Knitter's Sketchbook E-Book

Emma Vining

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Inspiration for twist and cable designs can be seen everywhere in the natural world and the urban environment, from the cracks in the pavement to building walls, posts and pillars. In A Knitter's Sketchbook: Design Inspiration for Twists and Cables, creative designer Emma Vining shares her experience of capturing pattern ideas in many diverse locations and settings, offering a design-led approach to creating unique knitting stitch patterns. This inspirational book takes a new look at hand knitting techniques that uses twisted stitches and cables. It can be used in many different ways: as a stitch library, a collection of knitting patterns or as a starting point to inspire designers for a personalized knitter's sketchbook. This beautifully illustrated book explores: the history of knitted twists and cables; demonstrates how using different yarns affect stitch patterns; describes twist and cable techniques and terminology; presents a wide-ranging stitch library with ideas to inspire further designs; illustrates the techniques with ten creative accessory patterns. This book illustrates these techniques with ten creative accessory patterns in the form of 189 colour photographs and 141 line artworks.

Leseprobe

A KNITTER’SSKETCHBOOK

Design Inspiration forTwists and Cables

EMMA VINING

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2019 byThe Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2019

© Emma Vining 2019

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 538 1

Frontispiece: Tulip-bud scarf (seeChapter 13).

CONTENTS

Introduction: What is a Knitter’s Sketchbook?

Part 1: Context

1 Historical Context

2 Terminology and Techniques

3 Yarn and Tools

Part 2: Line and Shape

4 Straight Lines

5 Curved Lines

6 Straight-Sided Shapes: Diamonds

7 Straight-Sided Shapes: Hexagons

8 Curved Shapes: Circles And Ovals

Part 3: Enhanced Twists and Cables

9 Combined Curves

10 Openwork

11 Texture

12 Short Rows

13 Layers

Glossary of Terms

Abbreviations

Bibliography

Further Information

Acknowledgements

Index

INTRODUCTION:WHAT IS A KNITTER’S SKETCHBOOK?

The title of this book reflects a design-led approach to creating knitting stitch patterns. This method of design combines my love of knitting with an awareness of pattern inspiration at different scales and from diverse locations. Inspiration for twist and cable designs can be seen everywhere in the natural world and in the urban environment, from cracks in pavement to patterns in the walls of buildings and from posts and pillars. Sometimes just looking down at the ground can provide the best source material, from an elegant mosaic pattern in a town plaza to shadows cast by the sun shining on railings on a bridge.

Fig. 1 Glass facade of a staircase, Brussels, Belgium.

Fig. 2 Sketch of lines and shapes inspired by the glass facade of a staircase.

Fig. 3 Detail of Agora wrap.

Photographing and drawing this inspiration provides me with a reminder of what caught my eye. This can be a basic sketch, a detailed drawing or a simple written note. A sketch or note makes you really think about what you are observing. Along with knitted swatches, these images and sketches form the basis on my knitter’s sketchbook. Using this kind of inspiration, combined with a wide range of knitting techniques, allows the development of new and original knitting stitch patterns. Figures 1, 2 and 3 summarize this approach, showing the design development from inspiration source to sketch to stitch pattern. In this example from Part 2: Line and Shape, the glass facade of a staircase is my inspiration source. My sketch captures the diamond and triangle shapes that attracted my attention. The resulting stitch pattern translates my ideas into a design that is part of the Agora-wrap project in the chapter about diamond shapes (Chapter 6).

To get the most out of this book, all that is required is an open mind and a willingness to try out ideas. My aim is to encourage you to explore and experiment and to make new and beautiful knitting designs that reflect a personal interaction with the world around you.

How to use this book

This book can be used in many different ways: as a stitch library, as a collection of knitting patterns or as a starting point to inspire your own designs for your own personalized knitter’s sketchbook. I have used many examples to show you my design process. These examples can be used to inspire your own new stitch patterns, or you can go straight to the knitting-pattern projects at the end of each chapter in Parts 2 and 3. Each of the ten accessory projects illustrates some of the twist and cable techniques that I use to interpret my source material. There is a progression in complexity within the book, from stitch patterns inspired by straight lines to designs full of complex curves. However, you can dip in and out of the chapters in whichever order you prefer.

The first part of this book, Part 1: Context, sets the scene for designing with twists and cables. A look back in time at historical knitting examples shows that the twist and cable patterns now considered to be traditional are in fact part of a constantly evolving set of designs. Naming these different combinations of twist and cable designs has always played an important part in communicating knitting patterns, and the definitions and abbreviations used in this book are explored in detail in the chapter about terminology (Chapter 2). Chapter 3, about yarn and tools, highlights the importance of yarn choice, both in terms of fibre and weight, and reviews the knitting equipment needed to interpret inspiration sources for twists and cables.

