Blog
Garment Patterns
Hello everyone, a few weeks ago we launched Sandra's most recent garment pattern - the Joseph Slipover: This tank top features traditional motifs and techniques but uses 10 zingy shades of 2ply Jumper Weight, we have the sample in the shop and everyone comments on just how bright it is! It's knit completely in the round using steeks for the neck and armholes, you might recognise the motif and colours from the Parrots of the Rainforest Mitts, Sandra just wasn't finished with it.. We thought we'd go through our other single garment patterns we have available at J&S, knitting a full garment can be intimidating - especially in fine yarn but we have a wide range of styles to make your entry (or re-entry) into garment knitting as easy as possible! Our heritage and traditions here in Shetland are important to us and our main focus will always be Shetland/Fair Isle or inspired styles so we have a number of Allover garment designs which are as the name implies patterns featuring an all-over pattern: Roadside Allover Lynsey Jumper Fair Isle V-Neck Jumper Antarctica Allover Click here to see the patterns: Roadside Allover, Lynsey Sweater, Fair Isle V-Neck Jumper and Antarctica Allover As well as the Joseph Slipover we also have the Cruden pattern, if sleeves are not something you fancy (unfortunately there are usually two of them..!) Cruden Click here: Cruden and another popular Shetland style - yokes! Adenia Yoke Eid Top Moorie Cardigan Ola Yoke Winter Yoke Sandvoe Hairst Click here: Adenia, Eid, Moorie, Ola, Winter Yoke, Sandvoe and Hairst Yoke Bairns patterns are something we also have a few of - this can be a great introduction to Shetland Garment knitting, all the main skills being used just on a smaller scale: Natalia Bairns Crofthoose Peerie Lynsey Gremista Gansey Perrie Bairns Jumper Click here: Natalia, Bairns Crofthoose, Peerie Lynsey, Gremista Gansey and Peerie Bairns Jumper So that's just some of the garment patterns we have available at J&S, unfortunately, our website doesn't have the capabilities to have kits for all the different sizes but it means you can change colours, add extra balls or just purchase the pattern if that's how you feel! We have the amounts and shades listed on the pattern pages so you can just make a list and add the colours to your basket. Please note: many of these patterns are available digitally either from us on Ravelry or payhip or directly from the designer. If you are outside the UK you might find the p&p is expensive for just a pattern so we would encourage you to see first if it's available digitally or add the pattern to an order. Happy knitting!
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Tirval's Toorie
Hello everyone, you may have seen our post on instagram with our new pattern earlier today, Sandra has designed this lovely hat in Shetland Heritage in two different colourways and lengths -Tirval's Toorie! The pattern is written for a longer Kep style and a shorter Beanie, both use the Shetland Heritage yarn - the shorter style in the Dyed Heritage and the longer one in the Natural: The Shetland Heritage is a great option for a hat as we move into Spring, its Worsted Spun (meaning its been combed before spinning) which creates a drapier, softer yarn and its slightly thinner than Jumper Weight making for an overall lighter weight hat. The pattern uses traditional Shetland motifs and corrugated ribbing and is finished off with a plain crown and a tassel. So if you have a stash of Shetland Heritage the pattern is available to download on ravelry here, payhip here or the kit is available on our online shop here, Happy Knitting!
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Da Crofters Kep Kit Pre-Orders
Hello everyone, you may have seen that today the new Shetland Wool Week hat pattern - Da Crofters Kep was launched!! Sadly again this year Shetland Wool Week will be online (keep an eye out later in the year for more on that!) but this means that Wilma Malcomson has continued her reign as Patron for another year and designed another beautiful hat, Da Crofters Kep. Unfortunately, even with planning and ordering ahead, we are out of stock of one of the shades (FC38) in the J&S colourway :( Lockdown, coronavirus etc etc has really impacted our production chain as it has for many people and businesses but we are offering a pre-order option for our colourway. If you order it you will pay for it now but it will not be posted until we have the full kit in stock - we are hoping it will be less than a month but we cannot guarantee this, we are asking for your understanding and patience with this and you can be sure AS SOON as that missing shade appears we will be getting those kits out! 2021 Shetland Wool Week Hat J&S Colourway: 2ply Jumper Weight FC46, 82, FC38, 122, 32 and Shetland Supreme Jumper Weight 2005 Shetland Black. As always with the Wool Week Hat patterns we love to see the variety in everyone's finished hats and for this design you need two balls of your main shade (one if you use Shetland Supreme Jumper weight) and one ball each of 5 contrast shades of 2ply Jumper Weight. We cant wait to see everyones Crofter Keps! Happy Knitting! UPDATE 30/4 We now have kits available and have fulfilled all the pre-orders. You can order kits here
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Keep Making KAL 2020
Spockies Heylor Gloves Hello everyone, you may remember earlier in the year (somehow this year has been extremely long yet short at the same time!) we announced our Keep Making Knit-A-Long. Our aim for this KAL was to inspire people to just keep making - we are lucky that knitting, crochet, spinning etc is a great help to us all at this time! We wanted to create a place in our Ravelry group that people could share progress, encourage each other and then post their finished objects - we are delighted with how many people posted a finished object, here is a small selection (see here for them all) : trevsters Shetland Heritage Vest ladywulfs Shetland Homespun Hap ginni's Davern Mittens and Tam griseldis's Lockdown Project Bealavenders Porty Pullover We have chosen a winner at random and I can reveal it is Melissa aka silvershoes on Ravelry (I've sent you a message!), thank you to everyone who took part - it has been a great KAL. We try to have one or two knit-a-longs a year so if you would like to take part keep an eye on our Ravelry group* Silvershoes Northumberland Pheasant Happy Knitting! *in the middle of this KAL Ravelry did their site design update which is why we didn't post too much about it for those of you who could no longer use the site, we are hopeful that it will/has become more accessible for those with issues or if you have ideas of other places we could host a KAL please post below.
