Yokes by Kate Davies

In this exciting new book, writer and designer Kate Davies unravels the tale of one of the Twentieth Century’s most distinctive sweater styles - the circular yoke. From Shetland and Iceland to Canada and Sweden, Kate’s essays and conversations take you on a journey around the North Atlantic, exploring the yoke’s intriguing and often surprising regional narratives.

A garment with unexpected national and political resonances; an important marker of personal and cultural identity; a fashionable barometer of trends and technical transformations from the 1920s to today, yokes have connected the lives and livelihoods of many different women.

In this book you’ll hear the voices of those women, from designers to artists, from knitters to entrepreneurs. You will read about Elizabeth Zimmermann’s seamless innovations, learn more of Kerstin Olsson’s knitterly aesthetics, and discover the fascinating influence of the Greenlandic nuilarmiut.

The essays and conversations are accompanied by a collection of eleven signature yoke patterns. Featuring a wide range of design elements from colourwork and cables to beads and texture, Kate has created a yoke for every knitter.

So take up your needles, open up this book, and discover the story of the sweater that changed the shape of modern knitting.

The book includes the following essays and conversations:

*Why Yokes?
*Greenlanders and Norwegians
*Kerstin Olsson & the Bohus Yoke
*The Shetland Tree & Star
*Perspectives on the Lopapeysa
*A Conversation with Meg Swansen
*Yoke Connections

plus
Further Reading / resources; notes on size fit and modification; a special techniques section
and
eleven signature yoke designs in a wide range of yarn weights and knitting styles.

The majority of designs are graded in ten sizes from 30-50 inches.

The book comprises 112 pages and is printed and bound in the UK.