The Knitted Fabric

The Knitted Fabric is Brimming with artistic inspiration and filled with patterns for gorgeous knitwear and joyful pieces for the home, this creative and original book invites you to step inside Dee Hardwicke's world. Illustrated throughout with beautiful watercolours and painterly photography, The Knitted Fabric brings the pages of Dee's sketchbooks to life. As Dee explains, “I ?nd the process of knitting very similar to painting, with each stitch being a brushstroke of colour. As stitches loop together, they create a knitted fabric, a kind of narrative of art, making and the people and landscapes that inspire me”. Just like the 20 nature-inspired designs within it, this unique book is something to treasure.

Dee Hardwicke is an artist, designer and knitter whose work is inspired by her passion for colour and by her love of the British landscape. Dee's designs have been used in exclusive collaborations with partners including the National Trust and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Her previous knitting books include A Story in Yarn: How to Design and Knit an Intarsia Heirloom Quilt (Quail Publishing, 2016) and several titles with leading British yarn producers and designers Rowan. Each design begins life in her sketchbooks.

Take a closer look on the patterns featured in the book.

Butterfly

"I love the way that butterflies embody the ethereal beauty and fragility of nature. I used to get lost in dreams of fluttering wings and the magic of changing forms. It wasn't until I was working as an artist and I was commissioned by a biologist to make a series of hand-painted tiles illustrating our local butterflies that my dreamlike love turned into a keenly observed study of these intricately beautiful creatures.

The original watercolours for that butterfly tiles commission have inspired designs for many of my collections and collaborations over the years, including knitwear, textiles, china and stationery. They've now metamorphosed into the designs in this chapter. These include a spectacular butterfly quilt that echoes the evocative shapes, patterns and movement of butterflies and encapsulates my on-going sense of wonder at these spectacular beings. The gentle and steady repeat of the Meadow garment designs is inspired by the flower-filled fields that my son and I spent so many happy hours watching butterflies in during that summer when I was working on my commission."

Yarn:
John Arbon, Knit by Numbers DK

Butterfly Colourwork Cushion

Butterfly Geo Cushion

Butterfly Patchwork Quilt

‘The Butter?y Patchwork Quilt map (in a pocket at the end of this book) is a visual guide that shows the chart and colours used for each hexagon (or half hexagon). Each hexagon is marked with the chart number (lower centre edge), background MC yarn shade number (top centre edge) and the yarn shade numbers for the lower wings, upper wings, and body of each butter?y. Note that on most hexagons the same yarn shade is used for the lower wings, upper wings and body and only one shade number is given for the butter?y. On a small number of hexagons the upper wings are worked in a different colour. These differences are marked with a yellow number on the quilt map.

Meadow Cowl Neck Sweater

Meadow Crew Neck Sweater

Meadow Vest

 Homecoming

"The projects in this chapter celebrate a return to my original passion for expressing my art through knitting. I've always seen myself as an artist and as an artisan – equally happy working with a paintbrush, paper, clay or yarn – and knitting is where everything comes together for me: art, making, friendship and my love of the landscape."

Yarn:
Tukuwool DK

Homecoming Flower Garden Cushion

Homecoming Geo Cushion

Homecoming Hat & Gloves

Homecoming Long Cushion

Homecoming Throw

Homecoming Wrap

Garden City

"I’ve always been very inspired by the creativity, ingenuity and craftsmanship embodied by the Arts & Crafts movement and by the Garden City pioneers in the early twentieth century. My work draws on that heritage and the beauty and wonder of the natural world.

My Garden City motifs began life on a special collection of ceramic tiles and they’re a celebration of the wonderful florals and geometric patterns in nature. The designs are a lovely way of bringing the outside in and – very much in keeping with the Garden City movement – of being able to enjoy a little bit of the natural world whether you live in the city or the countryside."

Yarn:
Di Gilpin, Lalland DK

Garden City Geo Cushion

Garden City Patchwork Cushion

Garden City Patchwork Quilt

Garden City Seedhead Cushion

Garden City Wrap

• 192 pages
• 20 colourwork knitting patterns (9 cushions, 3 wraps, 3 quilts, 2 sweaters, 1 vest, 1 hat, 1 pair of gloves)
• A fold-out map for the Butterfly Patchwork Quilt
• Available in English.
• Hardback
• Weight: Approx. 700 g / 1.6 lb