Give the gift of stranded colourwork design with this classic duo of books: KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook by Felicity Ford and The Joy of Colour by Janine Bajus.

Just like their authors, these publications are friends with a shared passion for developing deeply personal designs, inspired by the textures of daily life. 

Both books cover the key elements of stranded colourwork design - palettes; patterns (motifs) and shading sequences - but they each go about it in a different way. Together, they form a rich and complementary resource. 

The Joy of Color: Fair Isle Knitting Your Way by Janine Bajus

Each chapter of Janine’s book comes richly-illustrated with completed Fair Isle garments produced by students who’ve attended her legendary classes. Conceived as one of those classes in book form, The Joy of Color features a vast swathe of useful, technical information and a supportive “getting it done” section to move roadblocks out of your way. Clear instructions and a blank template are included for Janine’s innovative speed-swatching technique (for checking shading sequences), as well as templates for designing your own hat, tam, scarf or fingerless mitts. This book is a treasure trove of design inspiration. The projects and testimonies of Janine’s students show how knitters everywhere have brought her ideas to life. In this book you’ll find Fair Isle knitting inspired by sunsets, flowers, spice jars, beaches, sashiko stitch dictionaries and more. You’ll also find the same enabling creative generosity that characterises Janine’s legendary retreats and classes. 

“Not only does the author generously share all the tricks that heretofore were available only to her students, but we get to see thirteen splendid examples of finished garments, all designed and knitted from scratch by her skilful pupils. Through this lovely book, we all can take Janine’s class and become our own designers of multiple-coloured garments.”

- Meg Swansen

KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook by Felicity (Felix) Ford

Developed out of the popular workshops she produced for Shetland Wool Week, Felix’s KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook is also a workshop condensed into a book. It shows you how to translate your favourite things, places and plants into unique and beautiful stranded colourwork designs. Containing twelve case studies and two accessory patterns, the KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook breaks the design process down into simple building blocks. The process begins with finding and documenting your inspiration source; then takes you through developing a pattern and motifs; and finally culminates in an enthusiastic exploratory swatching stage. Finished motifs are presented as charts that you can use as inspiration or a starting point for your own designs and a section at the end of the book shows you how to apply the designs you have developed to existing garment templates, using legwarmers and fingerless mitts as case studies. 

The KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook shows you how to translate ordinary subjects into extraordinary stranded colourwork, and how to give your creative process its own time and space. In this book you’ll find stranded colourwork knitting inspired by roads, weeds, factories, fruitcakes, a battered old sound recorder and more. You’ll also learn to see the world in a different way - the most consistent feedback on this book, in its ten years of being in print, is that it makes you see the world around you differently, and to discover the infinite creative possibilities in the everyday textures of our lovely, precious lives.

"The Knitsonik Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook is both enabling and inspiring. It will change the way you look at your knitting and the world. There’s not another book anywhere like it. It is truly original – just like its author."

- Kate Davies