Allover is published!

I’m very pleased to say our Allover book is now on general release!

You can purchase the book in print from the KDD shop or as an ebook / digital download via Ravelry, or, if you prefer to source your books locally, the book will soon be winging its way to our yarn-and-book store stockists around the world. The book features all fourteen of the patterns which were released during our recent club, which are now also available to buy as kits featuring our Milarrochy Tweed, Ooskit, and Schiehallion yarns.

Patterns in the book include:

Starnkeeker, a bold allover vest, which brings together traditional Selbu motifs with 1970s-inspired colour-blocking.

Astragal: a beanie-style hat . . .

. . . with a beautiful crown . . .

. . . which our test knitters worked up in four glorious colourways (all of which are charted and illustrated in the book)

. . . a process which was also crucial to the development of other accessories in the collection, such as Fittygomash . . .

. . . Pouzle

Starkin . . .

and Pochie – a quick-to-knit hot water-bottle cosy which I enjoyed designing.

. . . knitters seem to enjoy this pattern too – there are over 200 Pochies already listed on Ravelry.

The Allover collection features three cardigans, the first of which is Solas Biorach – whose colourwork motifs were inspired by reading a Gaelic-speaking sailor’s account of encountering St Elmo’s Fire.

. . . this design was modelled with great aplomb by both Iona and Claire

and I created a long scarf as its companion, using the same motifs . . .

Mirlin‘.

I really enjoyed experimenting with two-tone colourwork in this collection – Solas and Mirlin’ feature this technique, and so does Skiftie, which is worked in a simple allover pattern with just a few rounds of contrasting colour in the yoke.

I reversed the contrast in an accompanying cardigan, Kaav, which features dark motifs on a lighter background.

One of the things I really enjoy when designing colourwork is mashing up techniques and styles from different northern traditions.

Yomp – with its Norwegian lus, Shetland corrugated rib, and Icelandic yoke – is a case in point.

It’s also a feature of one of my favourite designs in the collection, Tìoraidh:

This cardigan brings together a two-tone palette I associate with Swedish and Norwegian knitting with a small motif that’s often used as a small (peerie) band in Shetland design.

The collection also features an example of what I think of as a “true” allover, in Schene, another of my favourite designs.

Schene is a traditional allover in that it has colourwork . . . all over – but the gathered sleeve shaping and bright palettes I selected lend this sweater a modern, feminine feel.

I loved working on my Allover designs, and especially enjoyed working with our team of test knitters, a collaborative model that Maylin and I hope to extend for other projects, going forward.

If you are interested in knitting any of these patterns, you can now purchase them individually via the KDD shop or Ravelry, or collectively as part of the Allover book.

After all our hard work in the warehouse, it’s lovely to hear that copies are already beginning to arrive with club members in the UK and further afield. The KDD team are taking a well-deserved break this weekend, celebrating the publication of our twenty third title – whew!

Tìoraidh just now.