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Knitting an Afterthought Heel, Guest Post from Lesley Smith
My name is Lesley Smith and I am a knitter and designer living and working in Shetland. Ella has asked me to write a short blog post for Wool Week 2020 about my method for knitting an afterthought heel into a Fair-isle sock. An afterthought heel is as the name describes, a heel that is knitted on when the rest of the sock is completed. It’s a common sock heel construction but not one that was traditionally used in Shetland as far as I can find. All the old examples of socks I have seen here have a heel flap and gusset. I chose to use an afterthought heel for a number of reasons. It allowed me to use the same design on the heel and the toe. I could also use design elements from the crowns of Fair-isle tams and berets, which I love. Best of all I don’t have to purl every 2nd row of colour work on a heel flap. Here, I am going to show you how to pick up the heel stitches after the rest of the sock has been knit. As you can see from photo 1, I have knit the whole sock save for the heel, with waste yarn knitted in where the heel will go. The waste yarn I used is a synthetic in a contrast colour which makes it easier to see and remove. I have knit it across half the stitches of the sock. The next step will be to pick up the stitches above and below the waste yarn. I like to pick these stitches up before removing the waste as it avoids dropped stitches! I use a circular needle with a long cable in a finer gauge than the sock was knit with as it makes it easier. Begin picking up the stitches from the side of the sock where the row begins. This will keep the jog in the pattern on the sock and the heel at the same side. In this example, I’m picking up the leg stitches first. Once you’ve picked up the leg stitches (half of the total number of stitches to be picked up) slide the stitches onto the needle cable. Turn the sock so the toe is nearest you. Pick up the sole stitches by going behind the right leg of each stitch. Picking them up this way prevents them from being twisted. When all the sole stitches are picked up slide them onto the cable needle. Next, we are going to remove the waste yarn. With a tapestry needle or knitting needle pick out one stitch at a time all the way along. If the end gets too long snip it off as you go. Now all that’s left to do is transfer these stitches onto the needles you knitted the rest of the sock with. In my case, it was a short circular needle. Before you begin to knit, check your stitch count. I usually have one extra stitch on the sole which can come in handy! When you knit the sole stitches, knit up to the last stitch. This last sole stitch can then be knitted together with the leg stitch next to it. This helps to close any small holes at that side. If I don’t have an extra stitch there, I would pick up something to do this with. Any holes at the other side can be closed by using the yarn ends to weave in on the back. I hope this will help and inspire you to give it a go. If you’d like to see any more of my designs you can find me on Etsy as TakDeeSock and on Ravelry as Lesley Smith Designs. Hope to see you for Wool Week 2021! Thanks to Lesley for this guest post, the yarn used in her sock shown here is Shetland Heritage, we hope you are enjoying our Wool Week content - make sure to follow our instagram and subscribe to our youtube channel - if you haven't already! Happy Knitting!
