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Free Knitting Pattern: Kaffe Fassett’s Islay

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islay kaffe fassettI have a little bit of an obsession with Kaffe Fassett. The British master of color produces some glorious knits, but so many of them require so many different colors of yarn that you don’t even want to think about how much such a garment would cost, not to mention how long it would take and how much attention it would need to knit it.

(Actually, I did think about it once. The first book of his I ever reviewed, Kaffe Knits Again, includes a beautiful wrap he calls the Stepped Flowers Stole. It’s sort of like the Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt pattern, but in knitting. It calls of 24 balls of 15 different colors of yarn, for a total yarn cost of about $263.)

Rowan has a new free pattern of Fassett’s out, called Isaly. It’s a women’s pullover in multicolored squares and crosses (and another one of those huge-number-of-color projects, this time with 14). It’s a beauty, and the colorwork is not that difficult since it’s all simple shapes, so long as you can keep up with the color changes.

The chart is in black and white, too, so it’s a little dizzying. The pattern is available for free as a PDF (in four languages), but you have to register an account with Rowan (they don’t require a lot of personal information) to access it. Which is probably worth it to take a closer look at this beauty (I’m sure there’s a way to cut down on the number of colors used, too, though it wouldn’t be a true Fassett at that point, it would still be really pretty).

[Photo by Rowan.]

Looking for knitting patterns for knitted Cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Looking for pullover and sweater patterns? Check these books out.

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Comments

  1. Could easily run upstairs and grab all the yarn I need to make this since there are 3 baskets of small balls. Love it and wish I could afford to buy all of his patterns since day 1.

  2. Could easily run upstairs and grab all the yarn I need to make this since there are 3 baskets of small balls. Love it and wish I could afford to buy all of his patterns since day 1. Just wish I could still read charts but my brain says no these days.

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Knitting Patterns for Pride

It seems like every year there are more rainbow colored (and other flag hued) knitting projects out there to celebrate Pride. Whether you celebrate at a local event or just want to add some more color to your wardrobe, these Pride knitting patterns are a great place to start.

See also these Pride knitting patterns, tiny Pride flags, and more rainbow projects if you need more inspiration.

These Pride socks from Birger Berge are a free pattern on Ravelry. They feature a rainbow flag on the heel and toe, plus stripes on the cuff with the word Pride and a heart worked in. 

Or you can Put Some Pride in Your Step with these allover colorful socks from Oriahna WhimsyStitch. Using a self-striping fingering weight yarn, they have a spiral rib on the legs and come in three sizes. The pattern has suggestions for if you don’t have self-striping yarn to use. You can find it on Ravelry.

Amy Snell’s Pride Like the Wind is a triangular shawl that uses slipped stitches to add texture to the multicolored stripes. The pattern was made with a large skein of rainbow colored yarn and mini skeins in rainbow colors, but you can use stash or whatever you can find in theose colors for a different look. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

Pride and Elegance is a pretty pair of rainbow striped arm warmers made by martaschmarta. They call for fingering weight yarn and have sparkly beads incorporated at each end for extra flair. This pattern is also on Ravelry. 

Pride in Parallelograms by Treena Evans is a mobius knit cowl worked in a multicolored ombre yarn. It calls for DK weight yarn and is a free pattern on Ravelry.

Stephen G. Krueger has designed a lovely kippah/yarmulke pattern that can be worked in the colors of any Pride flag you like. The pattern is free on Ravelry and uses fingering weight yarn.

And if you want to make a full progress flag in knitting, you’ll need the modular progressive Pride flag pattern from Kim Smith for Alterknit Universe. The pattern comes in two sizes using different weights of yarn to suit your needs, and the modular style of the project makes it seamless. You can purchase this pattern on Ravelry.

If you want to add a touch of Pride to a sweater, wall hanging or other project, the abstract waves chart from Hits Knit Patterns is a great place to start. It uses the colors of the lesbian flag, but you could change it to whatever colors you like (there are six colors used and the chart is 49 stitches by 80 rows).