Fair Isle Archives - Faye Perriam-Reed

Fair Isle Hat Pattern in The Knitter 67

Published on 13/01/201410/10/2022 by Faye1 Comment

Apologies to my regular readers for my lack of posts lately, we were on holiday for 4 weeks over Christmas and I couldn’t get the WordPress app to work on my phone!

Issue 67 of The Knitter was released on the 7th Jan and features my new hat design, Kolka. I even made it onto the cover!

I was inspired to make this hat by traditional Scandinavian techniques and began looking at different ways to work the head band. I settled on the Latvian Braid, which is fun to make and looks really effective. There is a masterclass in this issue of The Knitter on how to achieve this.

The hat is knitted in the round on 3.5mm needles using 4 different shades of Milla Mia Naturally Soft Merino DK.

The braid is snug around the ears, and because the rest of the hat is worked using the Fair Isle technique, the hat is double-layered and really warm. Instructions are given for both a slouch hat (pictured) and a shorter beanie style hat for those who prefer.

Also featured in Issue 67 is a gorgeous jumper by Sasha Kagan, a tweedy aran cardigan by Linda Parkhouse and an amazing elephant cardigan by Martin Storey – all things I would like to knit when I get the time!

**EDIT** You can now purchase Kolka as a digital download here

Fair Isle Mittens pattern in Simply Knitting 115

Published on 05/12/201312/11/2023 by Faye5 Comments

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Here is the second of my patterns originally published in the new issue of Simply Knitting. These mittens are seriously cosy, knitted in Blacker Swan Falkland Islands wool DK, which sooo soft! The pattern came about by mistake when I was charting an old vintage chevron pattern and messed it up, so I flipped it over and ended up with this:

The pattern is a simple two-colour standed design which is fun to knit. The mittens are worked in the round, increasing for the thumb, which is then added on afterwards. The pattern is charted clearly and is available in 2 sizes: 18-20cm (7-8in) and 21-23cm (81/4-9) in.

For more information please see the product page here.

Coming soon to a cafe near you!

Published on 02/07/201202/07/2012 by Faye8 Comments

Hello lovelies, I hope you’ve all had a good week!

I thought I would share first a few photos from the last seven days, nothing too exciting, just out and about! The first is from the beach at Burton Bradstock, which we visited last week to drop in on a friend on the way home from Brighton. I got over enthusiastic about the weaving book in my last post and neglected to find this little gem hidden in my camera.

I also popped down to Exeter last week to wish my Dad a happy birthday, and we enjoyed a cultural couple of days checking out the RAMM and A La Ronde. Both I have visited before, however the museum has been closed for what seems like years, and has since won awards so we were eager to check it out. In all honesty I think I preferred it before, but I seem to be the only one thinking that so I will keep schtum! I miss the clocks gallery, and I’m not so keen on stuffed animals stacked up to the ceiling.

A La Ronde is an 18th century ’round house’ built for two spinster cousins after their trip around Europe. It is full of souvenirs from their travels, including shells, feathers and pottery, as well as many crafts they have made themselves. I was unable to take photographs, however was particularly taken by the teeny tiny knitted gloves, a caddy made from quilling, feather freize and a picture made entirely from cut out paper. There is also a shell gallery, which I remember going into when I was small but it has since been closed – the wall from top to bottom, all the way around the top floor of the building is completely covered in shells.

working space — This appears to be my workshop at the moment :-/

I’ve been working on a couple of things since my last post, the Autumn Gold Hat I posted about a couple of weeks ago, and a fair isle cup cosy design for a zillion takeaway cups.

I’m not going to say any more in case I get into trouble, all I can say is that this lovely little snowflake design will be printed onto the cups, along with my label, which will be available in a cafe near you over the colder months!

And I’m quite excited! 🙂