Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Many of my knitting unventions come from solving a problem. I tend to work backward in my design process. I start with a vision — oh, wouldn't it be nifty if I made thing X? — and then try to figure out how to do it. I like excellent construction. I believe in the value of fine craftsmanship. That brings me to the problem of Volute . cover photo of Volute As you can see, this is a mohair cocoon. There's nothing wrong with making a mohair cocoon. The part I don't like, and that my student who is making it doesn't like, are the seams across the back. back view from the pattern booklet The seams look like scars. The fabric is diaphanous. This is also a mohair stockinette death march — a full 2 yards of knitting. Yes, it is 6 feet of knitting, or 2 meters if you want to think in metric. I borrowed this project from my student and worked on it at Dragon Con because I'm a fast knitter. But if you are not a fast knitter, this is a slog . On t...

I am on a bunch of e-mail lists. One of them — I don't remember which one — recently mentioned the book Bog Fashion by Nicole DeRushie. I was intrigued, so I ordered a copy. The About the Author page near the back of the book says, "Nicole DeRushie is a Canadian historian and educator based in the UK."The Acknowledgements page near the front thanks people at the Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen, as well as the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. In the foreword, Ms. DeRushie mentions studying for a Public History MA at Royal Holloway, University of London. The book is published by ChronoCocia Publishing AB in Furulund, Sweden. Ms. DeRushie writes about bog finds in both the United Kingdom and Scandinavia. She includes a timeline for both Celtic and Nordic peoples. Thus, this book is about the textile material culture of northwest Europe in the bronze age and iron age — think Celts and Vikings. The book is a wonderful mix of scholarship and craft techniqu...

One thing I love about knitting is that it can be three-dimensional. Sample E, unfolded Knitting doesn't have to be. Making a scarf or blanket is usually a two-dimensional process. It is creating a flat plane of fabric. Sometimes there are texture patterns, but we think of them as embellishments or decorations. We think they aren't fundamentally changing the nature of the item as a plane. Socks are a great example of three-dimensional knitting. They are typically worked in the round. They have special shaping to turn the heel. If they are knee socks, they might even having shaping through the calves. And, of course, there is shaping at the toes. Think about all the socks you own. Are any of them made from flat fabric sewn together? Even commercial socks are typically worked in the round with a seam at the toe. While I find weaving intriguing for its mathematically prop...

Earlier this summer I completed repairs on a commercial sweater. One of my students had a friend whose favorite sweater looked like an alligator had chewed on the cuffs. I suspect a backstory but I don't know it. I didn't take a lot of pictures of the sweater. I probably should have. One of the challenges was the sleeves were worked cuff up (bottom up) rather than top down. This meant repairing the damaged sleeves included recreating the cast-on, re-knitting the damaged fabric, and grafting the hole closed in pattern. If the sleeves had been worked in the other direction, it would have been a much simpler repair involving ripping back and re-knitting. The repair was further complicated by the stranded construction of the sweater. I was using similar but not identical yarn. I eventually figured out I needed to pull some plies off the replacement black yarn to bring it down to match in girth. This also meant all the knitting and grafting used multiple...

Yesterday's post was about how to make a caftan. Today's post is about how to make a poncho.  After I made my summer silk caftan, I realized it did sometimes get a little chilly, especially with air conditioning. Wouldn't it be nice to have a matching cover up?  Materials & Tools: two 35 by 84-inch silk veils or appropriate-sized fabric silk thread straight pins sewing needle scissors ruler There are two steps to make the poncho — sleeve seams and cuff seams. Sleeve seams: Start with two large silk scarves. Lay them wrong-sides together. Find the center line at the long end and place a pin through one layer. Measure the head circumference of the intended wearer. Place pins centered a little more than half that distance apart. Place more pins across the long edge all the way to the sides. Try poncho on. Adjust pins until poncho slides easily over head. Take poncho off. Sew sleeve ...

I am intrigued by garments. I am especially intrigued by simple garments. For much of human history cloth was painstakingly handspun and handwoven. Every square inch required significant time. Thus, for ordinary clothing, using all the cloth efficiently was important.  Last summer I experimented with this. I prefer to sleep in pajamas. However, pajamas can be a little hot in the summer in Atlanta. I've had silk pajamas, but I always end up tearing them, probably because I don't roll in bed but rather scooch so I don't roll over onto sleeping cats. I decided it would be nice to make something silk for sleepwear. The caftan seems to be having a fashion moment. As it turns out, it is one of the easiest garments to make. It is fundamentally just two scarves with some strategic seams. My example here was made with plain silk scarves that were ice dyed after the fact. This same process could work for marbled fabric, too. For a skinny person l...