The second and third parts of this book are all about designing stitch patterns by using inspiration-source images and sketches. In Part 2: Line and Shape, a range of twist and cable techniques is gradually built up, beginning with the knitting of straight and curved lines, then moving on to exploring the knitting of diamonds, hexagons and circles. All of the techniques are then put together in more complex combinations in the third part of this book, Part 3: Enhanced Twists and Cables. These chapters explore a selection of additional knitting techniques, such as those involving texture and openwork, using them to add detail to the twist and cable designs.

Throughout this book, I will show you how I look at inspirational source material as a way of developing designs. Looking for pattern all around you leads to fascinating stitch combinations that can enhance and enrich any knitted project. I hope that this book will inspire your own creativity and be the launch pad for a multitude of amazing new knitting designs!

Creating a knitter’s sketchbook

This section explains some of the steps involved in creating a knitter’s sketchbook. The sketchbook will be both an individual record of inspiration and designs and a reference source for bringing ideas together and moving them on to even more creative designs. As well as knitted samples, rough sketches, photos and clippings from magazines, your knitter’s sketchbook can also include an online element, by using sites such as Pinterest, Instagram and other online sources to help record and collect thoughts and ideas together.

As a collection of ideas builds up, a variety of ways to store them will be needed. Sketches and swatches can be stored in a folder, a ring binder or a larger sketchbook. Photographs and links to websites may all be kept in a digital folder. This will be very much a personal preference, and the most important aspect of the sketchbook is that it works for the individual designer. All of the parts of the sketchbook therefore do not need to be in the same place. For example, photographs may be stored digitally, but all of the sketches can be made in an A5-size paper notebook. I encourage you to experiment with different methods, to find the way of working that suits you best.

My own knitter’s sketchbook includes my inspiration sources, my pen and pencil sketches and, most importantly, my knitted swatches. Knitted swatches are a response to all of the ideas that have been collected, and they form the basis for new stitch-pattern designs. Throughout this book, examples will illustrate ways to look at source material and demonstrate how to select knitting techniques that represent the lines and patterns present within the sources.

I have found it very helpful to use some specific approaches for recording ideas, building up a personalized stitch library and creating new projects. My favourite designs have been inspired by sources such as architecture and plants that have distinctive lines and shapes within them. I use my initial sketches and drawings to highlight the parts of the image that I want to translate into my knitted swatch. An example of this process is the Agora-wrap project in the diamonds chapter (Chapter 6) of Part 2: Line and Shape. Using this project as an example, let us take a closer look at the design process of a knitter’s sketchbook.

Inspirational source material

The starting point for any new design is the inspirational source material. This source may be one image or a collection of ideas and sketches. The more information that is collected, the more ideas that can be generated. A photograph, image or sketch of the source is the key to the new design. The sketch does not need to be detailed; it just needs to contain enough information to remind you of what attracted your attention. To begin collecting ideas, the first tools needed are a camera, a pen or pencil and paper. Any pen or pencil and any piece of paper will do, as long as they are always available when needed. The most basic of drawings can be referred to and, if needed, redrawn later, but the first response to or idea about a source will capture the aspect that is key to your inspiration.

Figure 1 is one of several unplanned photographs that were taken on a phone during a walk through the European Parliament in Brussels. The simple sketch shown in Figure 2 was my way of identifying the design lines that I wished to focus on when planning the knitted swatch, shown in Figure 3.

Knitted swatches

The knitted swatches can be considered as the integral part of the sketchbook, as this is where the knitted lines are drawn, the knitted marks are made and the knitted response to the inspiration is created.

The knitted lines in the swatches can be viewed in the same way as the lines made with pencils and pens in a hand-drawn sketch. The twisted stitches are the fine lines, and the cables are the thicker lines made with marker pens. There is a cable or twist available to represent any line that is needed.

Thinking in terms of drawing allows the selection of appropriate lines, rather than allowing the technique to determine the design. The lines can be even more finely tuned by careful yarn selection. A twisted stitch worked in a fine, lace-weight yarn will allow a line made with a delicate touch on paper to be represented. A supersized cable in chunky yarn will create the dramatic effect across the knitting that is equivalent to a marker-pen stroke across paper. Conversely, a twisted stitch worked in chunky yarn allows the scaling up of a delicate detail, and using big cables in lace-weight yarn creates folds and depth in an otherwise flat and sheer knitted fabric. The wide range of yarn weights available means that a variety of lines can be knitted. Throughout this book, design sources are represented by using both yarn and stitch, to create new stitch patterns.

