Colourful creations in new Fair Isle knitting book

An array of colourful Fair Isle patterns feature in a comprehensive graph book launched today at Islesburgh.

The Shetland Guild of Spinners, Knitters, Weavers and Dyers has released A Shetlander’s Fair Isle Graph Book, with knitting charts reproduced from two notebooks dating primarily from the 1930s and and 1940s.

The charts are aimed at adventurous knitters and also include Norwegian-inspired motifs.

The notebooks were in the possession of William (Bill) Henry who was in charge of the hosiery department of Anderson & Co, though it is not certain if Mr Henry compiled the books himself.

The patterns show the kind of Fair Isle knitting patterns purchased by the company from self-employed knitters at the time.

The book also includes an introduction from Dr Carol Christiansen, curator at Shetland Museum and Archives.

Lauretta Robertson has been a member of the guild since it started in 1988.

The group has about 60 Shetland members, as well as others across the globe.

Lauretta was sure folk would enjoy knitting the patterns.

“Fair Isle is very much an in style of knitting now,” she said.

“There’s a lot of people that are interested in learning Fair Isle and we thought it would be good to have it out before Wool Week.”

She added: “There’s so many people that don’t know how to blend colours and we thought this book was an advantage for them because the colours are blended for them.”

• A Shetlander’s Fair Isle Graph Book is available at The Shetland Times bookshop from Monday.