Knitting Daily Workshop's "Introduction to Fair Isle: the Ivy League Vest" with Eunny Jang aims to help knitters who are reluctant to take on a large Fair Isle knitting project by covering all the necessary skills and presenting the pattern in the form of a knitalong workshop.
Different segments of the DVD cover the history of Fair Isle, what you need to get started on the project, basic skills like how to knit it he round and work with two colors, and more advanced techniques like how to make and cut out a steek.
Color Lessons
The DVD is divided into seven main sections, including:
- introduction to Fair Isle knitting, which touches on the history of the style and regional variations
- getting started explains that Fair Isle is worked with two colors per round and shows how to cast on with two colors
- advanced principles: more on corrugated ribbing, different ways to hold the yarns, color planning and dealing with yarn joins
- knitting in the round, including how to work shaping in a pattern area and what a steek is and why it's used
- the body in detail: how to read a chart, keeping up with pattern increases and decreases, more on steeks and using duplicate stitch to fix mistakes in Fair Isle patterning
- cutting the steek, why it works and how to pick up stitches to finish the neck and arm holes
- finishing and care, which offers another look at cutting a steek, picking up stitches and tacking down the steek
Each section involves Eunny Jang and sometimes Shay Pendray talking viewers through different aspects of the project. The segments are slow and detailed, and of course you can watch them again and again as you work through the project if you need to.
The DVD also provides the option of watching the whole video from start to finish or viewing one segment at a time, so you can watch the whole program before you get started if you like and then watch each segment as you get to that part of the project.
The pattern for the Ivy League Vest is included as a download with purchase of the video, and it was featured in the winter 2007 issue of Interweave Knits (Ravelry link).
Bottom Line
If you're new to Fair Isle knitting and feel somewhat ready to take on a big project but are still a little scared about some of the techniques involved, "Introduction to Fair Isle: The Ivy League Vest" will take a lot of the fear out of the process and make you feel comfortable with everything that needs to be done.
Watching the video is almost as good as having a knowledgeable knitter right in your house with you, looking over your shoulder as you work. This DVD is sure to be a help to knitters who want to make the leap into intricate Fair Isle designs and don't know how to begin.
The vest itself is lovely and a project that a lot of knitters will enjoy working with and learning from. After working through this DVD and this project, knitters are sure to feel confident in their Fair Isle skills and ready to take on even more complex projects.
Release date: September 2009.
Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
