A Knitter's Guide to Shawl Design - available now!

I’m really delighted to announce that my new book, A Knitter’s Guide to Shawl Design, has just been published and is now available to purchase! A huge thank you to everyone at the The Crowood Press!

I can’t wait to tell you more about the shawl patterns & the inspiration behind my designs! The book cover features my Las Setas Shawl which is knitted in the stunning Bilum Snek gradient yarn available from the lovely Ida's House.

You can take a look inside my book & also buy direct from The Crowood Press website here.

Aysgarth Falls Cardigan

Lovely to see my Aysgarth Falls Cardigan on the cover of The Knitter Magazine Issue 169! My cardigan looks amazing with the stunning mitts & cowl set designed by Juliet Bernard - what a fantastic combination!

Aysgarth Falls was inspired by flowing water with a cable and lace pattern depicting a wide river flowing over a waterfall. As the water flows in the river, it appears as smooth cabled curves on the upper sections of the garment. Bubbles begin to form as the flow is disrupted by a rocky waterfall, depicted by the lace section in the lower garment. This asymmetric design features different lengths of flow on either side of the cardigan. The beautiful blue yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners Illustrious, a blend of Falkland wool and British alpaca, in the gorgeous shade of Royal.

A Knitter's Guide to Shawl Design

Thank you so much to The Crowood Press for sending me an advance copy of my new book, A Knitters Guide to Shawl Design! I am delighted with everything about my beautiful book & seeing all my photos & chapters in print is amazing! I’m really looking forward to my book being published in November - more details to follow! The shawl detail shown in my photo & on the book cover is my Las Setas pattern knitted in stunning Bilum Yarns Snek gradient yarn.

Museum Quarter Wrap Pattern

I’m excited to tell you that my Museum Quarter Wrap is now available to purchase as a download from Payhip, Lovecrafts and Ravelry! 

This dramatic wrap is a long trapezium/ trapezoid shape, which gradually widens as it grows in length. The intersecting blocks of colour are knitted using short row shaping combined with intarsia, enabling the centre colour change. The amazing yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners ColourLab DK & the combination of the three gorgeous shades creates a bold statement accessory! 🧶

Many thanks to Linda at Tabitha Thomas Studio for checking & tech editing my pattern.

Crabapple Sweater on the Cover of the Knitter Magazine!

My Crabapple sweater is on the cover of this month’s Knitter Magazine, Issue 168! Crabapple was inspired by bold print patterns. This textured design has Diamond shapes embedded into one side of long lines of zigzags, giving an asymmetric look to the sweater. 

I loved designing and knitting this sweater in the gorgeous new Tarma Aran yarn from Fyberspates. The beautiful blend of orange colours in the shade of Saffron really enhance the contrasting textures of my design. There are 20 beautiful hand-dyed shades of Tarma Aran to choose from!

Charrette Sweater for Quince & Co!

I am absolutely delighted that my Charrette sweater design is part of Quince & Co’s gorgeous new Atelier Collection!

Charrette is knitted using a strand each of Quince & Co Lark, shade Iceland and Owlet, shade Elf. Both strands are knitted together creating a marl effect, perfect for my textured cable pattern!

The Atelier Collection is initially available to purchase as a beautiful pdf with all the gorgeous patterns included. If you have your eye on an individual pattern, these will be made available over the next few weeks. Look out for more details coming soon on the Quince & Co website!

© 2021 Quince & Co

Photography: Regan Kenny

Model: Joanne Kenny

Zaha Cardigan in The Knitter Magazine Issue 167

My Zaha cardigan has just been published in The Knitter Magazine issue 167!

Architectural inspired cables and textures decorate this smart, short-sleeved cardigan. There are Beautiful contrasts between the central stitch pattern and the stocking stitch sleeves and outer garment sections.The front bands and centre back are worked in a twisted rope stitch, with textured triangles mirror-imaged on either side. The sleeves and cabled cuffs are worked as part of the body pieces. Zaha is knitted in Cascade 220 superwash wool in the gorgeous shade of Golden.

