Alison Rendall's Blog
Shetland Born & Bred
12/10/25
Fair Isle Knitting Tradition
Book Launch
My new book “Fair Isle Knitting Tradition” was launched on Thursday 2nd October at Lerwick Town Hall. It was an informal gathering with family, friends and visitors to Shetland here for Shetland Wool Week. We all had a glass of fizz to toast the new book, home bakes and a mingle. A few members of the Junior Up Helly Squad joined us for a surprise visit, and this added to the occasion.
The book begins with a history of Fair Isle knitting and a “how to” section, followed by fourteen designs which increase in technical difficulty as the book progresses. This ensures that there is something for everyone whether you are experienced or new to Fair Isle knitting. Once I had decided on the headings for the “how to” section it was a case of writing down everything I knew about the Shetland way to do things. The book is very much about what I have learned over the years and the techniques I frequently use. Working on the fourteen patterns was a pleasurable experience as I find the design work the most enjoyable.
Signed copies of my book available HERE
Hametoun Hat
In other news, I’ve been working on a collaboration with Foula Wool in a unique celebration of Foula and Shetland sheep. The Island of Foula has its own indigenous native population of Shetland Sheep.
We are both proud of our products and decided to work together on this special collaboration to promote two 100% native yarn producers from Shetland’s Wastside!
The Hametoun Hat is the result. We did a yarn swop, so my kit has a ball of native Foula Wool and their kit has a ball of Murrister Wirset! The kit is in two exciting colourways and the Murrister Kit is now available on my website.
Hametoun is a settlement of scattered crofts in the south end of Foula.
For more information about Foula Wool: https://foulawool.co.uk
The Murrister Wirset Hametoun Hat is available HERE
21/9/25
I’m happy to say that the Murrister Wirset kits and yarn have been proving popular. Thanks to all of you for your kind words about the product and of course your purchases. Feedback I’ve had includes things like:
“a good strong yarn that does not split”
“a joy to knit with”
“We’ve created a short video looking at how I came to choose the colours for batch 1 and how I best used them in each of the designs.
Batch two has been spun but is delayed due to equipment problems with the dyers. Unfortunately, it is likely that I will run out of some of the popular products before we have our stock replenished. Please bear with me during the wait.
I am also still trying to overcome problems after Brexit selling to EU countries and problems with import taxes sending to US. Once my stock levels have increased, I intend to address both issues. Again, thanks for your patience during the wait!
Lots of you are asking me more about the names I’ve used both in the yarn and the designs so that will be a topic in a future film. Looking forward to explaining more about our Shetland words.
16/6/25
Murrister wirset - Shetland born and bred.
Murrister wirset is a collaboration between myself (Alison Rendall) and local crofter Hubert Moar. Hubert and his family before him have farmed Shetland sheep at Murrister for many generations. His flock is expertly managed and as a result his fleeces are of the highest quality. As I watched him shear his sheep, I became interested in learning more about the process from sheep to finished ball of yarn and so Murrister Wirset was born!
I’m delighted now to share with you the finished results. The wirset (yarn) is unbleached and treated as naturally as possible throughout the processing. It is spun to a fine 2/16ysw, the equivalent of 2 ply jumper weight, perfect for fine gauge Fair Isle knitting. Available now in ten dyed colours and two natural undyed colours.
I enjoy being able to knit with yarn that comes from the sheep that I see everyday in the fields that surround me. It is a joy to be able to knit with my own yarn in my own chosen colours from those very sheep. I hope you also enjoy knitting with my own 100% native breed Shetland yarn.
Please also see the short film below for a look behind the scenes of Murrister Wirset.