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More Pattern PDF's Available Online
Hello everyone, we've added 4 more PDF patterns to our Lovecraft's and Ravelry stores this week, they cover a range of classic Shetland patterns: First up is the Yuglet Hat designed by Lesley Smith this is a classic Shetland cap with corrugated rib, traditional motifs and an easy but very effective crown. Its knit in Shetland Supreme Jumper Weight in all Natural shades. The next pattern is our Circular Shaded Shawl knit in Shetland Heritage Naturals, originally designed by Gladys Amedro and knit in 2ply Lace we updated this pattern a few years ago with charts and written instructions. Our Natalia Yoke by Sandra is a classic Bairns Yoke knit in Jumper Weight, It is knit traditionally in the round with a steek but it also includes instructions for if you wanted to knit it flat, the relatively small size makes it a great first steeking project, and as there are only 3 different contrast shades a great first Fair Isle project too. Our final pattern this week is the Shoormal Hap, also knit in Shetland Heritage Naturals, this Hap pattern is taken from the Traditional Shetland Scarves and Shawls booklet (Bestway K133) This pattern is described as ‘one of the most widely known and characteristic of Shetland designs..’ we made improvements on the pattern making it easier to follow and knit and have provided both written and charted instructions for the border and edging. So you can find all these patterns on both our Ravelry shop and Lovecraft's page, if you would prefer a paper copy and kit they are all available on the website. Happy Knitting!
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Shetland Wool Week Scarf Project
Hello everyone, happy Friday! Today we thought we'd share some images of a project we took part in during Shetland Wool Week which was coordinated by Faye Hackers of the Shetland College. The project took inspiration from people known in the Shetland Textile industry who provided Faye with imagery and text about what they love about Shetland, this was then taken by Faye and designed into one-off scarfs which were auctioned off for charity during a silent auction at Wool Week. Among the people asked were J&S's own Oliver and Ella, former patrons Donna Smith, Elizabeth Johnston and Hazel Tindall. For more information see Fayes Instagram posts. We love how different each scarf was: We were happy to donate all the yarn for the project meaning the scarves were knit in 2ply Jumper Weight or Shetland Heritage, in total the auction raised £1,776.00 of which 100% will be donated to charity as we provided the yarn for free. The charities chosen by the individuals were: Cancer Research UK, CLAN, Shetland MRI Scanner Appeal, Mind Your Head, GlobalYell, Lerwick Brass Band and Whalsay Heritage Centre. All and all it was a great project! Model and white photography: Faye Hackers Museum Photos: John Hunter Models: Akshay Borges and Alanah Young
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Unst Show 2019
Hello everyone, me (Ella) and Sandra headed up to Unst on Saturday for the Unst Show. This is a trip which involves getting two ferries so we were up early and make our way up there to judge the knitwear entries which for the first year also included a colourbox section! You will know if you regularly read our blogs or look at our facebook and Instagram that this year we have been to Voe, Cunningsburgh and Walls to judge the Colourbox. This is a selection of 8 shades of 2ply Jumper Weight which we chose - the entrants then have to use at least 5 of the 8 shades in their creations. There was a great mix of garments and accessories and we were really pleased with the number of entries for the first Colourbox at Unst. We also judged the rest of the knitwear and as expected for Unst (known for its beautiful lace) there were some amazing entries - and quite a few Roadside Beanies! Sadly it was a very wet day and although Sandra and I thought we were suitably attired it became apparent very quickly we were not! Luckily our judging was indoors but it meant we didn't get to see all the animals, I had a quick look around the sheep though so thought you might like to see a few damp but happy enough sheep. We also went to the Unst Heritage Centre which was across from the show field (to try and dry off) to look at the amazing lace on show and we really enjoyed that, it is well worth a visit. It was a good trip and marked the end of our show season, the Yell show is on this weekend and that is the last. Summer certainly feels like it's over now but that means one thing - soon its Shetland Wool Week! Happy Knitting! :)
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Voe Show 2019
Hello everyone! this past weekend saw the first of this summers agricultural shows here in Shetland and it was the Voe Show, I (Ella) headed up to judge the Colourbox Competition - this is something we do every year with some of the shows, we choose a selection of 8 shades of 2ply jumper weight and then people make things using at least 5 of the 8 shades. This years shades were: 5, FC44, 16, FC46, 32, 23, 91 and FC47 As always the standard was extremely high and it was very hard to judge, its amazing how much the way the colours look changes depending on how they have been put together. I took lots of pictures at the show so here are some of the Colourbox entries: You have to choose a trophy winner from all the firsts and I chose this allover, I loved the corrugated rib collar and cuffs and thought the colour use and pattern were really excellent: The rest of the knitwear entries contained a huge variety of different styles from Fair Isle and Lace and everything in between - you always see amazing uses of colour, design and finishing. After I had finished in the hall with the knitwear I had a wander around the rest of the Show - the sun had come out and it was a lovely day. Apart from knitting, there is all the sheep, cows, horses and ponies, baking, plants, wool, hens, ducks etc etc.. there are also lots of places to get food, ice cream and stall selling things so it's easy to spend a lot of time (and some money!) I hope you've enjoyed this look at some of the things to be seen at this year's Voe Show, Sandra will be judging at Waas and Cunningsburgh in the next week so keep an eye on our Instagram for some pics from those shows, happy knitting!
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