Beautiful Norwegiansweaters, knittinggraphs for your fairislesweater
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Dale of Norway knittingyarn for your handknitsweater |
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For centuries, women in
the Shetland Islands, 250 miles north of Scotland, have been knitting sweaters
decorated with distinctive, multi colored patterns. The designs first appeared
on Fair Isle, an island 25 miles south of the rest of the Shetlands, and
the sweaters became known as Fair Isles, even though for at least 100 years
they have been produced throughout the Shetlands.
The original Fair Isle sweaters
were one-of-a-kind pieces, the wool hand spun and hand knit, the colors drawn
from natural dyes, and the rich patterning used lavishly across the whole
sweater. That painstaking handwork may still be found on Fair Isle itself,
but the journey is a difficult one, even by Shetland standards. A boat makes
the crossing from Mainland, the largest and central Shetland Island, to
Fair Isle only once a week, and there is no scheduled air service, although
private aircraft may be chartered.
The more modern Fair Isle
style, one produced in sufficient quantities to satisfy a worldwide market,
is a solid-colored sweater with the multi-hued patterns restricted to the
yoke. The patterns are traditional and considerable in variety, through
the arrangement of diamonds, stars and stars within squares or circles,
in complementary or contrasting colors to the main body of the sweater.
Patterns are not tied to the towns of origin, the woolens vendors say, but
rather reflect the taste of the individual knitters. |
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Knit your own Fairislesweater or Icelandic sweaters |
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On my Norwegian knitting pattern pages
1, 2 and 3, are lots of Norwegian color knitting patterns. I have created a few Norwegian sweaters.
To give you an overall impression and
to show you how to create very easily your own Norwegian design. These are
simple patterns and based on original patterns. I think they created their
patterns at the kitchen table, in those days, were no computers.
Start with a nice border and a repeating
pattern. |
  
Original Dale of Norway knitwear |
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Haiku art form ( from A.
S. Kline's FREE Archive ) to give a little thought )
Without pity nothing.
Without affection,
beauty, kindness,
without truth nothing.
Without feeling,
without values,
or respect for what
is given, or creation
nothing. |
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A few examples of original patterns in
different color ways,
For repeating patterns; the knitting chart shows only one or two repeats, and indicates where you are to begin and end the chart, for the piece you are knitting.
Each square represents one stitch, and the color given in each square represents the color in which you work the stitch. Changing the charts in your own colors, will often make the pattern more interesting.
They are each time the same chart but
in different colors. I want to show you, how to obtain another look, just
by using other colors. The Norwegian knitting patterns has been knitted
by woman for ages, over and over again.
If you want to create your own color chart, you could use excel. If the width of the cell is 40 you have to change the height of the cell in 30, this way you have a proper knitting chart.
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Fairislesweater
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pattern 1
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pattern 2
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pattern 3
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Fairislesweater
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Fairislesweater
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Fairislesweater
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Fairislesweater
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Norwegiansweaters
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Fairislesweater
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Fairislesweater 1
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Fairislesweater 2
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Fairislesweater 1
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Fairislesweater
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Please send me your digital photo of your finished work, knitted with my
patterns. |
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Fair Isle Icelandic Norwegian Scandinavian patterns 01 |
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Fair Isle Icelandic Norwegian Scandinavian patterns 02 |
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Fair Isle Icelandic Norwegian Scandinavian patterns 03 |
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Fair Isle Icelandic Norwegian Scandinavian patterns 04 |
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Fair Isle Icelandic Norwegian Scandinavian patterns 05 |
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Fair Isle Icelandic Norwegian Scandinavian patterns 06 |
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Fair Isle Icelandic Norwegian Scandinavian patterns 07 |
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Fair Isle Icelandic Norwegian Scandinavian patterns 08 |
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Fair
Isle Icelandic Norwegian Scandinavian patterns 09 |
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Fair Isle Icelandic Norwegian Scandinavian patterns 10 |
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Fair Isle Icelandic Norwegian Scandinavian patterns 11 |
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Fair Isle Icelandic Norwegian Scandinavian patterns 12 |
As a handcraft, knitting developed both as a folk craft, with traditional
regional designs, and as a popular craft, with designs circulating in printed
handbooks. In Scandinavia, regional patterns in yarns of contrasting color
became characteristic. Other regional styles, such as those of Ireland and
the Shetland Islands, were distinguished by different patterns.
Local legend has it that
the designs evolved from Spanish motifs, after a Spanish vessel was shipwrecked
on Fair Isle in 1588. Other Shetlanders believe that the patterns have a
Scandinavian ancestry, like many of the people themselves.
Ganseys (Guernseys), Jerseys, Aran and Fair Isle are names given to fishermen's
knitted pullovers that were universally popular in the 19th and early 20th
century. Each fishing village had its own pattern and within the local pattern
there were small variations, and sometimes names, that identified the family
and individual. Though it may sound macabre today, the garment served as
a means of identifying a body washed up on shore's. Often many days or weeks
after the initial loss of life. Following identification of the individual,
the family could then perform the funeral service and bring the painful
experience of the loss of a loved one to some form of closure.
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2007 Holiday
Knits
In 2007, the U.S. Postal Service will warm up for the holidays by issuing
Holiday Knits, four stamps featuring classic winter-time imagery designed
and machine knitted by nationally known illustrator Nancy Stahl.
These beautiful stamps consist of a dignified stag, a snow-dappled evergreen
tree, a perky snowman sporting a top hat, and a whimsical teddy bear.
In recent years, knitting has become quite popular again,
both in the United States and internationally.
Inspired by original Norwegian sweaters and knitted Christmas stockings,
Stahl decided on "something cozy" for this year's holiday stamp issuance.
She used a computer software program to draw her original designs and
convert them to stitches and rows. Then she downloaded the information
to an electronic knitting machine and used it to knit her creations.
The machine's smaller stitch gauge didn't provide quite the effect Stahl
was
hoping to achieve. So she transferred the designs onto punch cards and
used a different knitting machine that works something like an old Jacquard
loom and has a larger stitch gauge. Stahl scanned the finished pieces
into
her computer and retouched the photographic images to ensure that all
the
stitches aligned properly. The result is a set of four colorful and
"cozy" stamps
that will add an extra touch of warmth to seasonal correspondence.
Source:
USPS |
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