Review: The Magic of Shetland Lace Knitting

Good morning … have I got a great book for those of you who love knitting lace: The Magic of Shetland Lace Knitting: Stitches, techniques, and project for light-than-air shawls and more by Elizabeth Lovick. This book is definitely a keeper.

Elizabeth Lovick’s newly published The Magic of Shetland Lace Knitting

Lovick takes the reader on a journey … a journey to the Shetland Islands where knitting lace, especially the famous “wedding ring shawls”, is a tradition still carried out to this day. Beginning with some background history, Lovick than deciphers the various lace elements inherent in traditional Shetland lace and breaks them out into a stitchion-ary that is not only beautifully charted (with written instructions) but also separated by size of the motifs (stitches by rows for each repeat) so that the reader can “plop” them down into whatever he/she is knitting.

Lovick finishes her books with a half-dozen patterns … patterns which can be knit over and over again by changing the lace stitch worked. The patterns include shawls (including a gorgeous, cobweb weight square shawl), baby layette, socks and hat/scarf sets. Fun and gorgeous.

For all of you who want to delve into designing your own garments, this book is one you’ll want to have on your shelves for inspiration and traditional lace stitch patterns.