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Review: Highland Outlander Knits

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Highland Knits book reviewI’ve never read any of the Outlander books or watched the television series based on them, but I know the time-traveling romance set in the Scottish highlands is appealing to a lot of people for a lot of reasons. Knitters swoon at the storyline as well as the knits worn by the characters, which inspired designers to take on some of the garments shown in the series or projects inspired by the show and books in the book Highland Knits: Knitwear Inspired by the outlander Series.

Even if you’re not a fan of the series, there are lots of lovely patterns here, starting with the super-bulky, long, reversible, shape-shifting Time Traveler Reversible Vest by Karen Clements. Jennifer Jackson’s triangular Rent Collection Shawl is inspired by Clare’s shawl and uses intarsia to make the striped edging.

Clements’ Lallybrough Shrug is another easy, super bulky project that can be customized to fit, while the Sassenach Cowl by Kristin Brooks is another classic from the show that couldn’t be easier — it’s a Garter Stitch cowl worked with super bulky yarn held double (get the pattern free from Amazon through the end of April 2016).  And Kalurah Hudson’s cabled, knee-high Standing Stones Socks are perfect for keeping toes warm on the moor or anywhere else. Check out all the patterns on Ravelry.

Classic Scottish style combines with easy modern elements like large scale and simple stitch patterns to make an evocative collection that’s also easy to fit into everyday life, which is great regardless of whether you’re a fan of the series.

About the book: 112 pages, paperback, 16 patterns (skill level is not given, but most are good for beginner to advanced beginner knitters comfortable with cables and a bit of shaping). Published by Interweave/F+W, April 2016. Suggested retail $22.99. Use code OUTLANDER20 at Interweave to get 20 percent off if ordered before the end of April 2016.

So if you are looking for knitting patterns from the Outlander series then this is a great start to finding the Highland patterns.

Looking to buy your Yarn online? Check out these online yarn specials.

Specific to knitters, you can join our Knitting Patterns Only group to get, well, knitting patterns, ask questions and gain inspiration for what to knit next.

Check out these books dedicated to Knitted Cowl Patterns still looking for more cowl patterns? Check these out on Etsy.

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Comments

  1. I purchased the book a few weeks ago. I just finished the sassanach cowl, and I came very close to running out of yarn on my 50th row. It said to knit 78 rows! And had I knitted all of those without running out of yarn, it would have been way to long and not fit right. So I stopped at 50. And I have a question for you or anyone else that has made the time travelers vest, how many stands of yarn do you use, all 3? Just wondering because it didn’t say.

Have you read?

Knit a Stunning Bestiary Scarf

I don’t even know what to say about this amazing knitting pattern. The Bestiary Scarf from Monstra & Mirabilia is so full of details it’s a little intimidating to talk about. 

It features, as the designer describes it, an “artistic encyclopaedia of Western mythical creatures.”

The pattern includes a dragon, harpy, Medusa, chimaera, centauress, phoneix, kraken, mermaid, sew serpent, cyclops, wyvern, Pegasus, amphiptere and amphibaena. (It’s a good thing there’s a photo of the proejct with everything labelled because I definitely didn’t know the names for everything.) It’s also designed like a landscape, with water and land creatures toward the bottom ends and sky creatures toward the top. 

The dragon is at the center and is worked sideways so it will show as upright when you wear it. 

The scarf is worked in double knitting, so the colorwork appears in the opposite colors on the other side. 

It’s worked in light fingering weight yarn (on size 0 US or 2mm knitting needles) and the colorwork is shown in charts. The pattern also includes some video tutorials and written instructions to help you along. The designer says the pattern is for intermediate knitters, and “advanced beginners may succeed with patience and the help of the video tutorials.”

When I was an advanced beginner this kind of a pattern would have brought me to tears, but if you love a challenge, and a project that you’ll wear and get tons of astonished reactions every time, this is the project for you. And of course if you have a few double knitting projects under your belt and are comfortable reading charts, this project shouldn’t be hard, but that doesn’t mean it’s fast. But lots of great things take time, and that’s never stopped us before, right? 

You can get a copy of this pattern from Monstra & Mirabilia on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Monstra & Mirabilia ]