200 Fair Isle Designs

Fair Isle is one of those wonders in life where the finished result looks more complicated than the process that created it actually is. Although Fair Isle patterns can contain a multitude of colours, there’s never usually more than two in any one row. This comprehensive guide walks you through the stages of knitting Fair Isle patterns and offers ideas for creating bespoke designs. The book is clearly laid out, providing a comprehensive reference guide, and it’s attractive to leaf through when looking for inspiration. It has a skills section that demystifies techniques, and chapters on colour theory and design principles to help you choose the most appealing colour and pattern combinations. The directory of 200 designs shows each pattern with a photograph and both colour and black and white charts. The pattern repeat tells you the number of rows and stitches, making it easier for you to plan designs. Combined with the ‘mix and match’ panels, creating your own Fair Isle combinations is made easy.-Simply Knitting When I think of knitting Fair Isle, I tend to think of sweaters and get overwhelmed. This book has freed my mind from that thinking. It delivers Fair Isle in such digestible bites that I want to try to knit something of my own design. It is mostly a very well-thought-out motif dictionary - with large knitted swatches, charts showing a motif singly and repeated, and a chart showing an alternate colorway. The information at the front of the book is invaluable. Given in small chunks, there are the basics - from choosing yarn, to stranded knitting, to cutting steeks. And suggestions for the most advanced Fair Isle thinking - choosing a project, choosing coloways and designing your own project. Explanations are given clearly and succinctly. Wonderful.-Knitty.com

Mary Jane Mucklestone is a hand knitting designer who enjoys the process of knitting as much as the finished product. She is known for her colourful and inventive Fair Isle and colourwork designs featured in Interweave Knits, Twist Collective, Classic Elite Yarns, Alchemy Yarns, St. Denis Magazine and an assortment of books.

Mary Jane has a varied background in art and textiles, earning a BFA in Printmaking from Pratt Institute, studying fashion at Parsons School for Design, and Textiles and Historic Costume at the University of Washington. She was a photostylist for Interweave Knits magazine, has taught handwork to the early grades in a Waldorf School, and has worked for years in the fashion industry in New York City, as well as in advertising and interior design. Mary Jane seeks to unlock the creative force inside the heart of every knitter.