Good morning, and happy Friday! It’s pattern release day, and it’s a special one: there are two designs for you today, both of which have been created in collaboration with the Arctic Convoy Museum in Aultbea, Wester Ross.
Like many areas of rural and coastal Scotland, the landscape of Wester Ross was profoundly shaped by World War II. War affected the shape of the land itself (a topic which we will explore in greater depth this weekend), and also its culture, as it became a place of wartime memory and commemoration. But what role did Wester Ross play in World War II? Well, this was the location from which the Arctic Convoys – transporting more than 4 million tonnes of vital supplies to war-torn Soviet Russia – gathered and departed. In these perilous operations, whose appalling conditions compounded the constant threat of enemy attack, more than 3000 sailors and merchant seamen lost their lives, and yet, in the bigger post-war picture, their stories remain relatively little known. The Arctic Convoy Museum in Aultbea exists to tell those stories, and I’ve created this week’s designs to help support their work.
The colours of my Arctic Convoy designs echo those of the Arctic Convoy tartan . . .
. . . and the excellent model in these photographs is the curator of the Arctic Convoy Museum, Karen Buchanan (who club members will remember meeting last weekend on our virtual trip together to Isle Maree). Hello, Karen!
The Arctic Convoy hat and cowl, are both knitted in exactly same way, from side to side. Beginning with a provisional cast on, stockinette blocks of two different shades are divided by welts, which are knitted in a third colour . . .
. . . while increases and decreases create a smooth fabric that sits neatly on the bias.
When the cast-on beginning is invisibly joined to the end with a three needle bind-off, this stripey bias fabric resolves itself into a very satisfying tubular swirl.
Both the hat and cowl are constructed in exactly the same way – as sideways knit swirly bias tubes – with varying depths, and widths of stripes.
This variation generates both patterns’ different sizes – small and large. Here, Karen is wearing the small version of both designs.
The yarn I’ve chosen for the Arctic Convoy Hat and Cowl is John Arbon Devonia 4 ply – a luscious, lustrous blend of Exmoor Blueface, Bluefaced Leicester and Romney fleeces. This yarn has a lovely smooth hand, and knits up into a wonderfully warm woolly fabric (both of which are ideal for these designs).
We have put together kits in the KDD shop for you: with the yarn included, you’ll be able to make a small hat, AND a small cowl, OR a large hat OR a large cowl. Take your pick!
All sales of these kits support the important work of the Arctic Convoy museum, which is now raising funds for a much-needed extension to its exhibition space and new research room. Pattern sales support that work too: I’ve donated the rights to these designs to the museum, and anyone can purchase this as a PDF download from the museum shop.
For club members, these patterns are a bonus, and even if you don’t intend to knit a hat or cowl, please do consider making a small donation to the Arctic Convoy Museum to support their important work.
We’ll be hearing more about that work tomorrow, when Karen joins us in a bonus newsletter, and on Sunday, club members will hear (and see) more about a project Tom has been working on, for which I’ve really enjoyed writing the introductory essay.
And I’ve really enjoyed creating the Arctic Convoy Hat and Cowl as well: they are straightforward, slightly unusual knits with an interesting construction. This is the kind of design work I genuinely thrive on, where I’m collaborating with friends, and thinking about history with every stitch. So rewarding.
I do hope you enjoy these patterns – let’s raise some funds for the Arctic Convoy Museum’s research room!
Buy an Arctic Convoy Kit from the KDD shop
Purchase the Arctic Convoy patterns from the ACM shop
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