The design for this pattern is – as the name suggests – inspired by the famous Fair Isle knitting patterns.
In this tradition, every patterns has a special meaning and in my research I found the mention of this pattern that to be a stylized Scottish Rose.
Now when you look up Scottish Rose in a search engine, you will find an emblem that has five petals. I don’t have an explanation how both versions came to be referred to under the same name, but I certainly love the symmetry of the 4-sided/8-piece version in the Fair Isle version.
Here is a sample of this pattern in a blanket. The picture is from the Instagram account of the Shetland Wool Week (a picture of a shop item). And by the way, isn’t this the cutest?
(If you click on the image or the link in the name, it will lead you to the Shetland Wool Week Shop site. There is no affiliation, only admiration)
Sidsel Hoivik, a Norwegian designer, also uses this patterns a lot in her designs, because it has significance in Nordic folklore as well.
Here you can see a detail in her Fana Style Long Jacket (Lang Jake I Fanastil)
Photo Credit and copyright are with sides J. Høivik / sidselhoivik.no – the watermark was accidentally cut off, sorry.
A link to the pattern is also be added for anyone inclined to tackle this knitted beauty. I am certainly tempted, except that in Australia I would not get a lot of wear out of it.
So why does a crochet designer get inspiration from knitting patterns?
Well, for one, inspiration is everywhere.
In addition, I am not afraid to admit that I admire knitted garments, respectively knitwear designers. The possibilities are definitely wider spread than they are with crochet designs.
Another reason why I came across Fair Isle knitting and Sidsel (among many other wonderful designers) is that I started to watch the video blog/podcast Fruity Knitting.
It had been recommended to me at a craft group (by a knitter) and since I am open to all sorts of interesting fibre information, I was very intrigued. The show was originally introduced by Andrea and Andrew, an Australian couple living in Germany. Since my husband and I are a German couple living in Australia, I could not chuckle about the irony.
Tragically, Andrew has passed away and now Madeleine has joined her mother in the production of the show. I really like the style and the amount of great content they offer. You should check it out, even if you are not a knitter. (If you click on the link, it should lead you to the website www.fruityknitting.com)
The most important reason though for designing this square was the invitation by the director of The Scottish Yarn Festival, Eva, to be one of their featured designers in the Emporium.
I can not tell you how much of an honour that is for me – to be amongst those wonderful bloggers, podcasters, designers that are introducing their work at the Scottish Yarn Festival.
Since Scotlands traditions are more connected to knitting than they are to crochet, I wanted to build a bridge from one to the other with my design.
This is another Image Overlay Crochet (IOC) pattern. (It is compatible with, but not part of the Wrapped in Jamie MAL patterns.)
You can find the description (and the option to purchase the pattern) here:
In this picture the square is framed by the Scottish Border (of course!), which is available for free here:
or as a PDF download here:
This is actually the ideal pattern to learn IOC if you have never heard of or used the technique before.
I like to think that IOC is to crochet what Brioche is to knitting. You already know the terminology this is based on, there are just a few additions and add-ons.
Why not give it a try!