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| Photos above © schrouderknits |
The Blue Shimmer (Blå Skimmer) is one of the most celebrated designs associated with the Swedish Bohus Stickning tradition.
Designed by Anna-Lisa Mannheimer Lunn in 1947, Blue Shimmer became the most popular design produced by Bohus Stickning and remains instantly recognizable for its extraordinary circular yoke, subtle color transitions and mixture of colorwork and texture.
If this beautiful cardigan brought you here, this guide will help you identify the original design, understand what makes Bohus knitting distinctive, and avoid an important source of confusion: more than one authorized reproduction of Blue Shimmer has existed, and their knitting instructions are not interchangeable.
Pattern Availability
Blue Shimmer is a historic copyrighted design with multiple authorized reproductions. We could not verify a current authorized free version of the exact Blue Shimmer Yoke Cardigan. One well-known English-language reproduction appeared in the book Poems of Color, which is now listed as out of print, while another historically accurate reproduction was produced through SOLsilke / AngoraGarnet. Amazing Knitting therefore does not reproduce the charts or direct readers to unofficial copies.
The Blue Shimmer at a Glance
Original Name: Blue Shimmer / Blå Skimmer
Designer: Anna-Lisa Mannheimer Lunn
Original Design: 1947
Tradition: Bohus Stickning
Garment Style: Circular-yoke sweater / cardigan variations
Techniques: Stranded colorwork and textured stitches
Notable Feature: Multi-color patterned yoke
Historical English Source: Poems of Color: Knitting in the Bohus Tradition
Current Status: No verified current free version of the exact cardigan
What Is Blue Shimmer?
Blue Shimmer, or Blå Skimmer, is much more than an ordinary stranded-colorwork sweater.
It belongs to the remarkable knitting tradition developed by Bohus Stickning in Sweden during the twentieth century.
The original Blue Shimmer design dates to 1947 and became one of the best-known garments associated with Bohus knitting.
Its patterned yoke combines carefully arranged colors with changes in stitch texture, producing the soft, shimmering effect that inspired the design's name.
What Was Bohus Stickning?
Bohus Stickning was a Swedish knitting organization known for exceptionally sophisticated hand-knitted garments.
Its designs became famous for combining fine yarns, unusual color relationships and technically sophisticated patterned yokes.
Unlike many stranded-knitting traditions that rely primarily on two-color geometric motifs, Bohus designs often use several closely related shades to create subtle visual transitions.
Why Blue Shimmer Became So Famous
Blue Shimmer is often singled out because its yoke demonstrates many of the qualities that made Bohus knitting distinctive.
Rather than creating a hard boundary between one motif and the next, the colors appear to move and shimmer across the surface.
Texture adds another layer of complexity, so the design changes not only through color but through the way individual stitches catch the light.
The Circular Yoke Is the Star
The patterned yoke is the visual center of Blue Shimmer.
Multiple shades are arranged around the upper body so the pattern develops continuously around the garment.
This means consistent tension is particularly important. A section worked too tightly can reduce the elasticity of the yoke, while loose floats can make the fabric uneven.
More Than Ordinary Stranded Colorwork
One reason Bohus knitting is so interesting is that the patterned areas may combine color changes with knit and purl texture.
That combination produces a surface quite different from completely smooth stranded stockinette.
For knitters familiar with Fair Isle or other stranded traditions, Bohus knitting can therefore introduce a different approach to creating depth and visual movement.
The Original Design Dates to 1947
Anna-Lisa Mannheimer Lunn designed Blue Shimmer in 1947.
Historical pattern records identify it as the most popular design produced by Bohus Stickning.
That history is important because many modern photographs show reproductions rather than garments knitted directly from an original 1940s pattern sheet.
Important: There Is More Than One Blue Shimmer Pattern
Do Not Mix the Instructions
Two authorized reproductions of the historic Blue Shimmer design are documented. They look similar but use different yarn weights, gauges, stitch counts, construction methods and directions. Choose one complete version and follow its specifications throughout.
The Poems of Color Version
One well-known reproduction appears in Poems of Color: Knitting in the Bohus Tradition.
Ravelry records the Blue Shimmer Yoke Cardigan from this source as using a sport-weight interpretation and providing sizes S, M and L.
The book itself is currently listed as out of print.
Poems of Color Cardigan Specifications
For historical reference, the Ravelry record for this specific reproduction lists:
- Sizes: S, M, L
- Approximate finished bust: 40, 44, 48 inches
- Yarn weight: Sport / 5-ply interpretation
- Main gauge: 7 stitches per inch
- Needles listed: US 1, US 2 and US 3
- Yardage: approximately 1,699–1,999 yards
- Colorwork: Chart provided for the patterned section
These specifications apply to the Poems of Color reproduction. They should not be assumed to apply to other Blue Shimmer reproductions.
The SOLsilke / AngoraGarnet Reproduction
A separate authorized recreation was developed by Solveig Gustafsson in 1999.
This reproduction was created using fine Bohus-style angora-merino yarn and later became associated with AngoraGarnet.
It is not simply the Poems of Color instructions rewritten with a different yarn.
