FASHION & JEWELLERY FEATURES
Knitting
These pages are for knitting enthusiasts. Study knitting history from our collections or do your own knitting from 1940s patterns. Knit your own work of art following a pattern we have specially commissioned from Freddie Robins. Follow up your interest using our web links or booklist.
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Knitting Items from the Collections
Some of the best examples of hand knitting in the V&A's collections are combined here with examples of equipment and modern knitted items.
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Share your Knitting with Others
Send us a picture of anything you have knitted that is not a garment and explain a bit about it, and we'll add it to our knitting database.
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Your Stories of Learning to Knit
Share your memories of how you learned to knit. Send in your stories and we will add it to our website.
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Regional Knitting in the British Isles & Ireland
A number of areas have their own distinctive style of knitting or a particular garment for which they are known. Traditions like these tend to survive longer in outlying districts where there is less outside influence. Additionally, knitting was sometimes the only way in which the inhabitants of poor regions were able to earn money. It was a craft that needed little equipment and a skill that could be passed down the generations and was, at times, practised by men and women alike.
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Knitting Designers
John Allen, Ruth Lee, Sasha Kagan, Patricia Roberts and Freddie Robins talk about their work and approach to knitting.
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Knit a Work of Art from a Free Pattern
If art is supposed to challenge our perceptions and make us look at the world in a different way, then Freddie Robins succeeds on both counts. Her career began 20 years ago when she won the Womancraft magazine knitting competition, with a knitted interpretation of a tuxedo in mohair. This set the tone for the subversive sweaters she is known for today. Knit your own pair of Freddie Robins's 'Conrad' gloves with this online pattern.
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1940s Patterns to Knit
The 1940s in Britain was a high point for hand knitting. Women on the home front could make a contribution to the war effort by knitting for the troops using patterns that were often given away free. Many specialised patterns developed such as the balaclava helmet with ear flaps for use in telephone operations or the mittens with a separate forefinger for firing a trigger in the cold.
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Knitting Patterns for Children
'The Little Girl's Knitting and Crochet Book', edited by Flora Klickmann, was published in 1915. It starts with a poem.
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Knitting in the Archives
The V&A runs the Archive of Art and Design from a base in west London. The Archive collects documents related to firms and individuals who worked in the creative industries. They have a small collection of documents from people who designed knitting or who taught it or practised it. The collection is strong on people active in the mid 20th century.
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How to Knit on Video
This site provides video instruction to help you cast on, cast off and carry out other procedures or to help you learn stitches. Use this in combination with a book of instructions if you are a beginner. Most knitting books have a chapter on the basics.
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Knitting Blogs
If you are interested in knitting and the web and have never looked at knitting weblogs then you have a treat in store.
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Knitting Podcasts
There are an increasing number of podcasts about knitting. Whatever your taste, there should be something to interest and inspire most knitters.
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Knitting Links
This short list of knitting websites concentrates on those with historical content but also includes a few suppliers and other related websites.
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Knitting Reading List
A list of key books on the history of knitting with an emphasis on hand knitting.
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Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to people who have allowed us to use their knitting patterns.