Home › Blogs › scottly's blog

Never say never

scottly's picture
Wed, 2013-02-20 22:06 — scottly

I've been so snarky about Fair Isle - it just seemed so preppy to me. But for some reason it sounded like a fun new thing to learn and here are the results.

This stuff is pretty simple as stranded knitting goes but I'm working my way up. I think Fair Isle socks may be my next project.

Comments

Thu, 2013-02-21 21:22 — ilhiker
ilhiker's picture

Great work Scott! I haven't

Great work Scott! I haven't tired fair isle yet, but it's on my to-do list. Thanks for the inspiration!
Mark

Thu, 2013-02-21 18:43 — Kerry
Kerry's picture

Nice hats Scott, my favourite

Nice hats Scott, my favourite is the blue/grey. I only tried Fair Isle socks once, and the half one I did was far too tight so the project was abandoned.

Fri, 2013-02-22 18:14 — scottly
scottly's picture

Nostalgic is the perfect word

Nostalgic is the perfect word for fair isle! It always makes me think of affluent white people on a ski trip to Colorado cc 1958.

Thu, 2013-02-21 16:36 — Tallguy
Tallguy's picture

Yes, pretty simple, once you

Yes, pretty simple, once you understand how knitting works. But the best designs are usually the simple ones. I would also advise you to watch your tension, especially for socks. I have found that it works best to use a design with very short floats (or learn to catch your floats) and that you need to have a really loose tension on your carried yarns. I mean, a REALLY loose tension. You know by now that wool will contract if it can, so what you think is far too loose will be just right, when it is all done and washed (blocked). Remember that socks need to stretch A LOT to get over the heel. (How many of us learned this the hard way)

Thu, 2013-02-21 17:07 — scottly
scottly's picture

You are so right!!!! My first

You are so right!!!! My first hat (not shone) had all kinds of tension problems. I didn't know to make the floats way loose and my throwing was too tight while my picking was too loose. Once I ballanced out the tension between my continental and English and learned to stretch those floats out anytime they were carried more the a couple of stitches the product was much better. I'm still having problem with my twisting technique when a float is carried more then five stitches. I think you are right, short floats are best and will keep that in mind when I pick out the sock pattern.

Thu, 2013-02-21 16:24 — Joe-in Wyoming
Joe-in Wyoming's picture

Very nice hats, Scott. If

Very nice hats, Scott. If you try socks, be very careful about your gauge and the tautness of your carried threads as they could affect the final fit.

Thu, 2013-02-21 06:24 — Thunderhorse54

Nice work, I've only

Nice work, I've only attempted Fair Isle a few times. Maybe I'll try again sometime.

Wed, 2013-02-20 23:48 — murfpapa
murfpapa's picture

Beautiful work. Quite

Beautiful work. Quite festive.

Wed, 2013-02-20 22:49 — ronhuber
ronhuber's picture

They are all beautiful but my

They are all beautiful but my favourite is the one with the pompom.

Thu, 2013-02-21 17:08 — scottly
scottly's picture

I will freely admit I LOVE

I will freely admit I LOVE POMPONS!

Wed, 2013-02-20 22:37 — chicquette
chicquette's picture

As always, Scott, your work

As always, Scott, your work is beautiful. Way to go.

Wed, 2013-02-20 22:19 — Terin

Love it. Fair isle is also

Love it. Fair isle is also on my agenda. I think fair isle is simply too nostalgic to not do.