200 Fair Isle Designs: Knitting Charts, Combination Designs, and Colour Variations

by Mary Jane Mucklestone

This is a comprehensive guide to 200 beautiful Fair Isle designs. From simple one row 'peerie' patterns to complex allover repeats, the 200 knitted samples contained in this book will thrill and inspire the knitter, experienced and beginner alike.

Genres: Knitting, Crafts, Nonfiction, Reference

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

About the author

Mary Jane Mucklestone is a world-known hand knitting designer, whose inventive designs are featured in many books and magazines

She’s the author of 4 books featuring stranded colorwork; the stitch dictionary "150 Scandinavian Motifs," and "Fair Isle Style" a contemporary take on colorwork featuring 20 projects from 18 popular designers. GeoKnits focuses on geometric shapes, by clever bias knitting and in stranded knitting alike.

Her first book "200 Fair Isle Motifs" was an instant classic and has been translated into many languages.

Mary Jane travels the world to study traditional knitting techniques and to learn more about the history of the craft. She’s a popular teacher specializing in lively, fun and informative classes. Her objective is to give students the courage to try something new!

Reviews

[Brixton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knit blocks for Afghans for Pine Ridge, and since Fair Isle is easily my favourite kind of knitting to do, this book has become very handy for making up a variety of designs which use up small amounts of remnant colourways. It is well laid out, and the introductory sections are very good at covering the things people new to Fair Isle will need to know (how to center designs, weave floats, etc).

[Lobstergirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good resource for a beginner Fair Isle knitter.

[Apryl Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book--pure eye candy! The essential skills are an excellent resource for the timorously confident advanced beginning knitter, making this book the perfect choice for someone who's ready to really challenge themselves with new techniques.

The layout is quite practical, as the patterns are assembled by rows and stitches. Also the single pattern repeat is accompanied by a graph of multiple repeats so as to envision an allover design. I know that I ought to appreciate that, but it was simply too much visual stimulation for me. The colourways are nice (and many will find them inspirational); I find them distracting. Much of the thrill of two-colour knitting for me is in the exploration and discovery.

FYI, I devoured Ms. Mucklestone's Fair Isle class on craftsy.com. I totally recommend her teaching style!

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for Fair Isle knitting. The first 30-some odd pages contain advice on using Fair Isle motifs, and some of the tools and skills necessary, including a basic overview of color theory. The rest of the book is the motifs. Every example contains an excellent photograph, along with three charts — one in the colors of the photo, one in a different color scheme, and in simple grid. In addition, some pages show samples of combining various motifs. Only two drawbacks: Occasionally the colors in the photos did not seem (to me) to contain enough contrast to clearly see the design; in addition I disagree with the author's advice that aligning patterns with differing stitch repeats is only necessary at the center of the garment. I prefer to use patterns that will align throughout, but this is, of course, a personal preference. Highly recommended.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a really fantastic source of inspiration and helpful beginner tips. I think though to get a full picture multiple books will have to be read. I find it bizarre that the book has very basics in such as casting on, weaving ends and how to hold yarn, but nowhere mentions the process of introducing new yarn colours or whether you are breaking them off or carrying them over etc. Lovely book overall though.

[Ligaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great reference for Fair Isle knitters! Basic instructions on knitting, generally, and Fair Isle in particular. Motifs are shown in colored charts and a knitted sample. The last 80 some motifs also show a color variation in chart form only. Would have been great to see it knitted up, though. This one goes on the reference shelf!

[Carly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great overview of Fair Isle design. I would have loved a bit more detail about history/techniques/classic designs, motifs, symbols, etc. in the section before the charts, but it has inspired me to seek that out elsewhere, which is still a plus. All of the charts and patterns are inspiring and will hopefully be useful in future projects.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has everything you need to make a fiar-isle sweater from scratch from measurements to over 200 motifs you can use. This is amazing. I have a pattern I like already from another pattern, but this has helped me so much in making the colour graph for the knit. I have way too many projects lol but at the very least I got the 'make this pattern' itch done so I can focus on my wips.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book if you are new to stranded knitting and fair isle design. It explains the different techniques required (though I still had to look up videos to bring those techniques to life) and has a fantastic directory of patterns to use as a jumping off point for your design.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not really a read. A solid reference book.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book full of tips & patterns- perfect for the Fairisle scarf sampler I'm starting to knit- a great Christmas present gratefully received!

[Joyce Peterson]

Love them all.

[Natalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to all the extra time at home this past year, I’ve really stepped up my knitting game. Beyond just scarves, now I make all kinds of things like sweaters, shawls, and hats. One of my new favorites is anything with lots of colorwork, aka Fair Isle Knitting. If you haven’t seen anything like this give it a google and you’ll see gorgeous displays of design and color!
Since I love working with colors and multiple strands, I knew that “200 Fair Isle Motifs” by Mary Jane Mucklestone would be a must read for me, so I stopped by my local library to check out a copy.
This book was everything I hoped for and more. It is detailed from technique to history and provides readers with a wide array of styles and designs for every level. It even dives into the world of designing your own patterns or designs!
If you enjoy knitting, this book is a fun book to add to your collection. After I return it to the library, I might have to make a purchase. I can see this book turning into a resource I would use again and again! I gave this book 5 stars!
Are you into knitting or crocheting?

[Mariko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Logically organized by increasing size of pattern repeat. The introductory section on how to construct a fair isle sweater is probably too abbreviated to serve as a pattern, but it is an interesting overview, and a helpful inspiration to imagine how the various patterns could be used in a garment.

[Mhs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine gute Ergänzung zu Alice Starmores Buch, da es auch Muster zeigt.
Ganz strukturiert in aufsteigender Reihenzahl pro Muster, sehr hilfreich für die Auswahl.
Enthält ebenfalls keine Anleitungen für Strickteile, nur Muster.

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

some of the knitted samples are a bit hard to see in terms of stitch definition, probably due to the color combos used on smaller gauges. the charts are good though. nothing complex or that i haven't really seen before but it's always nice to have extra charts on hand for colorwork.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great reference for Fair Isle motifs. It's easy to read, with pages and pages of full-color examples with the design chart for each. I enjoyed the color scheme suggestions and the recommendations on how to pair or group motifs.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Fair Isle resource for ideas and motifs. Charted motifs range from single stitch, single row ideas all the way up to 20 row stunners. Gave me too many ideas to further gussy-up some projects.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved all the variety and the colour combinations provided. This will be a great addition to any knitters reference bookshelf. It's definitely getting added to mine :D

[Mckinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Designs patterns and not projects.

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book with easy to read graphs.

[Becky Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful charts