Pop Knitting: Bold Motifs Using Color & Stitch [Paperback]

Britt-Marie Christoffersson (Author), Carol Huebscher Rhoades (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2012

Celebrated author Britt-Marie Christoffersson has studied color and texture in knitting for more than 25 years. Pop Knitting showcases her intensive work, demonstrating how minimal ingredients can be combined in seemingly endless ways to create striking, graphic knitted fabrics. Using a variety of innovative stitch manipulation techniques, this book explores how to construct highly textured fabrics and gorgeous knitted strandwork. You’ll also learn how to create knitted fabrics with holes, pleats, double-fabrics, and more.

Knitters of all skill levels will love the projects and inspiration Christofferson presents and the aesthetic masterpiece of Pop Knitting will have the most advanced knitters eager to experiment.

Bright color dominates throughout this exuberant book, making simple patterns boldly stand out. Discover vibrant color, in-depth instruction, and artful inspiration that have ruled Christoffersson’s work and life. Pop Knitting promises revolutionary knitting results.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Break the mold and go bold! Why not let this handicraft consultant (Sweden) teach you a thing or two about innovative knitwear. It is definitely worth looking at, for the inspiration alone!" - Can Do Books, Australia

"This is definitely not just another stitch book." - Halcyon Yarn

"When this book crossed my desk, I looked at the cover and thought, 'Wow, this looks cheerful, but not really my style'. I fully expected that I would flip through it, tell you how pretty it was, and then move on. But...instead, I was blown away." - KnittingScholar.com

"Cool Book! Mix bright colors, interesting stitches and textures and a renowned designer and you get this book." - CraftGossip.com

About the Author

Britt-Marie Christoffersson is an innovative knitwear and textile designer. She is a former member of the 10 Group (10-gruppen), known for their bold colorwork and graphic designs. Britt-Marie has worked with a variety of international exhibits and teaches complimentary workshops as a handicraft consultant. She lives in Halmstad, Sweden.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Interweave Press (May 22, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596687827
• ISBN-13: 978-1596687820
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.7 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #357,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Color, texture, beads and motif knitting--hot and fresh May 13, 2012

By Joanna Daneman #1 HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This book combines various types of texture, color and motif knitting techniques in a novel fashion. If you want to add something VERY fresh to your knitting, this book can give you a lot of wonderfully fun ideas. Author Brit-Marie Christoffersson, who is Swedish, takes her inspiration from designs out of the traditional and vintage folk textiles of Scandinavia (small prints, those folkloric prints that were so popular in the Thirties through Fifties decades) along with the bright, blocky almost child-like colorwork from the Sixties and Seventies a la Marimekko.

The techniques range from adding beads, knitting motifs in the style of modular knitting (aka domino knitting aka mitered squares and more) and adding textural and colorful bands, tubular accents, linked motifs with holes, round holes, square holes, diamonds, bricks, checks, and bands linked by yarn strands imitating those thread insertions in French handsewing. The photos are large, well printed and have a lot of detail. The ideas are very fresh and exciting.

So, this book is sort of a stitch dictionary demonstrating these unusual techniques--and the cover gives you a good idea of the type of textural color work you'll find inside. There is a sweater schematic (flat shapes of a cardigan) and you can use that as a template to overlay with the netted motif knitting to make a mod lacy jacket, or you can essentially knit fabric with dense texture or colorful small repeats, almost a print, in a way, to make a printed cardigan. This is not a "knit me" pattern book of garments, however. Very few garments are demonstrated in the book. Instead, you are focusing on FABRIC. So you could adapt any of the ideas that catch your eye to, say, pillows or afghans, too. This book is about Texture, Pattern and Fabric....

Who will like this book? Designers and adventurous knitters who want to branch out and create something unique will find this a terrific resource. Or, someone who wants to make accents and appliques--you will be able to make some really creative designs. Who will want to pass on this book? If you are the type of knitter who finds motif knitting slow and boring, or if you want patterns to follow to create a garment, complete with sizes laid out for you, or if you like classical knitted lace, this is probably not for you.

The book is laid out as a typical stitch dictionary; the chapters are listed by technique:
two color garter, four rows
two color garter, three rows
apron designs (small print-like designs as on vintage apron and dishtowel fabrics)
slipped stitches and stockinette
slipped stitches and garter
slipped stitches that form welts
casting off and binding off within rows
cords on outer edges, bind off designs
braids, honeycombs, braided bands
holes and buttonholes
surface motifs
knitting in different directions
joining stitches in succession
vertical increases and decreases
shortened and lengthened rows Read more ›

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Over the Top! May 10, 2012

By B. Carey

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the most over-the-top knitting book I have ever seen. I see great knitting adventures (and probably some frustration) ahead. I had visions of pillow covers and scarves dancing in my head the day it arrived. She works in a very fine yarn and very small needles but as you know that is all adjustable. I intend to make a collection of swatch samples to go with the book. This is a gourmet delight for designers.
Highly recommended. Not for beginners.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Color Creations May 15, 2012

By Rudy Fan

Format:Paperback

As you can see from the cover, this isn't an ordinary knitting book. It isn't even full of patterns which yield a finished product. But if you love to use color (and interesting texture) in your knitting in new ways and aren't afraid of going outside of the box, then this book could be for you. There's a lot you can do with just simple stitches in this book, but it's the manipulation of these stitches that makes the color 'pop'.

The actual stitch pattern is printed in a clear font and yes, yes, the author uses double spacing between each row of instruction. This layout really helps me to keep track of what I'm doing. When applicable, multiples are listed right at the top (how many stitches one needs to complete the pattern on one row). This makes all the difference in being able to transfer this into your design. If blocks are used, the amount of stitches is listed right at the top of the pattern. In addition, in the latter part of the book, there are instructions to lead you through the technical end of all this color work.

This is all about design. If you have an idea for a sweater that needs something to jazz it up or if you just want to make a one of a kind blanket (or afghan if you prefer), then this book will guide you along the way. I am a beginner at knitting so I'm not too sure this would be for me, just yet, but with time and the instructions included, I can see that one day I could make my own knitted fabric. But for now, all you intermediate and advanced knitters, have at it!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Beginner's beware June 30, 2012

By Charles L. Clark II

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've been knitting for over 12 years and love creating a unique fabric and 3 dimensional items. When I saw this book I was so eager to get it but after finally receiving it and getting through the first 1/3 of the book I couldn't help thinking, "I sure hope they have more than a few illustrations in the BACK of the book...." For each (what I would call) advanced technique there is little more than a few sentences describing the general approach to the pattern. There will be one written out pattern in that section (in most of them) but because of the abnormality of what you would do with the stitches to create, and I'll admit it here, some amazing techniques I feel there should be at least a simple illustration accompanying most.

What's more, in many of the beautifully shot patterns (remember, these are blocked and stretched pics of only the BEST examples) it would have been nice to see what all that contorting of the stitches would do to the BACK of the fabric, but they don't share that very important detail in any more than a couple of patterns. Even a simple, smaller insert on the page would help illustrate what the stitches do, in the absence of any illustrations.

If you are a chart person, you're also out of luck as the only chart used illustrates holes in the knitting. I'm no expert charter but illustrating absence is the simplest thing you can do and illustrating holes is all there is in the way of charts.

I'm not saying this isn't a good book, it is. Why would I say this after being so critical? With as much experience as I have and with the absence of so much instruction, the only way I can figure out what I want to know is to knit a swatch.... Any book that makes me want to knit the patterns of what they're presenting, as quickly as I want to, and I'd say that this book is pretty succesful. However that is my opinion and you might not see it as kindly. Read more ›