I originally started work on my book – later to be published as A Handknit Romance – in 2010. I had an idea to create some really beautiful, intricate knits that would become heirloom pieces – like the Victorian petticoats I sometimes came across at vintage fairs.
I had several problems with publication, but eventually the book was published in 2012. I knitted all the samples myself, and had found it difficult to find nice, fine yarns at that time (there are far more available now), and had even resorted to knitting with crochet cottons for some pieces.
I’m still very proud of my designs and the items I made, and was very gratified when they received a lot of admiration when I went ‘on the road’ selling the book at various yarn fairs around the country from 2012 – 2015. However, I think I may have overestimated knitters’ desire to embark on knitting a project with fine yarns and small needles! I don’t blame them – knitting the samples was great as I didn’t know how they would turn out – but I’m not sure I would be able to knit them all again!
However, last year (2018) I started publishing some of the patterns as individual PDFs on Ravelry, and I decided to re-visit some of those designs and knit them using different or slightly thicker yarns. So far I have re-knitted the Lace Blouse, Lace-edged Camisole, Wrapover Cardigan, Lace Scarf and Lace Shrug. As can be seen from these images, using a different yarn can give a different aspect to the designs and I would encourage knitters to experiment with yarns too. The patterns on Ravelry have been updated, and contain charts where relevant.
For more images of each design, visit the relevant pages on this website. Or for more information, follow the links on those pages to the relevant Ravelry pages.
Images: Jennie Atkinson 2019