Shetland Fine Lace Knitting

The craft of Shetland knitted lace-making involves fine openwork knitting, used to make shawls, stoles and scarves, among other garments. These were considered luxury items because of their fineness, complexity of design, and the length of time required to make them. This book reveals historical knitted lace pieces held in the Shetland Museum collection. It details individual lace motifs, together with instructions and charts for how to recreate them. Each lace pattern includes written knitting instructions, a photograph of the original sample, together with a photograph of a modern knitted swatch, together with the knitting chart. The book is a must for anyone with an interest in lace knitting, historical knitting, knitwear design and the Shetland Islands.

All the swatches in the book are made in our 2ply Shetland Supreme Lace, in Natural White

Carol Christiansen has been curator and community museums officer at the Shetland Amenity Museum since 2006 and manages the knitted collections. She has a doctorate in archaeology with a specialism in textiles from Manchester University, and has published research in Shetlandic, Scottish and Nordic archaeological and historical textiles.