Along the main highways of the world's seaways lies a small Scottish island called Fair Isle, between Orkney and Shetland. The people of this region traded many different types of goods with the sailing ships that plied these routes. One of the types of goods traded was knitwear. The Fair Isle knitters are well-known for their use of color and ornate patterns in their knitting. In recent times, a local woman from the isle designed “The Fisherman’s Kep” based on traditional hats of the island and organized a knit-along to help raise money for a museum on Fair Isle. The hat has four layers that cover the ears and forehead of the wearer, making it perfect for a Minnesota winter. Students will start knitting a kep, learn about the design process, find out more on the history of keps, and leave class with the skills needed to complete their first kep at home. NOTE: Students should be comfortable knitting in the round and have some experience with colorwork.

The $45 materials fee covers hat kit and class supplies. Additional yarn will be available from the instructor to purchase that can be used to compliment the hat kit yarn (depending on the amount of yarn used, $5 to $10).

This hat is knit with fingering or sport weight yarn using small gauge knitting needles to achieve a small gauge fabric.

Required Tools

•  Needles to knit in the round (ie double points, 16 inch circular needle or magic loop needle) in size 1 & 2

• Basic knitting tools (scissors, markers, ruler etc) and eyewear if needed.  

Optional Tools 

• Headlamp or personal light