Mary Jane Mucklestone, author of 200 Fair Isle Motifs, has mastered the art of the Fair Isle vest. Move on from hats: vests are a perfect first Fair Isle garment. Students will swatch for color using a vest pattern of their choice from Mary Jane’s pattern collection, developing their own color schemes with her guidance. An interactive workshop, we explore best practices for swapping out colors and apply these concepts to the variety of vests in the classroom. Mary Jane will offer advice on steeking and share traditional Fair Isle techniques. For inspiration, Mary Jane will bring all her sample vests, lots of colorwork swatches from her books, plus, extra Shetland wool for you to mess around with!

Technique Requirements: knit/purl, cast on/bind off, working in the round, chart reading, have knit a few accessories, intermediate colorwork

Purchase one of Mary Jane's vest patterns, available on Ravelry. Browse her vest patterns here

Yarn: Check chosen pattern for yarn weight (there are both DK- and fingering-weight designs). Bring the number of colors used in the pattern, and perhaps a few more. You don’t need yarn for the entire garment, but enough to swatch with.

Needles: Your preferred needles for working a small-diameter swatch in the round, either double-pointed needles or a long circular needle for Magic Loop. Consult pattern for needle size and stitch gauge.

Notions: Stitch markers and locking ring markers are helpful. Post-it notes or highlighter tape.