Book Review: Magical Knits from the North

If you like your knitting with a touch of the mystical, you’ll love Magical Knits from the North by Katinka Sarjanoja and Meri Mort. This collection of 19 knitting patterns includes socks, mitts, hats, a couple of sweaters, shawls and more with a mythological, magical inspiration.

Each pattern in the book is accompanied by a poem (or spell, if you want to keep the magic going) based on the Finnish-Karelian oral tradition preserved in Finnish folk music. They call on the maker to meditate on the recipient of their work and add good wishes for them as you knit.

The patterns are colorful and detailed and would probably be best for intermediate to advanced knitters. All of the patterns include colorwork and some involve several pages of charts. Most of the patterns (including one of the sweaters) come in only one size, while a few have two sizes.

Some of my favorites include Euphoria, above-the-knee socks that feature a snake slithering up the leg; Valkyrie, a shawl covered with feathers; Messenger, little fingerless mitts worked in three colors with moths on the backs of the hands; Will-o’-the-wisp, socks decorated with trees and delicate spirits of the night forest; Thought and Memory, a pair of mittens decorated with ravens; and Bee Sting, ankle socks with bees on the top of the feet and a honeycomb design on the bottom.

As of this writing the book hadn’t been released and was not yet on Ravelry, but if I find it there I’ll share a link so you can see the patterns.

The patterns were also designed with the environment in mind and mostly use local Finnish yarn (as well as other plastic free options), which means you’ll need to do some work to find substitute yarns unless you happen to live in Finland. All the information you need about each yarn is included so you can make thoughtful substitutions based on what’s local to you.

If you love the idea of adding a bit of magic to your makes, and particularly like projects with animal motifs and lots of colorwork, you’re sure to enjoy this collection.

About the book: 144 pages, hardcover, 18 patterns. Published 2024 by David & Charles, suggested retail price $24.99.

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One of the hardest things about winter for me is the lack of color. It’s like the whole world ran out of toner, and often our clothes reflect the muted landscape outside, which just makes everything more drab.

This year I’m trying to use and wear all the fun colors of yarn I have in my stash, and I think the Minas Sweater from Cecilia Lalanne & Gabriella Calderini for Manos del Uruguay would be a great way to use a lot of colorful yarn on a sweet sweater.

This cropped sweater uses 1×1 stranded colorwork where the colors change as you work the pattern, which makes it look more complex than it is. The project calls for five colors of worsted weight yarn, but you could probably even use more (or use a multicolored yarn as one or some of your options) to bring even more color to the party.

It’s a simple drop shoulder crewneck with straight sleeves, so pretty much all you have to focus on is changing your colors when you need to.

There are seven size options in the pattern, ranging from a bust circumference (on the sweater, not the wearer) from 42.75 to 69.25 inches, or 108.5 to 176 cm. It’s intended to be worn with around 8 inches or 20 cm of positive ease for a casual, oversized look.

You can go bold with the color choices like the sample shown here, or pick a couple of more neutral colors to combine with some brighter shades if that’s more your style. Either way this project should be as easy to knit as it is fun to wear. And of course those bright colors make me think a teenager in your life might love it, but of course there’s no rule that says you have to stop wearing fun colors at a certain age. Thank goodness.

The pattern is free to download from Ravelry and is available in both English and Spanish.

[Photo: Cecilia Lalanne & Gabriella Calderini]

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