Ethnic Knitting Exploration, the second book in the Ethnic Knitting series, takes off for Lithuania, Iceland, and Ireland in another voyage of knitting discovery. This time, you’ll get a tour through unusual color patterns from Lithuania, circular yokes from Iceland, and Irish Aran-style garments. Step-by-step tutorials introduce the traditional techniques of each region, followed by a small project—fingerless gloves, a capelet, or a poncho. These are a great place to experiment with ideas, or just practice the new techniques before moving on to one of the two master sweater plans. Each project is presented as detailed instructions, a visual plan, and a spreadsheet, so you’re sure to find something you’re comfortable working with.
Chapter 1 : Sweater Shapes – Raglan, Yoke, & Saddle-shoulder
Refining the shoulder area • Pullover or cardigan—you choose • Sizing
guidelines • Getting gauge • The sample sweaters
Chapter 2 : A Few Basics
Knitting needles, and some tricks for using them • Yarn • Increases and decreases •
Sewing seams • Short-row shaping • Centering patterns • Abbreviations and symbols
Chapter 3 : Lithuania
Striped ribbing • Working with two or three colors
Project 1: Fingerless Gloves
Project 2: Raglan Pullover with Border Pattern
Project 3: Raglan Pullover with Multiple Patterns
Chapter 4 : Iceland
Knitting with unspun lopi yarn • Fitting patterns on a yoke
Project 4: Capelet
Project 5: Pullover with Horizontal Bands on Yoke
Project 6: Cardigan with Horizontal Bands
Chapter 5 : Ireland
Left-crossing cable • Right-crossing cable • Counting rows between cable
crossings • Making bobbles • Chart symbols used in cable patterns • Becoming
comfortable with cables • Special notes about Aran-style sweater design •
Knitting a cable swatch
Chapter 6 : Cardigans
In the round with a cut center-front opening • Body knitted back and forth in one
piece • Knitted back and forth (flat) in several pieces (especially for Arans)
This is an unusual knitting book, because you’re an unusual knitter.These pages don’t contain lots of inspiring color photos because there’s heaps of inspiration at your favorite yarn shop or spinning wheel. What you’ll find here is solid information on how to build three classic sweater shapes-raglan, circular yoke, and saddle-shoulder-in the yarn that’s caught your fancy. You’ll also discover ways to use color patterning, build an Aran-style design, and turn a pullover into a cardigan. This book’s goal isn’t to give you one sweater idea and then sit on the shelf. It’s to help you discover the joy and satisfaction of knitting without patterns when you want to. And to increase your understanding and sense of control and pleasure when you do use patterns. – Donna Druchunas
Please note that these are photos from both books Ethnic knitting discovery & exploration.
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NOTHING HERE
Listen to author Donna Druchunas give you an introductions to Ethnic Knitting Discovery & Exploration.
This book is more about creating knitted articles in the structure of Aran, Icelandic or Lithuanian garments, which have a particular construction. Using this book and a stitch dictionary, you can create ethnic garments using sweater plans in the book.
For the designer and do-it-yourself knitter who doesn’t want to rely on packaged patterns, this is a real boon. If you are not an advanced knitter, there are mini-projects to understand the construction idea, such as a capelet that goes over the shoulders in two color knitting. This capelet is nice by itself, but it teaches you the idea of round yokes as in Icelandic knitting. The Aran knit project shows you how to construct the drop shoulder sleeve or to do a raglan.
There are a number of motifs charted but mainly this book is about construction and it is a blueprint for making your own designs. Therefore, a good stitch dictionary will be a great adjunct to “Ethnic Knitting Exploration” and there are many to choose from, such as Barbara Walker Treasury and 440 More Stitches. There are many more including ones specific to Aran and Nordic patterns as well as Baltic (Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian.) – Amazon Reader
Traditional knitting techniques and stories from Norway.(PDF)
Recipe for
Designing
your own
headband.(PDF)