Rent or borrow the video to go with it, too!
I had done a little Fair Isle knitting before I picked up this book, so I knew just enough to be dangerous. Fortunately, when I bought this book at my local knitting store, the store owner offered the loan of the Philosopher's Wool video that goes along with the book - between the two, I perfected Fair Isle knitting in ONE DAY! (It helps if you've had some experience with crochet & holding yarn in your left hand - if you don't, that's definitely where I would start!) Also, the information on the industry background was interesting.
This is my main reference book when referencing Fair Isle technique & the patterns are awesome; I've tagged several projects to do, now to decide on the colorways! So many projects, so little time!
Beginners Fair Isle
The knitting technique in this book described and illustrated very well. There are many projects from beginners Fair Isle to more complicated sweaters and cardigans. The patterns are for DK weight, so the sweaters will be very warm. The fit is for loosefitting sweaters with lots of ease and drop shoulders, so this gives a classic and cosy knit.
I was disappointed
This book was too focused on their particular company, their yarns, their techniques. Not too much to generalize from. Pictures are GORGEOUS and the sweaters are too -- though so modern-looking! I wanted something more along the lines of teaching the traditions in general, and also wanted discussion of how the colors are chosen & matched up. However if you want specific patterns & want to use their yarns (which are beautiful but beyond my budget), this is a good book.
New way to knit fair isle
What a great book for learning a new way to knit Fair Isle sweaters! Requires reader to have some knowledge of knitting, but the technique is easy to learn after some practice. No more tangled yarn or puckered surfaces when switching colors. Book also contains some of the background on "Philosphers Wool" which I found interesting. Contains some great patterns and encourages a knitter to use imagination when combining colors.
A fair isle book for beginner's
A very nice knitting book for beginner's it's my first attempt for fair isle knitting. I just received the kit I ordered for one of the designs fractured diamonds that is in their book. Very good price for the kit and for this month their video is for free when you buy a kit. Very fast delivery of the kit in 3 days it was here from Canada. Their video explains everything very well for making a fair isle sweater it's 56 minutes. And when you buy their products you know you are supporting a small independent producer who is trying to pay other farmers in the area a reasonable price for their wool. And from the story of their farm in the beginning of the book I understood why here in Greece come people from Brittain to shear flocks and as a payment they get the wool they shear. It was on the news some time ago.
