By: Kate Davies Designs
design, knitting, textiles, , ,

Ringle

We released another pattern with our friends at Shilasdair today – Ringle

Based on the very first, very simple, yoked pullover that I ever designed and knit, Ringle features Shilasdair’s Coara Worsted — a springy blend of Blue Faced Leicester and Shetland fleeces that’s now available in some beautiful naturally-dyed shades.

Ringle’s yarn is dyed with indigo — a plant which doesn’t grow here, but with which Scotland has important historic connections which you can read about in this post.

Ringle is based on the very first, very simple yoked pullover which I ever designed and knit

I bought the yarn for this pullover twelve years ago, at Shilasdair, during a visit to the isle of Skye. On our last visit earlier this year I found myself thinking about this pullover – about it’s significance, and about how much I’d loved and worn it.

With this garment began my fascination with knitting yoke pullovers and, I suppose, designing them too. Here I am knitting in the original pullover at Helvellyn many years ago. You can read about my experience of knitting the pullover here in 2007, the year this blog began.

And what about the name? Well, Ringle is an old Scots word for circular, coloured stripes. Used to refer to stripey stockings, or striped markings on livestock such as cows and sheep, similar words exist in other related European languages.

It’s nice to have the opportunity to breathe some new life into an old idea.

Simplicity can sometimes be very good in a garment. Though I know much more about how to fit a yoke proportionately, other than adjusting the shaping, I didn’t add anything to this pullover design-wise: Ringle came off the needles prerty much as it’s original did 12 years ago: a quick, straightforward and enjoyable knit.

The pattern is now available on Ravelry – and if you are a Knitting Season subscriber, watch your inboxes for a unique code, enabling a free download of Ringle.


Happy Knitting!

Links

Ringle pattern on Ravelry
Yarn to knit Ringle from Shilasdair
Scotland’s indigo connections
Visit to Shilasdair