Why the Two Versions Cannot Be Combined
The documented differences include:
- Yarn weight
- Gauge
- Neck stitch count
- Bust stitch count
- Waist stitch count
- Construction
- Written directions
For example, the Poems of Color interpretation uses approximately 7 stitches per inch, while the historically oriented SOLsilke / AngoraGarnet version uses a substantially finer gauge of approximately 8.25 stitches per inch.
Substituting numbers from one version into the other could therefore create serious sizing and construction problems.
The Famous Angora-Merino Fabric
Fine angora-blend yarn is closely associated with the characteristic appearance of many Bohus garments.
The halo softens transitions between neighboring colors and contributes to the almost painted appearance of the patterned yoke.
This is one reason a modern reproduction worked in a very different fiber may look sharper and less blended even when the colors are similar.
Color Is Everything
Blue Shimmer demonstrates how sophisticated colorwork does not require extremely bright contrasts.
Closely related blues, neutrals and accent shades interact to create depth rather than simple graphic separation.
When viewed from a distance, the individual motifs merge into a shimmering field of color around the shoulders.
Swatching Is Essential
Blue Shimmer is not a project where gauge should be treated casually.
A proper swatch helps you evaluate:
- Gauge
- Stranded tension
- Color interaction
- Fabric density
- Float management
- Behavior after washing
If you are working from an authorized reproduction, swatch using the yarn and gauge specified by that particular version.
Practice Stranded Tension First
The patterned yoke contains many stitches where uneven stranded tension would be immediately visible.
If you are new to stranded knitting, practicing on a smaller project before beginning a historic Bohus reproduction can be worthwhile.
The goal is to keep the unused yarn relaxed behind the work without allowing excessively loose floats.
Why the Wrong Yarn Can Change the Look
Matching gauge alone does not guarantee the same visual result.
Fiber content, halo, elasticity and color blending all influence the character of a Bohus-style fabric.
A smooth yarn may produce beautifully clear stitches, but it will not necessarily create the same soft transitions associated with an angora-merino blend.
Read the Chart Carefully
Historic colorwork designs reward careful chart reading.
Keep track of your current row and make sure color changes remain aligned with the intended motif.
A magnetic chart keeper, removable tape or another row-tracking method can make a large colorwork chart easier to manage.
Is The Blue Shimmer Yoke Cardigan Still Free?
We could not verify a current authorized free pattern for the exact Blue Shimmer Yoke Cardigan.
The old Amazing Knitting page described it as a free pattern, but the currently documented sources do not support continuing that claim.
One authorized English reproduction appears in the out-of-print Poems of Color book, while another authorized reproduction has been associated with SOLsilke / AngoraGarnet.
Amazing Knitting therefore treats this page as a historical pattern guide rather than a free-pattern download page.
View the Historical Pattern Record
Ravelry maintains a detailed record for the Poems of Color Blue Shimmer Yoke Cardigan, including specifications and completed projects.
View The Blue Shimmer Yoke Cardigan on Ravelry →
Why We Don't Link to Unofficial Pattern Copies
Historic knitting patterns frequently appear as scans, copied charts or PDFs on blogs, document-sharing sites and image boards.
Age alone does not establish that a particular reproduction or adaptation can be freely redistributed.
Blue Shimmer also has multiple authorized reproductions with meaningful technical differences, making an unidentified copy especially risky from both a copyright and knitting-accuracy perspective.
For those reasons, Amazing Knitting does not host the chart or link to an unofficial download.
Love This Style? Explore Free Colorwork Patterns
If Blue Shimmer brought you here because you love decorative yokes and stranded knitting, you can still use this historic garment as inspiration while choosing a currently available pattern for your next project.
Explore Amazing Knitting for:
- Free Colorwork Sweater Patterns
- Yoke Sweater Knitting Patterns
- Stranded Colorwork Knitting
- Vintage Knitting Inspiration
Blue Shimmer as Knitting History
Even if you never knit the complete cardigan, Blue Shimmer is worth studying.
It demonstrates how yarn texture, subtle color relationships and carefully planned stitch patterns can work together to create something far richer than ordinary two-color knitting.
More than seventy years after the original design appeared, the yoke still looks distinctive — a strong reminder that exceptional knitting design does not depend on following short-lived trends.
Before Starting a Blue Shimmer Reproduction
First identify exactly which authorized version you own.
Then use only the yarn requirements, gauge, stitch counts and construction instructions belonging to that version.
Do not combine specifications from the Poems of Color pattern with those from the SOLsilke / AngoraGarnet reproduction simply because the finished garments look similar.
Swatch carefully, practice your stranded tension and pay close attention to the extraordinary color relationships that make Blue Shimmer one of the most memorable Bohus Stickning designs.
Historical pattern credit: Blue Shimmer / Blå Skimmer was designed by Anna-Lisa Mannheimer Lunn for the Bohus Stickning tradition in 1947. Later authorized reproductions include versions associated with Poems of Color and SOLsilke / AngoraGarnet. The existing project photograph on this Amazing Knitting page is credited to schrouderknits. Amazing Knitting provides an independent historical and project guide and does not reproduce copyrighted charts or complete knitting instructions.