with considerably larger blocks of colour.[2]
Traditionally, Fair Isle jumper construction involves knitting the body of the jumper completely in the round. Steeks (from the Scottish word meaning 'stitch', 'to close shut', and comprising several stitches) are worked across the armhole openings allowing the body to be completed in the round without interruption. Once the main body of the jumper is complete, the armhole steeks are cut open. Steeks are secured to prevent unravelling of stitches, either before or after cutting. Stitches are then picked up around the armhole opening and the sleeve is knitted down toward the cuff in the round.
Since the 1990s the term ‘Fair Isle’has been applied very generally and loosely to any stranded colour knitting regardless of its relation to the knitting of Fair Isle or any of the other Shetland Islands. This, however, is inaccurate.
"Many people use the term Fair Isle when they mean stranded knitting, and this is inaccurate. Fair Isle is a very specific type of stranded knitting from Fair Isle, a tiny island in the north of Scotland and part of the Shetland Islands. In Fair Isle knitting, only 2 colors are used per round and yarn is carried for a limited number of stitches across the back of the work. Common motifs are OXO shapes, ‘peeries’ or simplified geometric shapes inspired by nature. Although only two colors are worked together on any given round, designs often incorporate more colors, up to as many as 10 for some very complex Fair Isle designs." Kate Gagnon Osborn, "Stranded: Colorwork Vs. Fair Isle Knitting."
See also
- Gumbys
References
- Feitelson, Ann (1996). The Art of Fair Isle Knitting: History, Technique, Color and Pattern. Loveland, CO: Interweave Press. OCLC 34590877.
- Starmore, Alice (1988). Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting. Newtown, CT: Taunton Press. OCLC 18788969.
- Mountford, Debra, ed. (1995). The Harmony Guide to Aran and Fair Isle Knitting: Patterns, Techniques, and Stitches (1st ed.). New York: Crown Trade Paperbacks. OCLC 32845724.
- Bourgeois, Ann; Bourgeois, Eugene (2000). Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified. Bothell, WA: Martingale & Co. OCLC 43555235.
External links
- Media related to Fair Isle (knitting) at Wikimedia Commons