Knit a Jumper with Shetland Style

As I sat down to write about the Soorik pattern from Gudrun Johnston, the word “jumper” sprang to mind, though I doubt the designer would call this little dress a jumper. Where they live a jumper is no doubt what I would call a sweater in the States, but I don’t know what a more correct word for this design would be. I guess dress would work!

Whatever you want to call it, it’s a lovely little design with classic Shetland colorwork motifs on the bodice front and back as well as on the patch pockets. It calls for fingering weight yarn in five colors and is worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked completely in the round so you will have some steeks to contend with, but that just adds to the fun.

It comes in eight sizes, and measures from the under bust ranging from 32.25 to 58.25 inches, or 82 to 148 cm. It’s designed to have 2 to 4 inches (5-10 cm) of positive ease in that area.

This looks like a lovely everyday dress to wear over leggings and a long-sleeved shirt when it’s cold out, or over a flowy lightweight shirt in the summer.

What’s really cool about this pattern (which is available on Ravelry) is that it’s part of Gudrun’s collection of patterns from The Shetland Trader, her mother’s made-to-order knitwear business. This pattern is part of her third collection from The Shetland Trader; this one has 11 patterns inspired by garments her mother made in the 1970s. (You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.)

You can purchase the individual patterns or the full digital ebook on Ravelry or buy a print book from pompom magazine. (They are winding down production this year so I don’t know how long printed books will be available.)

I love the idea of knitting these patterns that preserve the history of knitting in Gudrun’s family and in Shetland more generally, and this is just one of a series of collections she’s done, so if you like the idea you should check out her other collections, too.

[Photo: Ali Denney]

Knit a Dress without Knitting a Swatch

Knit Your Own Little Black Dress (Or Whatever Color You Want)

Sometimes when I’m scrolling through Ravelry a pattern will catch my eye as much because of the name as the look of the design (which is a little hard to see in those little thumbnails sometimes, anyway).

So it was with the Stellify shawl by Paola Albergamo. Stellify means to turn into a star, and the name and the story behind the shawl come from the story of Ariadne. The better known part of her story is that she helped Theseus escape from the Minotaur, but he then abandoned her. What comes after in many stories is that Dionysus found her, fell in love with her and later married her.

When he threw her jeweled crown into the sky, the Corona Borealis constellation was formed.

What does all this have to do with shawl knitting?

The shawl itself looks like it has a scattering of stars on it, as if it, too, has been stellified. The shawl begins with an I-cord tap and is shaped into a triangular shawl with both lateral and central increases. I-cord edging is incorporated into the sides, and the colorwork is done with mosaic knitting, which means this shawl is easier than it looks.

Mosaic knitting has you working with just one color per row, slipping stitches that appear in the other color to make the colorwork visible. Even better for people new to this kind of colorwork, the pattern includes written and charted instructions throughout so it should be easy to follow along.

The pattern comes in two sizes (the larger one is shown here) and calls for two colors of fingering weight yarn. It looks great in black and yellow, but don’t miss the other projects on Ravelry to see other fun and beautiful color options.

You can find the pattern in English and Italian on Ravelry.

[Photo: Paola Albergamo]

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