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I Don’t Quite Know What to Think of This

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sweater flashmobI just had a link to this video come across my Facebook feed courtesy of Caron International’s Facebook feed, and I’m not quite sure what to make of it.

The link is to a video on Vimeo about one Loes Veenstra, resident of Rotterdam, who has been knitting sweaters since 1955 and tucking them away in her home.

There are more than 500 of them.

No one had ever worn them until this video was made.

It’s part fashion show, part flash mob. There’s a whole marching band decked out in coordinating black and white sweaters. And a trio singing “So Happy Together” by the Turtles. And the knitter herself in a throne-like chair in the middle of the street, decked out not in a sweater but in a fleece poncho.

Give it a look and if you can make more sense of it than I have, let me know. I’m mostly just wondering what would possess someone to knit so many sweaters and never give them to anyone?

If you can read Dutch, there’s apparently a book about the sweaters coming out, which you can read more about here.

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Comments

  1. I’m a Dutch student living in the States and have seen the video show up on FB last week multiple times. Hope this helps:
    For more information, please read this translation of the important parts of the NRC article:

    Designer Christien Meindertsma stumbled upon the collection Loes Veenstra has been making. The production level was higher than the give-away-rate. The designer decided to take pictures of them and create a book.

    She has made a wide array of different sweaters and they show the knitting culture as well as fashion sense through the last couple decades.

    Loes didn’t know that this what happened in the video was going to happen. She just knew about the book and was very surprised as well as happy to see all her work together. It was a true flashmob.

    The project is also part of a larger initiative to characterize living in the neighborhood in Rotterdam she lives in.

    http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2012/11/24/kijken-de-500-zelfgebreide-truien-van-loes-veenstra/

Have you read?

Add a Little Lace to Your Knitting Patterns

If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.