Introduction

Kuba
Squares, diamonds, and striking contrasts between light and dark are prominent features in many African textiles. The yoke patterns on both versions of this pullover mimic the rotating motifs in a traditional woven fabric.

Entrelac Knitting
The English word for entrelac comes from the French word entrelacer, which means to interlace. It is a method of knitting in which blocks, rather than rows, are worked one on top of, and adjacent to, one another.

Zaire
The geometric design for this sweater is based on a small detail in a woven cloth that originates from the western part of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire. The lower body is worked back and forth in rows in a series of mitered garter-stitch panels that encompass the entire body circumference.

Congo
The bold pattern of dark, medium, and light shades in the yoke of this sweater imitates piece or strip-woven fabric, another African classic.

African Domino Cardigan
Inspired by the small flashes of white visible on the backsides of leaping antelopes, the fronts of this kimono-style cardigan feature patterned panels that build around small white squares.

African Domino Pullover
In this pullover version of the cardigan from the previous chapter, the same two-color, mitered garter-stitch chevron pattern is used on both the front and back.

Asante
The geometric blocks in this sweater were inspired by a collage of patterns printed on cloth by the Asante people in Ghana.

Sierra Leone
The pieced checkerboard fabric that inspired this sweater design (and hence its name) comes from Sierra Leone. The strip-look pattern in the sweater is achieved through wide bands of intarsia color blocks that repeat in an offset arrangement.

Intarsia Knitting
Intarsia is a method of working isolated areas of color. Separate balls of yarn are used for each section, or block, of color.

Mali
Inspired by mud-dyed cotton fabrics produced in the Bamana region of Mali, the body of this intricately patterned pullover is knitting in the round from the hemmed lower edge to the shoulder.

Arrowheads
Diamond and zigzag patterns in a Zairian cloth that was woven, embroidered, and plant-dyed have inspired the allover Fair Isle patterning on this cropped pullover.

Zimbabwe
Handmade baskets are an important part of African craft. The narrow stripes and zigzag patterns on this sweater echo the interaction of two colors of reed woven into a basked purchased at a roadside stand near the Zimbabwean village of Bulawayo.

Stranded Two-Color Knitting
Stranded two-color knitting, also called jacquard or Fair Isle knitting, involves working with two colors at the same time, although in such a way that one color is stranded across the back (wrong side) of the work while the other color is being knitted.

Nigeria
This pullover mimics the African look of pieced strips of woven cloth by alternating bands of stranded two-color knitting with solid-color stripes.

Zigzag
This tunic-style pullover is modeled after a two-color woven basket from the Lake Kariba region in Zimbabwe.

Shoowa
The Shoowa tribe from the Congo produces textiles made up of abstract geometric patterns embroidered on top of woven cloth. Close juxtaposition of the motifs gives a mosaic look to the overall cloth. This pullover achieves a similar look.

Shoowa Vest
The pattern blocks on this vest are similar to the Shoowa pullover, only smaller.

Double Knitting
Double knitting is a technique that simultaneously produces two layers of fabric, only light and one dark, with a single pair of needles.

Giraffe and Zebra
Animals are an integral part of the African landscape. These two vests reflect the markings of the giraffes and zebras that inhabit the grassy plains of Zimbabwe.

Abbreviations

Yarn Sources

Glossary of Terms

Index