By Kathleen Taylor
The Taunton Press, $24.95, 170 pages
As cooler weather greets us each morning, it is time for warm clothing to fill the closet and drawers. Kathleen Taylor’s Fearless Fair Isle Knitting features 30 original designs for sweaters, socks, mittens and more. Taylor’s 30 years of knitwear design experience is evident in the book’s quality. Fair Isle Knitting, or multi-colored stranded knitting, is considered by some to be an advanced style because it requires knitters to take scissors to their work. A steek is a built-in seam that allows knitters to make projects completely in the round. The steek is cut open after the knitting is finished and the project continues. If the process is new to you, Taylor introduces the basics: yarn selection, swatching, tension, and steeking. Beginners can follow simple patterns and large charts to conquer easy designs that require no steeking such as Fingerless Mittens and the Floppy Hat. For advanced Fair Isle Knitters, Taylor presents a more friendly approach. Try it out and create cardigans, a sweater dress, purses, and more. Full page color photographs show detailed steps for each project. The designs and yarn colors are classic and the finished products look like something sold at a high end retail store.
Reviewed by Elizabeth Franklin,
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