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

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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.]

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?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.