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Aran Knitting

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Aran Knitting

The definitive guide to designing and knitting in the Irish Aran tradition, this highly sought after book returns to print after a decade's absence in a revised and expanded version. The author of many knitting classics, Alice Starmore is internationally renowned as a knitwear designer and an expert on knitting technique. In this guide, she presents a fascinating history of Aran knitting and an analysis of the traditional style, in addition to a complete workshop in technique, pattern, and design.
"Highly recommended" by Library Journal, this volume offers step-by-step instructions, photographs, and drawings. It provides complete directions and charted patterns for the original edition's fourteen designs — many of them reknit in contemporary yarns — plus a new design. Patterns include the St. Brigid, one of the author's most popular hand-knitted designs, which represents a step forward from Aran knitting into the realm of Celtic design. Brilliant color photographs depict all of the finished caps, sweaters, and shawls. Sixty easy-to-read charted patterns guide readers through the design process and encourage the development of unique patterns. Beginners and experienced knitters alike will cherish this comprehensive guide to a beloved craft.

Expanded and updated version of the Interweave Press, Loveland, Colorado, 1997 edition.

Bonus Editorial Feature

4 Questions with Alice Starmore: An Exclusive Dover Interview

Alice Starmore has a fascinating tale to tell. We spoke to the author of the #1 crafts bestseller Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting about her knitting background, professional start, and more.

Clearly, knitting is a deeply ingrained facet of the culture of Scotland's Outer Hebrides. Did your mother teach you to knit?
My mother taught me to knit when I was very young. She was a dressmaker as well as a knitter and our house was a place of constant creativity. I was also born at a time when most women knitted as a matter of course, and I had three aunts who had been fisher girls in their youth and were experts at making traditional fishermen's gansies.

I understand that your first language is Gaelic — do you still speak it?
Yes I still speak Gaelic. The Isle of Lewis, where I live, is in the Outer Hebrides — the heartland of Gaelic and the only place where you will hear the language in everyday use.

How did you get your start professionally?
I designed a small collection of knitwear in 1975 and successfully sold it in London boutiques. It was featured in a national newspaper and from that small beginning my knitting career evolved in ways that were quite unimaginable to me when I began.

Your books are known and loved around the world, and you've adapted design elements from the textile arts of many countries into your repertoire. Are you still discovering "new" aspects of knitting and fabric arts from other cultures?
I am interested in everything. I find inspiration in all aspects of the world around me. There is enough inspiration in the natural world on my doorstep to last many lifetimes. I am also inspired by art, culture, history, science and music. My own culture features widely in my design work but I have always been interested in other cultures and in other places. My main problem is that I cannot possibly live long enough to produce work from the amount of ideas that come into my head.

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Original: $34.95

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Aran Knitting—

$34.95

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Description

The definitive guide to designing and knitting in the Irish Aran tradition, this highly sought after book returns to print after a decade's absence in a revised and expanded version. The author of many knitting classics, Alice Starmore is internationally renowned as a knitwear designer and an expert on knitting technique. In this guide, she presents a fascinating history of Aran knitting and an analysis of the traditional style, in addition to a complete workshop in technique, pattern, and design.
"Highly recommended" by Library Journal, this volume offers step-by-step instructions, photographs, and drawings. It provides complete directions and charted patterns for the original edition's fourteen designs — many of them reknit in contemporary yarns — plus a new design. Patterns include the St. Brigid, one of the author's most popular hand-knitted designs, which represents a step forward from Aran knitting into the realm of Celtic design. Brilliant color photographs depict all of the finished caps, sweaters, and shawls. Sixty easy-to-read charted patterns guide readers through the design process and encourage the development of unique patterns. Beginners and experienced knitters alike will cherish this comprehensive guide to a beloved craft.

Expanded and updated version of the Interweave Press, Loveland, Colorado, 1997 edition.

Bonus Editorial Feature

4 Questions with Alice Starmore: An Exclusive Dover Interview

Alice Starmore has a fascinating tale to tell. We spoke to the author of the #1 crafts bestseller Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting about her knitting background, professional start, and more.

Clearly, knitting is a deeply ingrained facet of the culture of Scotland's Outer Hebrides. Did your mother teach you to knit?
My mother taught me to knit when I was very young. She was a dressmaker as well as a knitter and our house was a place of constant creativity. I was also born at a time when most women knitted as a matter of course, and I had three aunts who had been fisher girls in their youth and were experts at making traditional fishermen's gansies.

I understand that your first language is Gaelic — do you still speak it?
Yes I still speak Gaelic. The Isle of Lewis, where I live, is in the Outer Hebrides — the heartland of Gaelic and the only place where you will hear the language in everyday use.

How did you get your start professionally?
I designed a small collection of knitwear in 1975 and successfully sold it in London boutiques. It was featured in a national newspaper and from that small beginning my knitting career evolved in ways that were quite unimaginable to me when I began.

Your books are known and loved around the world, and you've adapted design elements from the textile arts of many countries into your repertoire. Are you still discovering "new" aspects of knitting and fabric arts from other cultures?
I am interested in everything. I find inspiration in all aspects of the world around me. There is enough inspiration in the natural world on my doorstep to last many lifetimes. I am also inspired by art, culture, history, science and music. My own culture features widely in my design work but I have always been interested in other cultures and in other places. My main problem is that I cannot possibly live long enough to produce work from the amount of ideas that come into my head.

knitting designs;irish moss;cable knitting;knitting world;knitting patterns;cable designs;knitted garments;st brigid;sweater designs;stitch library;celtic designs;cable patterns;aran sweater;knitter's library;stitch dictionary;sweater patterns;intermediate knitter;celtic knotwork;advanced knitters;local yarn;patterns included;spiral binding;stitch patterns;spiral bound;36-38;set-in;32-34;arans;eala;cabled;knitwear;hebridean;swatches;purl;sizing;shawls;cardigan;cables;charted;knits;dover;garment;sweaters;knitting;yarns;motifs;designing;stitches;sizes;shaping;charts;elizabeth zimmerman;boudicca;books on cable knittings;books on dovers;books on motifs;books on garments;books on irish mosses;books on stitch libraries;books on stitch dictionaries;books on cables;books on shawls;knit designs;stitching patterns;books on sweater designs;shape;books on cardigan;books on celtic designs;books on spiral bindings;books on knitting worlds;books on set-ins;books on knits;stitching library;books on sweater patterns;books on yarns;books on knitting patterns;books on knitting designs;stitching dictionary;books on knitted garments;books on cable patterns;knit;books on arans;books on sweaters;books on purl;books on stitch patterns;books on swatches;knit patterns;knit world;design;books on cable designs;books on sizes;books on knitwears;books on charts;books on stitches; hygge
Aran Knitting | Dover Publications