japanese

inspired knits
marianne isager collection
 january

2 japanese inspired knits

january
In Japan, we celebrate the New Year in January by going to the temple shortly before midnight. We
write out our resolutions and secret wishes on small wooden plaques decorated with the animal
motif of the year we are about to enter—dog, pig, sheep, goat, etc. We also draw out a prophecy
and save it throughout the year if it is a good one. To prepare for the New Year, we clean up our
homes and make decorations to invite the gods to visit. We also prepare special food to eat on the
first day of the new year—along with a lot of sake. One special treat is winter mikan—little orange
fruits loaded with vitamin C that help us withstand the cold Japanese winter. A January specialty is
skagami-mochi, which is a two-layer viscous, sticky rice cake. A smaller piece is laid over a larger one
as a symbol of the new year taking over the old. On the second Monday in January, anyone who is
celebrating their twentieth birthday goes to the temple where prayers are said for a good life path.
The girls, of course, wear their fine kimonos.

january 3
 Finished Size
36½ (42, 48)" (92.5 [106.5, 122] cm)
bust circumference, tied. Sweater
shown measures 42" (106.5 cm).
Yarn
About 250 (300, 350) g of main color
1 (MC1) and 325 (350, 400) g of main
color 2 (MC2) used held tog; and about
100 g each of two accent colors A and B
of fingering-weight (Super Fine #1) yarn.
Shown here: Isager 1 (100% wool;
610 yd [558 m]/100 g): #0 natural
(MC1), 3 (3, 4) skeins.
Alpaca 2 (50% merino, 50% alpaca;
547 yd [500 m]/100 g): #2105 (MC2),
4 (4, 5) skeins; #011 steel blue (A), and
#012 grayed olive (B), 1 skein each.
Note: We used 1 strand each of Isager 1
and Alpaca 2 held together for MC.
Needles
Double knitting lower fronts and cuffs—
size U.S. 2 (3 mm): straight. Body and
sleeves—size U.S. 4 (3.5 mm): straight
and 24" or 32" (60 or 80 cm) circular
(cir). Adjust needle sizes if necessary to
obtain the correct gauge.
Notions
Stitch holders; stitch markers; cable
needle (cn); tapestry needle.
Gauge
22 sts (one layer) and 37 rows = 4"
(10 cm) counted on one face of double
knitting patterns from charts on smaller
needles (see Notes); 22 stitches and
38 rows = 4" (10 cm) in seed stitch on
larger needles with one strand of each
MC held together; 16 stitches of Aran
pattern measure 2" (5 cm) wide on
larger needles with one strand of each
MC held together.
4
stone garden jacket
Right Front
Double Knitting Lower Front
With smaller needles and holding one
strand each of A and B tog, CO 58 (66,
74) sts. Set-up row: (WS) Sl both A and B
strands of first CO loop as if to purl with
both yarns in front (pwise wyf ), *with
B, knit the B loop of the CO st and leave
it on the left needle, bring both yarns
to front, then with A purl the A loop of
the same CO st, sl the CO st off the left
needle, and take both yarns to the back;
rep from * to last st, knit last st with both
yarns held tog—114 (130, 146) sts total;
56 (64, 72) knit/purl st pairs; 1 selvedge
st at each side.
Next row: (RS) Sl first st pwise wyf,
work Row 1 of Lower Front chart in
double knitting (see Notes) beg and
ending where indicated for your size, knit
last st with both yarns held tog.
Note: For size 36½", do not work any
partial motifs; instead, omit the outer-
most motifs at each end of the chart and
work those sts in the background color.
Work Rows 2–15 of chart, working the
first and last sts (not shown on chart)
by slipping the first st of every row
pwise with both yarns held in front, and
knitting the last st of every row with both
yarns held tog. When Row 15 has been
completed, with RS still facing slip sts
back to left needle without working them,
in position to work the next row as a RS
row. Change to larger straight needles and
one strand of each MC color held tog.
Next row: (RS) K1 (selvedge st), k2tog
56 (64, 72) times, k1 (selvedge st)—58
(66, 74) sts; piece measures about 11/2
(3.8 cm) from CO.
Textured Pattern
Next row: (WS) Sl 1 pwise with yarn in
back (pwise wyb), sl 1 pwise with yarn in
front (wyf ), work seed st set-up row (see
Stitch Guide) over next 4 (8, 12) sts inc
them to 6 (10, 14) sts, place marker (pm),
*p1, [p1f&b (see Glossary), p2] 3 times,
p1f&b, p1*, pm, work seed st set-up row
over next 6 (10, 14) sts inc them to 8 (12,
16) sts, pm, rep from * to * once more,
pm, work seed st set-up row over next 18
sts inc them to 20 sts, [sl 1 pwise wyf, k1]
2 times—72 (80, 88) sts.
Next row: (RS) Sl 1 pwise wyf, k3, work
20 seed sts, slip marker (sl m), work Row
1 of Aran pattern (see Stitch Guide) over
16 sts, sl m, work 8 (12, 16) seed sts,
sl m, work Row 1 of Aran pattern over
16 sts, sl m, work 6 (10 , 14) seed sts,
k1, p1. Cont in established patts for 11
more rows, ending with a WS row, and
january 5
project gallery february

april

september

6
 contents
January
Stone Garden
February
Winter in Tokyo
March
Fan
April
Flower Buds

June May
Carp
June
Umbrella
July
Sun

July August
Summer in Tokyo
September
Rice Fields
October
Indigo
November
Red
December
Sake and Soba

Glossary of Terms and

Techniques
Japanese Ideographs
Time Wheel
Yarns
Index

7
East meets West
in innovative
knitwear design
inspired by the seasonal festivals and
traditions of Japan, Marianne Isager blends Scandinavian
knitting with a distinctive Japanese influence. True to the
Japanese ideals of high-quality design and materials, Mari-
anne presents sweaters designed around the months of the
year and knitted using almost a dozen different techniques.

Inside, readers will learn:

+  The techniques required for each sweater by knitting a
gauge swatch that doubles as a wrist warmer.
+  How to combine fine (lightweight) yarns to create new
textures and colors.
+  Useful insights on how to translate travel inspiration
into beautiful knitwear.

In addition to standard knit and purl combinations, the

patterns feature double knitting, domino knitting, shadow
knitting, lace, cables, entrelac, intarsia, and stranded two-
color knitting.
Knitters of all skill levels looking for innovative women’s
wear with new techniques for sweater design will gain
insight on how to translate travel inspiration into beautiful
knitwear with Japanese Inspired Knits.

Marianne Isager earned her degree as a textile designer from

Copenhagen’s School of Design and Handicrafts. Her signature yarn
line is distributed in the United States by Simply Shetland. Her previ-
ous books include Knitting Out of Africa (Interweave, 2005).

Paperbound with flaps

8½ x 9, 144 pages
60 photographs, 36 illustrations
ISBN 978-1-59668-114-9
$22.95
March 2009

interweavebooks.com