While I still enjoy crafting simple scarves after more than thirty years of knitting, I also love to experiment. If you are also a knitter who likes to ask "What if..." or explore the boundaries of what can be done with two pointy sticks and some string, these patterns are right up your alley.
Wedding Gown Patterns
Yes, you can find patterns for knitted wedding
gowns! Interweave
Knits offers a free
pattern for a full-length lace gown. Vogue Knitting offered a design by
Nicky Epstein in their fall
2012 issue. For a theme wedding, the Elfin Bride
pattern is gorgeous
with long, flared sleeves. A wedding dress is a major commitment, so make sure you
knit some sample swatches with yarns you think will work, using the various
pattern stitches in your chosen dress pattern. Be absolutely sure you are
getting the gauge right, too. Nobody wants to knit for months only to have a
dress that doesn't fit!
You Knit a What?!
Just for fun, there are some books I recommend
because the projects are so unexpected. Knit Your
Own Zoo by Sally Muir
and Joanna Osborne is one such book. Why not knit an aardvark or a giraffe?
These projects use pipe cleaners where stiffness is required, so don't make
them for toddlers or babies.
If you do knit for children, Knitted
Farm Animals by Sarah Keen
is a better choice. The hen and chicks would make a fun gift for a young child.
Another whimsical project is knitted
food. Sometimes knitting should just be fun.
Scientific Knitting
June Oshiro created a DNA scarf as a gift for one of her professors. The double helix is created
by a carefully charted series of cables. I love this design, but must admit
that I gave up after a few inches out of concern that I would lose my place at
some point and have to rip out cables (not fun!) I prefer color work to cables,
but knitters who love Aran sweaters and have the patience to follow cable
charts should give this pattern a go. I chose instead to use my unravelled yarn
for a much simpler scarf based
on the Fibonacci sequence.
For more ideas and inspiration for mathematical
knitting, check out this article
from American Scientist. The author, Sarah -Marie Belcastro, has knit
Klein bottles, Mobius bands, and other designs that illustrate mathematical
concepts. Elizabeth
Zimmerman, although not a mathematician, recognized the logical,
mathematical nature of knitting and even created the Pi Shawl--a design
copied by many knitters on many ways.
Keep knitting interesting by always looking for
something fresh to create. Inspiration is everywhere. Enjoy making something
extraordinary.
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