Wednesday 6 February 2013

For the Knitter Who Loves to Read... Since There Aren't Too Many of the Other Kind


Yesterday's Beowulf sock pattern post got me wondering about other literary reference knitting projects, and the resulting internet search led me to Literary Knits: 30 Patterns Inspired by Favorite Books, by Nikol Lohr, which include patterns inspired by characters from classic books such as Pride and Prejudice, Moby Dick, The Catcher in the Rye, Jane Eyre, Dorian Gray, A Room With a View, Tess of the d'Ubervilles, The Golden Compass, The Chronicles of Narnia, and more. Some of the literary references are a stretch (the interpretations aren't very, well, literal), and some of the patterns aren't anything special in any way, but there are enough terrific patterns included that this book is worth buying. The patterns can be viewed on their respective pages on Ravelry, and I'll just share a few of them below.





This is the Anne of Green Gables pattern. You'll have to tell people that it is. Of course once those who have read Anne are told they'll get that it's knitted in brown and has puffed sleeves exactly like Anne's brown gloria Christmas dress, and serious Anne geeks will get that it has the "crowning glory" of two rows of puffs in the sleeve that are trimmed with brown ribbons.





This is the Daisy cloché. I hate the colour, but it's a nice, wearable design. Do try not to cheat on your husband with an old flame when you wear it, unless of course your husband is kind of a pig and already has a mistress, in which case you'll have to do as you think best.





This is the Phoebe jacket, and it's one of the designs that actually look like something the character would have worn. And if there were a Catcher in the Rye movie, this little imp could be cast on the spot to play Holden Caulfield's little sister.





These Laura Pinafores are supposedly inspired by the Little House on the Prairie books, and of course they look absolutely nothing like anything the little Ingalls girls would have worn. Even the costuming for Michael Landon's none-too-faithful seventies TV series got leagues closer than this. The designer writes that they are made in the spirit of prairie life, in which nothing was wasted. This is true, of course, and these scrap yarn jumpers are very cute and a great way to use up odds and ends of yarn, and I may just end up making one for my little grandniece, but I can't help wishing they'd at least used one blonde and one brunette model for this photo shoot instead of two blondes.





Very cute Scout "mockingbird" cardigan. Do make sure your little daughter isn't pestering the neighbours when she wears it.





This Gregor sweater is awesome and would be the ultimate Christmas present for the Kafka fan in your life. Or for a Naked Lunch fan if you've got one of those instead.

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