Make Knit Art with Help from the Sun

Check out this cool technique for altering knit fabric by making cyanotypes — a fancy word for using the sun to make a blue print — from Studio Knit.

I have heard of doing prints like this on paper or fabric but I never thought to try it with knitting. She suggests using cotton yarn because it readily absorbs the solution and also can be washed easily.

This process requires a lot of supplies and patience, but I think you’ll agree the effect is really cool.

How would you use this in a knitting project? I’d love to hear your ideas. I think it might be a cool process to do on a swatch and then use it as a pocket for a knit or sewn garment.

[Photo: Studio Knit.]

Next Pattern:

I’ve been enjoying knit amigurumi animal patterns lately (see also: this adorable knit pigeon) and of course being a knitter I love llamas.

So when I saw this little llama pattern I knew I had to share it.

The appropriately named Llama patter from Annie Ahn calls for fingering weight yarn, and it uses two colors for the body and three for the little blanket. The pompom can be made to match or in another color. All of these parts take tiny amounts of yarn so you can use whatever scraps you have left over from socks or other projects and change colors whenever you need to.

It might also be fun to use some mohair or other fuzzy or textured yarn on this one to give your llama a different look. In all the project uses between 100 and 150 yards, or 91-137 m, of yarn and the llama comes out about 10 cm/4 inches tall.

The body of the llama is worked in one piece, so this project is suited to intermediate knitters or those who have comfort working in the round and with all those little pieces.

This one is made to be small so you can carry it around with you (it would be super cute on a keychain or as a zipper pull) but I think it would be a lot of fun to knit this in larger yarn, too, to make a bigger llama. You could even make a whole family in different sizes just by using different weights of yarn and corresponding needles.

The details are so cute, from the shaggy hair to its little accessories, but you could make it plain or change it up by knitting a tiny scarf or even working a little fair isle pattern on the legs or body. So many fun possibilities!

The pattern is available on Ravelry in English and Korean.

[Photo: Annie Ahn]

Next Pattern:

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