It can be helpful to label swatches with either a tie-on tag or a note next to them in the sketchbook. Include the knitting-needle size and the specific yarn, as well as its fibre content, that were used to knit the swatch; also record the date that it was knitted. Any comments about the swatch, even as simple as that it is too big or too small or that the fabric is too tight or too loose, can really help when looking back and reviewing.

Fig. 4 Test swatch of staircase-inspired stitch pattern.

Designs that at first appear not to work can also be very useful. Always try not to undo swatches, even if they do not appear to have any immediate use. It can be the so-called mistakes that result in the most interesting designs. Once the design has been ripped out, the precise details are lost. It can be very difficult to recreate any aspect of it, without a visual record. At the very least, if the emerging pattern is really not working, keeping the swatch along with detailed notes will help to avoid making the same mistake again. For example, in the swatch shown in Figure 4, a cabled border was experimented with. In the project for the diamonds chapter (Chapter 6), the Agora wrap, this has been changed to a reverse stocking stitch, ridged edge, to reflect the ridges throughout the wrap.

Throughout this book, the emphasis is on original ideas. However, everyone is influenced by the images and objects that surround them, from books and magazines to exhibitions and the general media. Work that has already been created can have a positive impact, as an inspiration, on new designs. However, if someone has already used a great idea in a design, that is to be admired and not copied. This book considers ways of creating new work. By looking for and using inspiration around you, a chance pattern, perhaps created by a shadow on paving stones, can result in truly original work that has never been made before. Please always respect other artists’ and designers’ copyright in the search for inspiration, and always credit the design sources that inspired your own work.

Part 1: Context

CHAPTER 1

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Before beginning to explore new stitch patterns, a look back in time is essential. By gaining an understanding of the historical uses of twists and cables in knitting, we can appreciate the enormous range of techniques that have been in use over several hundred years.

Fig. 5 1891 knitted stitch sampler. (KCG Collection; photo: Angharad Thomas)

Traditional knitting styles have used twist and cable patterns in many different ways, such as an embossed, raised line on a plain background or as a design feature within lace knitting. In gansey knitting, for example, cables are just one element of these garments containing multiple stitch combinations. In this style of knitting, the link between the twists and cables and the many ropes found on a fishing boat is clear. In Aran knitting, the individual twist and cable stitch patterns themselves have taken on meaning, with many complex combinations having their own specific names.

The review of historical examples in this chapter sets the context for the new designs in this book. So many beautiful cable patterns have been created already, and the aim of this book is to add to this body of design, not reproduce it. As well as referencing twist and cable designs that have been extensively used and are much loved for their specific stitch combinations, this chapter looks back to the time before Aran and gansey patterns became established. By considering early cable designs, the techniques and applications common to all twist and cable designs become apparent.

Although it would be exciting to find the very first example of a knitted twist or cable, this is not possible, for several reasons. Historical knitting research is restricted by the lack of actual examples that exist. Conservation of knitted items is a relatively recent development. Previously, knitted items of clothing were seen as functional objects for everyday wear. Many of the knitted garments and accessories would have been unravelled and reknitted as the wearer grew out of them or simply wore them out. Additionally, as an organic textile, knitted items made of wool decay over time, and, in many cases, only fragments of the original fabric remain. Examples of exceptional knitting do exist in museum collections; these include brocade silk jackets knitted in Italy and silk stockings knitted for wealthy landowners and royalty. Although these examples show texture, colourwork and surface decoration, there is limited evidence of the movement of stitches that we would call a twist or a cable.

Knitted samplers

Some of the earliest evidence of twist and cable knitting from the British Isles can be found within knitted samplers. These samplers were typically knitted by students either learning from a teacher or knitting at home. The samplers exist in several different forms, with some containing individual swatches stitched into a fabric book and others consisting of a long, narrow strip of multiple stitch patterns. Several beautiful examples are held in textile collections, such as those of the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum Collection.

Fig. 6 Sketch of detail of the 1891 knitted stitch sampler.

Fig. 7 Sketch of detail of the 1891 knitted stitch sampler.

Many of these samplers do not have a specific date of making. Instead, a wide time period over which they may have been made is referenced in the catalogue descriptions, for example, 1750 to 1850. Although catalogue entries often describe the sampler stitch patterns as being of lace or openwork knitting, many of the samplers also contain twisted stitches and cables. The stitch gauge of the knitted samplers is very fine, making the cables prominent against the background stitch pattern. Cable and twist stitch patterns found on many of the long-strip samplers include textured lattice arrangements, such as the example represented in the sketch shown in Figure 6