I have lots of exciting knitting news to share over the next few months, including new patterns, new yarn collaborations and of course, my new book! I'll be continuing to write new blog posts about all of these, but the most up to date information, please also follow me on Instagram and Twitter. I am Purlemma on both!

Happy knitting!

Demeter Top on the cover of The Knitter Magazine!

 I'm so excited to see my Demeter design on the cover of The Knitter Magazine, Issue 166!

My Demeter sleeveless top features a textured central pattern panel on the front and back. The stitch pattern comprises a series of linked rectangle shapes, which are knitted using twisted stitches. These interlocking shapes are bisected by long vertical lines, creating a wide rib effect. The outer edges of the top are knitted in stocking stitch.

The top is knitted in Juniper Moon Farm's lovely Zooey DK yarn, which is a mix of cotton and linen. This delightful yarn is available in a range of earth tones and brighter colours, including this summery shade of Goldenrod.

Wavelet Shawl in Knitting Magazine!

My Wavelet crescent shawl pattern is in this month’s Knitting Magazine, Issue 218!

Wavelet is knitted in Irish Artisan Yarn (IAY) sock yarn in the beautiful shade of Keem Bay. This issue of Knitting also features a wonderful article all about Irish Artisan Yarns and owner, Tara. The stunning Irish countryside and coastal areas inspire Tara’s gorgeous yarn colours which are a perfect match for my shawl design!

Pattern correction - please see the Knitting magazine website for a chart update.

For the photoshoot, Knitting magazine teamed up my Wavelet shawl with a beautiful short sleeved top by designer Bronagh Miskelly. I love how great our coastal inspired designs look together!

A Knitter's Guide to Shawl Design

So excited to share the cover of my new book! I submitted my manuscript a few weeks ago to my lovely editor at The Crowood Press. We now have a beautiful cover image, a first proof of the layout and publication timing. Look out for the release of A Knitter's Guide to Shawl Design in November 2021! 

Shawls are the perfect knitted accessory for exploring beautiful yarns and creative stitch patterns. My book is full of inspiration for shawl shapes and stitch designs. Readers can dip in and out of the chapters for ideas or they can knit one of the beautiful shawl patterns that I have designed especially for the book. The shawl featured on the cover is knitted in Bilum Snek gradient yarn - a real joy to design and knit with. Over the coming weeks, as we lead up to publication, I'll be writing more about the inspiration behind this design and much, much more. I cant wait to share more details!

Ammonoid Shawl Pattern

My Ammonoid Shawl pattern has been published in Knitting magazine issue 215! For this issue, designers were asked to explore a range of different knitted construction methods. My shawl combines the half-pi semicircle construction method with a knitted-on outer border. Pi-shawls were popularised by the inspirational designer, Elizabeth Zimmerman. In her book, Knitter's Almanac, the construction for a circular shawl is beautifully described and I really recommend having a read!

Once the semicircle is completed, the knitted-on lower border is added. This border uses the "live" stitches of outer edge of the semicircle and is almost like casting off the stitches as you go. As the border progresses, it gradually widens. The resulting asymmetric shawl shape reminds me of a fossilised ammonite!

The shawl is knitted in Ullcentrum 2ply Swedish yarn from Midwinter Yarns. This lovely yarn provides amazing structure to the stitch pattern. The main shade is called Petrol and the contrast shade is Natural Gradient.

Pattern Update. Please note that the stitch count for the Shawl Body, Row 1 should be 13sts.

Wave Drift Shawl for Irish Artisan Yarn

I am absolutely delighted to announce a new shawl pattern! My Wave Drift Shawl was created in collaboration with the lovely Tara at Irish Artisan Yarns (IAY). The beautiful shades of IAY merino bamboo silk 4ply yarn are just perfect for my design!

