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Book Review: Typographic Knitting

November 25, 2019 by Sarah White

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.

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Knit a Great Button Down Shirt

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting. 

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of. 

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams. 

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs. 

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty. 

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this). 

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry. 

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

Add Some Texture to Your Summer Knitting

Book Review – Knit a Dozen Plus Slippers

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