The Book of Haps by Kate Davies

What is a hap?

A hap is a Scottish dialect word for a simple shawl or wrap. Haps have a particular association with the Shetland islands, where, for more than a century, they were knitted for everyday wear as well as for sale.

What's in the book?

Combining textile history with contemporary design, this book explores the story of the hap through five beautifully illustrated essays, and thirteen stunning patterns.

While the first part of the book looks to the past for inspiration, exploring the many different contexts in which haps were made and worn, the book’s second half acts as a springboard to the future, as designers from around the world present their own interpretations of the hap.

From Nevada and Finland to Reykjavik and Burra Isle, the patterns in these pages are as distinctive and varied as their designers’ locales. Haps may well surprise you: they can be square, triangular, or hexagonal, incorporating lace, cables, or colour. Though haps are, by definition, functional, wearable textiles, you’ll find they can also be elegant and fascinating, graphic and abstract.

Whatever your knitterly interests, you’ll find the Book of Haps an endless source of inspiration and a canvas for your creativity.

Contributors to the book:
Jen Arnall-Culliford, Martina Behm, Roslyn Chapman, Kate Davies, Carol Feller, Lucy Hague, Romi Hill, Bristol Ivy, Gudrun Johnston, Hélène Magnússon, Donna Smith, Hazel Tindall, Tom van Deijnen, Veera Välimäki.

Photography: Tom Barr, on location in Shetland and Scotland.

Language: English

120 pages, paperback