Wave Drift is inspired by surface water on a lake. The textured zigzag pattern represents the ripples of little waves that can ruffle an otherwise smooth lake surface as a gentle breeze blows. The shawl design aims to capture the drift of the waves along with the stillness and serenity of a peaceful lake.

The triangular shawl begins with a garter stitch tab and then grows downwards from the top centre by four stitches being increased on every right-side row. The centre spine and outer edges contain a textured twisted rope and eyelet stitch pattern. The diagonal lines of textured waves stretch from the outer shawl edges and meet at the shawl centre. The pattern has full written instructions and charts created using awesome Stitchmastery charting software. Many thanks to Joanna Miles for her excellent tech editing and to Maxine Vining for taking the brilliant photo below!

The pattern is available from Irish Artisan Yarns, alongside all the beautiful yarn colour ways. The shawl requires two skeins of IAY merino bamboo silk 4ply. You can also purchase the pattern as a digital download on Payhip and Ravelry.

 

Wistman's Wood Cardigan

My Wistman's Wood cardigan in is this month's Knitter Magazine! I am delighted that my pattern is included alongside so many beautiful designs in Issue 160.

The cardigan design is inspired by crisscrossing tree branches. The stitch pattern is full of zigzgging lines of eyelets combined with reverse stocking stitch texture. The branching eyelet pattern is worked on the cardigan back and the front bands, which are knitted at the same time as the fronts. The pattern gradually widens towards the upper body and shoulders. It was such a pleasure to design and knit with this wonderful warm bright yellow shade of Novita Nalle yarn!

Here are some images of the lovely Novita yarn with the ball band information.

I'm really delighted to tell you that my Cholla Shawl knitting pattern is now available to purchase from Walcot Yarns. This means that my design is on sale alongside the gorgeous Opus yarn in which I designed the pattern! There are many beautiful shades available, including Goldenrod. I love this shade and the shawl that I am wearing in the photo is knitted in this colourway.

During #iknit7 last year, I was really excited to purchase 2 skeins of a limited edition Opus yarn created by Townhouse Yarns. As soon as I saw this colourway I knew it would be perfect for a new Cholla shawl! I am making great progress with this new version - only a few more repeats to go! Thanks to my daughter Maxine for taking these great work-in-progress pictures.

The Cholla Shawl is inspired by the desert landscape and cholla cacti in the state of Arizona, USA. It is constructed using two-stitch cables and a combination of single and double yarn-overs worked on stocking stitch and reverse stocking stitch backgrounds. At the same time, the shawl gradually widens with increases worked on every right-side row, creating a right-angled triangle shape. The pattern was originally published in Knitting magazine issue 196.

You can currently buy the lovely Walcott Yarns Opus yarn direct from Walcott Yarns, along with a hard copy of the pattern. The Cholla Shawl requires 2 skeins of Opus. I’ll also be adding a digital version of the pattern to Ravelry and Payhip in the next few days.

A lovely package and a pattern release!

My Mum has rediscovered her knitting mojo and has been creating beautiful gifts for family and friends. I am over the moon that she has been enjoying knitting one of my patterns. My Shoreline Scarf was first published in Knitting Magazine Issue 195. The original design is knitted in gorgeous Uist Wool Cannach 4ply yarn. I love how the Cannach yarn textures and shades work so well together in bias-knitted stripes.

Mum wanted to knit a slightly larger version of the scarf so she chose a DK yarn, Rowan Yarns Alpaca Soft. Working the pattern in a heavier weight of yarn means that Mum's scarf is a little bit wider than the original. Now that all the presents have been received by the lucky friends and family, I can share a few photos of Mum’s knitting. This is also a great opportunity to release the pattern as a download from Payhip and Ravelry. 

So, what was in the lovely package? Well, Mum has knitted a scarf for me! This version is knitted in two shades of UK Alpaca Super Fine Alpaca DK and I love it! 

Mum is now working on a short version of the scarf, so that she can sew the ends together and create a cowl version! Such a clever way to use up the remaining yarn. 

Happy knitting and I hope you enjoy this pattern!

Emma x