reminiscent

It’s a real pleasure to introduce today’s designer to you – Chihiro Sato. Chihiro’s an experienced knitwear designer who lives and works in Tokyo, but her inspiration comes from Shetland, its landscape, its culture, and its knitting.

Bringing traditional patterns, interesting construction methods, and a fresh and distinctive take on colour together, Chihiro is the designer of many beautiful patterns for hand knitting, and the author of three books Fair Isle Knitting (2018) and A Gift from Shetland (2011) both published in Japan and Enjoy Fair Isle Knitting (2017) produced and published in Shetland by the Shetland Times.

One of the great pleasures for me of developing this collection has been working with designers in all corners of the globe. Over the past year I’ve particularly enjoyed corresponding with Chihiro and her daughter, Yui, exploring design ideas, and tracing the changing seasons in Japan and Scotland. For the Warm Hands collection, Chihiro wanted to create a simple wristlet, with a Shetland inspiration, and her pattern is a brilliant introduction to glove and mitten knitting for any beginner knitter, because it is mostly knitted flat. Following a familiar Shetland lace pattern, and introducing a nifty and very simple method of creating buttonholes, Chihiro’s pattern was inspired by thoughts of Shetland at a favourite time of year, and is called Reminiscent. Here’s Chihiro to tell you more about it.

“I am fascinated by Shetland’s landscape, and the natural world. It’s a place that is endlessly inspiring to me.”

“In Autumn, the Shetland hills glow a beautiful reddish purple, dyed by the colours of the heather.”

“Nature gave me my colours, and a traditional Shetland lace pattern fitted the source of my inspiration.”

“Some knitters struggle with small circumferences, but these simple mitts are knitted flat with a fit that is easily adjusted by the placement of the buttons.”

“I think that choosing buttons brings an additional pleasure to your project too.”

Thankyou, Chihiro, for your elegant and thoughtful contribution to Warm Hands.

Links
Warm Hands book
Reminiscent pattern on Ravelry
Reminiscent yarn pack
Chihiro’s website and store
Enjoy Fair Isle Knitting from the Shetland Times bookshop