Knitted Lace of Estonia, Book and DVD

While I personally haven’t yet seen a copy of this book, you can be sure that as soon as I do, it will be snatched up just as fast as I can. And if you’re the one holding it, be sure to count your fingers afterwards!

So, this book HAS to be awesome, I mean, a book about knitted lace! And I LOVE cultural patterns, so this fits the bill twice. And now, there’s a DVD featuring the author, Nancy Bush.

This description is directly from Interweave’s site:

Deepen your knowledge of lace knitting with 14 Estonian, heirloom quality lace patterns from Nancy Bush in a new edition of her bestselling book Knitted Lace of Estonia. Now with a bonus 1-hour DVD, Knitted Lace of Estonia will teach you about traditional lace-knitting techniques, such as:

Traditional twig, peacock, and lily of the valley patterns and their variations
Different ways to make the distinctive nupp, or subdued bobble
Modern adaptations of the classic ways of constructing shawls and scarves and adding lace edges
On the new bonus DVD, Nancy explores the knitting traditions of Estonia, as well as offers in-depth instructions for the book’s patterns and techniques, as well as designing an Estonian-style shawl, stole or scarf from beginning to end.

MUST. GET. COPY.

I don’t often share knitting patterns for pets, mostly because I don’t think of it. I don’t have a dog, and I’ve never knit for my cats except a knit couch and a little cat bed I made on a knitting machine, both of which were pretty much ignored.

I have shared some pet bed knitting patterns, and both hats and sweaters for dogs.

But I don’t think I’ve shared a pattern for a cat sweater, until now.

This one is the Bunny sweater by Sarah Zhou, so named because her cat is named Bunny, of course.

It’s a made to measure pattern because cats come in all shapes and sizes, and you can also use any yarn you like and whatever gauge you are getting with that yarn.

The design is knit from the bottom up, that is, from the tail side up toward the head. Pairs of decreases shape the body as you work toward the armholes, which are made by binding off a few stitches. Then the belly and the back are worked flat, then joined and worked in the round for the chest part.

There are some design options in the pattern, from the look of the photos they include using a contrasting color for the edging, working a scalloped edging, maybe a foldover collar? But of course you can add your own embellishments, stripes, make it in team colors or for a Halloween costume. I’m sure they’re quick to knit so you can make a bunch if you have a cat who is willing to submit to such torture.

Bunny looks like a very good and mostly tolerant girl; I don’t think either of my cats would be willing to wear a sweater. But if you make one (the pattern is available on Ravelry) and successfully get your cat to wear it I would love to hear about it!

[Photo: Sarah Zhou]

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