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.
