Japanese Inspired Knits

japanese inspired knits marianne isager collection

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japanese inspired knits

january In Japan, we celebrate the New Year in January by going to the temple shortly before midnight. We write out our resolutions and secret wishes on small wooden plaques decorated with the animal motif of the year we are about to enter—dog, pig, sheep, goat, etc. We also draw out a prophecy and save it throughout the year if it is a good one. To prepare for the New Year, we clean up our homes and make decorations to invite the gods to visit. We also prepare special food to eat on the first day of the new year—along with a lot of sake. One special treat is winter mikan—little orange fruits loaded with vitamin C that help us withstand the cold Japanese winter. A January specialty is skagami-mochi, which is a two-layer viscous, sticky rice cake. A smaller piece is laid over a larger one as a symbol of the new year taking over the old. On the second Monday in January, anyone who is celebrating their twentieth birthday goes to the temple where prayers are said for a good life path. The girls, of course, wear their fine kimonos.

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Finished Size 36½ (42, 48)" (92.5 [106.5, 122] cm) bust circumference, tied. Sweater shown measures 42" (106.5 cm). Yarn About 250 (300, 350) g of main color 1 (MC1) and 325 (350, 400) g of main color 2 (MC2) used held tog; and about 100 g each of two accent colors A and B of fingering-weight (Super Fine #1) yarn. Shown here: Isager 1 (100% wool; 610 yd [558 m]/100 g): #0 natural (MC1), 3 (3, 4) skeins. Alpaca 2 (50% merino, 50% alpaca; 547 yd [500 m]/100 g): #2105 (MC2), 4 (4, 5) skeins; #011 steel blue (A), and #012 grayed olive (B), 1 skein each. Note: We used 1 strand each of Isager 1 and Alpaca 2 held together for MC. Needles Double knitting lower fronts and cuffs— size U.S. 2 (3 mm): straight. Body and sleeves—size U.S. 4 (3.5 mm): straight and 24" or 32" (60 or 80 cm) circular (cir). Adjust needle sizes if necessary to obtain the correct gauge. Notions Stitch holders; stitch markers; cable needle (cn); tapestry needle. Gauge 22 sts (one layer) and 37 rows = 4" (10 cm) counted on one face of double knitting patterns from charts on smaller needles (see Notes); 22 stitches and 38 rows = 4" (10 cm) in seed stitch on larger needles with one strand of each MC held together; 16 stitches of Aran pattern measure 2" (5 cm) wide on larger needles with one strand of each MC held together.

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stone garden jacket Right Front Double Knitting Lower Front With smaller needles and holding one strand each of A and B tog, CO 58 (66, 74) sts. Set-up row: (WS) Sl both A and B strands of first CO loop as if to purl with both yarns in front (pwise wyf ), *with B, knit the B loop of the CO st and leave it on the left needle, bring both yarns to front, then with A purl the A loop of the same CO st, sl the CO st off the left needle, and take both yarns to the back; rep from * to last st, knit last st with both yarns held tog—114 (130, 146) sts total; 56 (64, 72) knit/purl st pairs; 1 selvedge st at each side. Next row: (RS) Sl first st pwise wyf, work Row 1 of Lower Front chart in double knitting (see Notes) beg and ending where indicated for your size, knit last st with both yarns held tog. Note: For size 36½", do not work any partial motifs; instead, omit the outermost motifs at each end of the chart and work those sts in the background color. Work Rows 2–15 of chart, working the first and last sts (not shown on chart) by slipping the first st of every row pwise with both yarns held in front, and knitting the last st of every row with both yarns held tog. When Row 15 has been

completed, with RS still facing slip sts back to left needle without working them, in position to work the next row as a RS row. Change to larger straight needles and one strand of each MC color held tog. Next row: (RS) K1 (selvedge st), k2tog 56 (64, 72) times, k1 (selvedge st)—58 (66, 74) sts; piece measures about 11/2 (3.8 cm) from CO. Textured Pattern Next row: (WS) Sl 1 pwise with yarn in back (pwise wyb), sl 1 pwise with yarn in front (wyf ), work seed st set-up row (see Stitch Guide) over next 4 (8, 12) sts inc them to 6 (10, 14) sts, place marker (pm), *p1, [p1f&b (see Glossary), p2] 3 times, p1f&b, p1*, pm, work seed st set-up row over next 6 (10, 14) sts inc them to 8 (12, 16) sts, pm, rep from * to * once more, pm, work seed st set-up row over next 18 sts inc them to 20 sts, [sl 1 pwise wyf, k1] 2 times—72 (80, 88) sts. Next row: (RS) Sl 1 pwise wyf, k3, work 20 seed sts, slip marker (sl m), work Row 1 of Aran pattern (see Stitch Guide) over 16 sts, sl m, work 8 (12, 16) seed sts, sl m, work Row 1 of Aran pattern over 16 sts, sl m, work 6 (10 , 14) seed sts, k1, p1. Cont in established patts for 11 more rows, ending with a WS row, and

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contents

June



January Stone Garden



February Winter in Tokyo



March Fan



April Flower Buds



May Carp

June Umbrella

July



July Sun



August Summer in Tokyo

September Rice Fields

October Indigo

November Red

December Sake and Soba Glossary of Terms and Techniques Japanese Ideographs Time Wheel Yarns Index

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East meets West in innovative knitwear design inspired by the seasonal festivals and

traditions of Japan, Marianne Isager blends Scandinavian knitting with a distinctive Japanese influence. True to the Japanese ideals of high-quality design and materials, Marianne presents sweaters designed around the months of the year and knitted using almost a dozen different techniques. Inside, readers will learn: +  The techniques required for each sweater by knitting a gauge swatch that doubles as a wrist warmer. +  How to combine fine (lightweight) yarns to create new textures and colors. +  Useful insights on how to translate travel inspiration into beautiful knitwear. In addition to standard knit and purl combinations, the patterns feature double knitting, domino knitting, shadow knitting, lace, cables, entrelac, intarsia, and stranded twocolor knitting. Knitters of all skill levels looking for innovative women’s wear with new techniques for sweater design will gain insight on how to translate travel inspiration into beautiful knitwear with Japanese Inspired Knits. Marianne Isager earned her degree as a textile designer from Copenhagen’s School of Design and Handicrafts. Her signature yarn line is distributed in the United States by Simply Shetland. Her previous books include Knitting Out of Africa (Interweave, 2005). Paperbound with flaps 8½ x 9, 144 pages 60 photographs, 36 illustrations ISBN 978-1-59668-114-9 $22.95 March 2009

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