Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Top Models Find Work for Vogue Knitting Magazines

by

vogue knitting americas next top modelI have no idea why BuzzFeed thinks it’s “alarming” (I really think they were trying to be funny) but a staffer has noticed that several contestants from “America’s Next Top Model” have found work after the show modeling knitwear for Vogue Knitting and Knit.1.

Half a dozen contestants — and a couple of winners — on the show have been featured in the pages of the knitting magazines, including season 11 winner McKey Sullivan, who graced the cover of VK’s fall 2009 issue.

My favorite is probably this gray jacket modeled by season 7 contestant Eugena Washington that was featured in Vogue Knitting’s Fall 2010 issue.

Do you find the use of “top models” “alarming” or do you think it says something about the prestige of knitting these days that such models are being used? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Photo by Vogue Knitting via BuzzFeed.]

Next Pattern:

Comments

  1. I think it says something about the prestige of knitting these days that America’s Next Top Models are being used. I’d love to see even more well known models featured in knitting magazines.

Have you read?

Book Review: Cable Knitting Stitch Dictionary

Stitch dictionaries are a fun way to learn new-to-you knitting stitch patterns or to take a deep dive into a particular technique. Debbie Tomkies offers 100 cable stitch designs and thoughts on how to incorporate them into projects in her Cable Knitting Stitch Dictionary.

Each stitch pattern is shown in a large swatch photo and with written and charted instructions. Any special stitches are included on the page. The stitches are rated on a difficulty scale of 1 to 3, and the pattern notes also indicate how many extra stitches you should add to a project if you’re going to work this cable (since cables pull the fabric closer together you need to compensate for that) as well as how many stitches and rows are in the repeat if you want to design a project yourself.

The cables are arranged into sections: classic cables, combinations, all-over panels, creative cables, motifs and panels and cabled edges and borders.

It’s fun to flip through the designs to think about projects you can add a single cable or two to or make with an allover cabled design. Or you could make swatches of different cables and sew them together into a pillow cover or a throw.

At the back of the book there’s a section on general cable knitting techniques, reading charts, working swatches and avoiding errors (though it mentions working the wrong number of rows between cable turns, it doesn’t share how to count rows between cables to avoid this mistake).

It also talks about how to design your own cables, combine cables in a project, choose the right yarn and needles and determine how many more stitches you need to cast on when working cables instead of stockinette stitch. There’s also a glossary of symbols and abbreviations you may find in cable knitting and other patterns.

The book provides a good overview of things you can do with cables, as well as some fun things you might not have tried like infinity cables and horizontal cables. It’s a great book for a designer who likes to work with cables or a knitter who wants to play with different stitches in their projects.

About the book: 176 pages, paperback, 100 stitch patterns. Published 2024 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $26.99.