Folk Projects

All Buttoned Up by Pam Allen—Browsing through a linens catalog, Pam Allen was taken by a red bedspread with blocks of rustic embroidery. After she began the sweater she received a postcard that showed an Andean woman knitting—she wore a jacket covered with embroidery and small white buttons, thus the inspiration for this wonderful child’s sweater.

Patchwork Jacket by Gayle Bunn—Gayle took inspiration from old quilts made from square blocks of bright fabrics that had faded over time for the patchwork squares in this cropped jacket.

Modern Quilt Wrap by Mags Kandis—Very loosely based on the traditional Log Cabin quilt block, Mags Kandis worked this wrap/oversized scarf square by square in the easy and satisfying mitered-square method of color knitting.

Child’s Tibetan Jacket by Tara Jon Manning—Styled after the traditional wool coats of the high Himalayan region, Tara Jon Manning’s child’s jacket features the boxy shape, colorful trim, and stand-up collar immediately recognizable as distinctive folk elements of Tibetan and Nepalese outerwear.

Grand Tour Waistcoat by Di Gilpin—The shape of this bolero vest is drawn from a traditional Greek waistcoat, and the motifs come from the Chateau de Montresor in the Loire Valley, France.

Burma Rings Scarf by Ann Budd—This scarf was inspired by the Burma Rings Sweater by the late Barbara Venishnick on the cover of the Winter 2000/2001 issue of Interweave Knits. Ann used the concept of stacked rings to create a scarf that would literally wrap around the neck.

Bunad Mukluks by Robin Melanson—These wooly mukluks are a fusion of Inuit-style footwear and the embellishments of Norwegian folk costumes.

Annie Oakley Jacket by Tara Jon Manning—While helping one of her children research frontier women for a school project, Tara Jon Manning became captivated by the life of Annie Oakley—a true American folk hero and an outstanding figure in the history of women’s rights.

Appalachian Gathering Basket by Gina Wilde—Gina’s passion for basketmaking prompted the idea for this unusual felted tote.

Sunny Flower Fez by Kristin Nicholas—A Moroccan flat-top fez served as the springboard for Kristin Nicholas’s joyful topper.

Shanghai Surplice by Annie Modesitt—Annie Modesitt was inspired by the shape of a fifteenth-century quilted vest from China. True to Folk Style form, this knitted vest marries duplicate stitch and European French-knot embroidery techniques with Asian shaping.

Tribal Baby Carrier by Lisa B. Evans—In many cultures, mothers “wear” their babies as they go about their daily tasks. Lisa B. Evans has created a colorful knitted version of what is traditionally constructed in woven fabric, taking inspiration from Middle Eastern kilim rugs and African kente cloth.

Nordic Star by Ann Budd—The inspiration for this playful pullover was the traditional six-point star motif used in Scandinavian designs.

Felt Appliquéd Skirt by Gayle Bunn—Inspired by crewelwork found on traditional fabrics from India, Gayle Bunn artfully played with proportion and exploded large felted flowers and leaves onto a truly modern skirt.

Algonquin Socks by Gayle Bunn—A visit to a gallery in Ottawa, Canada, and a painting by noted Canadian artist Tom Tompson offered Gayle Bunn the colorway for these socks.

Paisley Shawl by Kate Gilbert—Kate’s thoroughly modern take on vintage paisley is captivating. She was inspired by the triangular shawls worn in nineteenth-century France and Spain that were worn wrapped around the body, crossed in the front, then tied in the back.

Urban Hand Warmers by Leigh Radford—Always exploring ways to “alter” her knitting, Leigh Radford stepped outside the confines of the knitted stitch with needle-felting details on her hand warmers.

Indian Silk Pillow by Marilyn Webster—With this lush silk pillow, Marilyn Webster has taken something from one culture and infused it with aspects of another. “The starting point for my design is my own story—a U.S. citizen who grew up in India.”

Gansey Toque and Mitts by Vèronik Avery— Vèronik used the time-honored patterns of Scottish ganseys in an updated, but no less traditional, hat-and-mitten set.

Shibori-esque Neckwrap by Mags Kandis—Shibori is an age-old Japanese technique of folding, twisting, scrunching, stitching, and then dyeing fabric to achieve a color pattern.

Bogolanfini Pullover by Fiona Ellis— Fiona Ellis took the color palette and patterning inspired by African textiles and crossed them with the traditional Northern European knitting technique of Fair Isle or stranded knitting.

Design Notebook

Glossary of Terms and Techniques

Contributing Designers

Sources for Supplies

Bibliography

Index