€28.60
For a small country on the Baltic Sea, Estonia’s tradition and love for handicraft greatly surpasses its size. Estonian knitting is all about techniques, embellishment and regionality. Each knit tells a story about the knitter and where they live.
Aleks Byrd's book Traditions Revisited – Modern Estonian Knits is an introduction to Estonian knitting, both traditional and traditional-inspired. It includes 19 patterns, ranging from mittens to sweaters, that blend seamlessly with modern knitting styles.
Aleks Byrd – whose roots are in Estonia, Canada and the USA – is a knitwear designer based in Bath, UK.
In addition to knitwear design, she works as an illustrator and teaches Estonian knitting techniques around the world. In her designs, tradition and Aleks’ own, graphic style meet. With her book, Aleks wants to make traditional Estonian techniques accessible to everyone. At the same time she builds a bridge between Estonian knitters and the international knitting community.
- 16 pages
- 19 knitting patterns (10 sweaters, 1 cardigans, 1 dress, 1 vest, 1 shawls, 1 cowl, 1 hat, 1 pair of socks, 1 fingerless mitts pattern, 1 mittens pattern)
- Detailed, illustrated tutorials for 5 traditional Estonian knitting techniques
- Both charts and written instructions provided
- Hardback
- Language: English
- Weight: Approx. 1080 g / 2.4 lb
- 205 x 270 x 27 mm
- Printed in Latvia
Print only, no digital download code available.
More patterns info and previews can be found here.
We recommend that all yarn is washed by hand. This ensures it’ll be beautiful for as long as possible and will wear well. When you’ve finished your project, dunk it in a sink of lukewarm water – with a no rinse wool wash if that takes your fancy, leave it to saturate for a while, then roll it up in a towel to squeeze out excess water and pin out flat to dry.
As with all textiles and all yarn, sometimes colour can come out. It can be caused by a difference in the water ph used to wash the item, detergents, or an over-saturation of dye that hasn’t quite finished rinsing out.
All of our hand dyed yarn is rinsed by hand in the sink, and each batch is soaked, then individual skeins are rinsed to make sure no colour bleeds. This isn’t foolproof though, and occasionally skeins in darker colours can bleed a little. In case it happens simply put your yarn or finished item in a pan (that you won’t use for food), add water and a generous glug or vinegar or citric acid, and then slowly bring up to heat. It should be simmering but not boiling. Then turn the heat off, put a lid on the pan, and leave it – ideally overnight. You should find that the water is now clear, and all that remains is to rinse your yarn. If the water isn’t quite clear, rinse it anyway – much like with hair dye, there can be excess dye which needs to run off.
