Author: Astrid

MADDER on LINEN

Warm summer weather doesn’t exactly make you want to knit wool. So I’ve started dyeing Midsommer, a thin 3-ply pure linen yarn. So far, I’ve mostly dyed wool, and dyeing plant fibres really is something completely different. Textiles made from linen are known way back in ancient times, and the oldest find of linen textile […]

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MUSHROOM DYES of 2017

The summer of 2017 was cold and wet in Denmark, and gave way to a fall season with an abundance of dye mushrooms. 2018 is already getting old, but I haven’t finished dyeing with all my mushrooms from 2017 until now. 2017 was a really good year for dye mushrooms. And edible ones, too. In […]

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FOLKVANG 2-for-1

Folkvang mittens and hat patterns are 50% off for the next week when you buy both! ~ Hurray, my pattern for the Folkvang mittens is finally out! They fit the Folkvang Tam, the pattern for which is already out for some months. Until midnight, April 2nd, Central European Time, you can get both Folkvang patterns […]

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FOLKVANG MITTENS

The Folkvang pattern was inspired by Bohus knitting, but its clean lines represent a great simplification. Today, the time has finally come to release the mitten pattern. “But it’s March” you say? “It’s still cold!”, Unstable Polar Vortex replies. ~ I while back, I released the pattern for my Folkvang Tam: So now, the time […]

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TURNED HEMS

“Homemade” or “handmade”? With knitting, it’s all in the details. Here, I’ll show how I finish a turned hem invisibly. ~ A while ago, I put up some pictures of this little stripy dress (still no pattern out, but it will eventually come!) But I’m also working on a matching cardigan for boys. Both have […]

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LILLE BOLD

I’ve knit a handful of small balls from leftover Fenris wool, and I have to say my family has never shown more interest in my knitting! “What are you making?”, “Can I have one?” I’ve just finished knitting a new version of my Vindauga Baby Blanket, which is much easier to knit than the original […]

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MADDER & CHALK

Most sources agree that you need chalk to unlock the true reds of madder. I’ve always had a difficult time reconciling that with my own results, so experiments were called for. ~ I spent the past summer with a lot of experimental dyeing, and one of my themes was how chalk affects madder red. Earlier […]

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MADDER’S FAMILY

Madder has several relatives that are also rich in useful reds. These plants are native here in Denmark, and have been used as red dyes a very long time back. Believe it or not, the year is drawing to a close. So, I want to try to summarize all the many dyeing experiments I did […]

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FYLGJE

Fylgje is a very large winter shawl, knit in stripy modules. I’ve worked on variations of it for a long time. Hurray! The pattern for my Fylgje shawl is now released, in Knitty Winter 2017. I’ve been following the magazine for such a long time, so I can hardly believe that my pattern is now […]

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Folkvang Tam

Folkvang is a classic tam with a couple of twists Color knitting makes a wonderfully warm fabric, but the yarns that behave the very best in stranded knitting are not very wonderful right against the skin. I think I’ve solved that problem with the design for the Folkvang tam. The first twist is that it […]

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