I am in the rather amazing position to be studying textiles, with a specialism in knitting, at the most wonderful school, HV Skola in Stockholm.

Behind the scenes there have been some tricky moments. I need not and as yet cannot write about those things here.  However, I have immersed myself so fully in a bath of yarn and creativity that I have neglected to update my blog.

This is an overdue update and will focus on my latest project – “Projekt Tradition.” The remit was to study traditional Swedish garments from the 1890s and then analyse the knitting techniques, draw patterns, knit test pieces, sketch ideas and create a modern garment reflecting elements of the traditional.

Our school is situated directly opposite Skansen and our class were lucky enough to go behind the scenes to analyse these historical knitted artifacts, white gloves and magnifying glass to hand. The pictures hopefully show where the inspiration for my design came from.

The pullover began from a “Hälsinglandskant” – Hälsingland is a region in Sweden and this “kant” or edging uses a combinations of purl and knit rows on the round, though the knit rows are almost entirely hidden in between the purl bumps.  It creates a very nice effect visually and under the fingers.  I took a chance in using the brightest colours together but I think in the context of the whole garment it paid off.  The middle section for the waist is just a basic rib section.  The patterned borders appear mostly below the rib with one border above the rib.  The remainder was improvised with stripes and spot accents over a brown base colour.

In this project I also had the chance to colour the yarn myself.  The bright red and green I created have been calmed down by using a large amount of natural black – which is really brown – wool.  Plus I bought a light blue as a little accent colour here and there.

The gallery reflects some highlights to the process and the overall resulting garment. I am so pleased as this is actually my first attempt at a large item of clothing and – with help from my patient and experienced teacher – I managed to make all the calculations add up to a pullover vest that fits like a glove (well, you know what I mean…!)

Happy Knitting and Happy New Year!