Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Knitwear is an Art Form at London’s Fashion and Textile Museum

by

knitwear on exhibit at London's textile museumIf I lived anywhere near London at all, I would have to take some time in the next few months to visit the Fashion and Textile Museum, which is running an exhibit called “Knitwear: Chanel to Westwood” through January 15.

The exhibit features knitwear from throughout the 20th century, ranging from 1920s Chanel to knits inspired by punk and pop culture.

Just looking at the pictures on the exhibit website makes me swoon a little bit. The shapes, textures and colors in these designs are just amazing.

The exhibit was the subject of a piece on the Guardian’s fashion blog, in which the author said visiting the museum made her want to get her out knitting needles. I understand the feeling.

In all the exhibit has more than 150 pieces from the collection of Mark and Cleo Butterfield, including some rare pieces like Chanel cardigans, 1930s swimwear and pieces from Missoni and other famous knitwear names.

The blogger writes, “Whether machine-produced for the general market or hand-knitted during wartime rationing, the garments on display give a sense of the emotional investment that went into their creation.”

I think that sums up a bit of how and why we knit, regardless of what we’re knitting or for whom. It’s a passionate, emotional investment of our time and energy. We want to put good thoughts and feelings into our work that can somehow be felt by people looking at or wearing them.

But she also notes that in fashion, knitwear is often looked down on. It’s the hope that exhibits like this (and an earlier one featuring the stunning work of Kaffe Fassett) and the work of knitters like us will make more people realize that knitting really is a work of art.

[Photo via the Fashion and Textile Museum.]

Next Pattern:

Comments

  1. Excited to learn about the museum! I discovered 3 gifted knitters who meet at the senior center, who produce museum worthy pieces. There’s also a group that produces amazing quilts! Neither has received any newspaper coverage. When center reopens I’ll tell them about your museum.

Have you read?

Yarn Cozy Knitting Patterns

I’ve been toying with the idea of making a yarn cozy or yarn ball holder on the circular knitting machine, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. In the meantime, here are some yarn cozy knitting patterns you can make with knitting needles. Use yarn to hold you yarn!

In its simplest form, a yarn cozy is just a sleeve or a little basket that holds your yarn when you’re working with a center-pull ball so it doesn’t fall apart when you knit. The easiest ones I could find are from Love in Stitches KN, which has a regular size and a mini size. They’re worked with sock yarn and there are options for making them with ribbing, faux cables and with self-striping yarn.

For bigger cakes there’s a project called We call it the “bail holder” from Nicole LeBlanc. This pattern is available on Ravelry and you can use any yarn and make it any size you like. It features an I-cord edging that has a loop in it so you can thread they yarn through the loop to keep it extra contained as you knit.

Another large one that has a slightly fancier pattern is this one by Mareike Meye. You can use any yarn and any gauge, and slip stitch pattern worked in different colors on the sides makes it a little more fun and uses a bit more stash. A strap buttons across the top to hold the ball in place and you can add a buttonhole to the middle of the strap to thread the yarn through. Check this one out on Ravelry.

Adding lace to a yarn cozy makes it fit a wider variety of balls and expand or shrink a bit as needed. Jennifer Sugarman’s Ball Sack uses sock yarn and is made to hold sock yarn. It has the option of making I-cord or using ribbon or cord you already have to make a drawstring at the top. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

Another lacy option is the yarn ball holder from Frugal Knitting Haus. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has an easy mesh lace pattern and an I-cord drawstring that’s sewn together at the ends so you could loop it over your wrist while you knit if you like. This pattern is also on Ravelry.

Speaking of wrist yarn holders, I also found this one form Knituition. This one uses sport weight yarn and has a spiral rib pattern on the body. The strap is attached to the bag with D-rings, or you could make it a little longer and just sew it into the bag.