Wee houses

Thursday 4th November 2021

Tags: Blogstars, Techniques, Knit

Have you seen our latest Make Along on Facebook and Instagram?  It is the most gorgeous scarf and cowl pattern by Blogstar Julia Marsh, from the blog Hand Knitted Things, called Wee Houses.  

Knitted in Highland Heathers DK it’s a real fun pattern and gives you the chance to try out lots of colours.  If you’ve never done stranded or Fair Isle before this design may be just the thing for you. It is knitted in the round so you only have to work knit stitches and all your floats get handily hidden inside your work. We have a helpful video here giving you hints and tips to stop your yarn getting tangled.

We caught up with Julia to find out where her idea for the design came from.
    
“There’s a red roof croft house near where I live in northwest Scotland. It has inspired a number of my designs over time. About 10 years ago I published a pattern for a tea cosy which featured among other motifs the red roof croft house, “she explained. “Recently, I‘ve been experimenting with stranded colour work knitting and decided to use the house motif again. This time introducing lots more colours and repeats of the motif to create a striped effect.”

“The houses have a plain, straightforward architecture and can be seen dotted all around the crofting areas in Scotland. They represent a simpler way of life which is something I appreciate and aspire to especially now with the issues globally.

“The motif is quite basic when compared to some fair isle designs. There’s lots of repetition so once you become familiar with the pattern sequence it becomes easier. However, there’s lots of colour changes to keep up the interest and concentration. “

Julia has used Highland Heathers previously on another stranded colour work project: “The yarn is easy to work with and the colour palette is very appealing to me. When it was announced more shades were being added to the range it gave the perfect opportunity to create the multi coloured rows of houses I was thinking about for the pattern.”

The scarf is decorated with satisfyingly squidgy pompoms and the cowl fits nicely round your neck.  The pattern includes both variations and you can buy it from Julia’s Ravelry store here.  If you join the Stylecraft Make Along group, you will also have access to a 20% discount code.
 

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