Book Review: Typographic Knitting

Get inspired by knitting letters with a graphic designer’s point of view with the book Typographic Knitting: From Pixel to Pattern by Rüdgiger Schlömer.

Schlömer is a designer who got interested in the analog presentation of type on knitted objects and learned to knit and collaborated with knitters on projects exploring typography in yarn craft.

The book is not so much a pattern book as it is an inspirational guide to using type in knitting projects.

He adds letters to knit projects in various ways, including pixels (stranded knitting, intarsia and grayscale techniques); patterns made with slipped stitches; patches (mitered squares); and modules, which add stripes and directional knitting to mitered squares to make larger blocks.

Project templates in the back sometimes include actual knitting instructions and sometimes just share an idea. They include a pillow, a scarf, a double-knit hat, mittens, an illusion knit blanket, a sweater made of mitered squares, a sweater with slip-stitch typography, and kid-sized sweaters with a large intarsia letter or a circular yoke with a letter pattern. It also includes a series of charted fonts in the back that you can use to add lettering to any project.

Some techniques, like double knitting, are not explained at all, and those that are might not be explained well enough for knitters who haven’t used those techniques before. The basic knitting instructions are OK but they include photos with lines drawn on them and text that is orange, which is somewhat hard to read.

I feel like this book would be better for someone who already knows knitting basics and is willing to take these ideas and adapt them to projects of their own rather than someone who needs hand-holding in terms of instructions or designs.

Still, it’s quite an inspirational book that is sure to get you thinking about different ways to leave your mark with text on your knitting projects.

About the book: 216 pages, paperback, published by Princeton Architectural Press. Retail price $27.50.

Next Pattern:

Using your yarn stash is important to me throughout the year, but as I start to feel the end of the year coming on I get more excited about using things I already have in the house. Maybe that’s because I don’t want to go to a store in the thick of holiday shopping times, or I like the idea of having a little space in my stash when the new year rolls around.

It’s super satisfying to use up all the little odd balls you’ve made over the year (or years), and I have several stash busting blankets I work on when it’s cold and will maybe finish someday.

If you’d like to start a stash busting project that’s perfect for using up odd balls, check out the Soukish pattern from Neisha Abdulla. This pattern is made for fingering weight/sock yarn, and it’s worked in a tube with allover color work.

This is great for a couple of reasons. You don’t really have to weave in your ends when you can hide them in a tube (this is one time you might even get by just tying a knot when you change colors!) and you can change colors whenever you run out of yarn and it will look good.

Of course the pattern is made with blocks where the designer changed colors, but you can change yours more or less often as you need to make it work for your stash. You can use blank charts to design your own color combinations, or even your own stitch patterns if you like. You can also adjust the length of the scarf as needed or turn it into a cowl based on the amount of yarn you have.

This project looks like a lot of fun and would be a great thing to have on hand to stitch up and then to wear during the cold, gloomy months.

You can get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Neisha Abdulla]

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Next Pattern:

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