Check Out Cooperative Press’ Knit Edge

Shannon Okey, better known to some as KnitGrrl and the mastermind behind indie fiber publisher Cooperative Press, one spent some time knitting a British knitting magazine. Since she left that publication to start the Press, she says people have been telling her they miss the work she did there, providing fun patterns and techniques that were not just for beginners but offered a challenge to more seasoned knitters, too, or at least something they hadn’t seen before.

Okey has now started a digital knitting magazine called Knit Edge, which premiered at TNNA last month. I took a look at “issue zero” and think it’s a sign of good things to come.

The sample issue has an article by double-knitting pro Alasdair Post-Quinn about a recent design of his — a scarf knit with images of a deck of cards — as well as a look at top-down sock knitting from Kate Atherley and an overview of podcasts by Heather Ovdover. Four patterns are included: a bulky lace and cable cowl, a colorful felted yoked pullover, a short-sleeved cardigan and a pair of fingerless gloves.

The first issue, which is a PDF, can be purchased for $3.99. Subscriptions are now available for the PDF version of the magazine, which will launch issue 1 in September. A year’s subscription is $14.99. You can also purchase a recurring single-issue subscription for $5.99 an issue. This is the choice for people who would rather read the magazine in app form rather than PDF (the app is not ready yet).

[Photo by Knit Edge/Cooperative Press.]

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.

Next Pattern:

I’m honestly not totally sure what to say about the Sun King shawl pattern from Ursa Major Knits other than isn’t this cool? You should probably make one.

This modular design is worked in two parts, the “waxing” and “waning” sections. Both pieces are asymmetrical and use the same yarns in different ways to mix up the colors and make it even more interesting.

You can choose to use two contrasting solid yarns, a solid and a gradient or two complimentary gradients for your yarns. And you can use any weight of yarn and whatever gauge you like to make shawls of different sizes. There are also a bunch of different size options (seven, in fact) that take the project from a little collar like design to something more like a scarf to a large shawl that wraps around the neck to keep you warm.

The sample projects use fingering/lace weight yarn, but you can use whatever you have on hand to make your own beautiful version of this shawl. Using lace weight, you’ll need twice as much of one color as the other.

There are lots of yarn suggestions on the pattern page on Ravelry, and I love the color choices the designer made so much I’d definitely be tempted to use the same colors they did (there are a couple of different versions on the pattern page if you want to see how it looks in different sizes and different colors).

I love the little diamond shapes a the edges of the pieces, which add a little more drama to the project, as if it needed more.

I’m still not sure this boils down to anything beyond this project looks really cool and you should probably knit it, but that’s pretty much how I pick all the projects I share, so I guess that’s fine. You can check it out for yourself and grab a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Ursa Major Knits]

A Shawl to Wear While You’re Reading and Knitting

A Striped Shawl to Celebrate Progress [Knitting]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?