The Culture of Knitting [Hardcover]

From booties and scarves to art and fashion, The Culture of Knitting addresses knitting as art, craft, design, fashion and performance, and as an aspect of the everyday. Drawing on a variety of sources, including interviews with knitters from different disciplines as well as amateurs, the text breaks down hierarchical boundaries and stereotypical assumptions that have previously negated the academic study of knitting. The book also highlights the diversity and complexity of knitting in all its guises.

The Culture of Knitting investigates not merely why knitting is so popular now but also the reasons why knitting has such longevity. By assessing the literature of knitting, manuals, patterns, social and regional histories, alongside testimonial discussions with artists, designers, craftspeople and amateurs, the book offers new ways of seeing and new methods of critiquing knitting - without the constraints of disciplinary boundaries - in the hope of creating an environment in which knitting can be valued, recognized and discussed.

Introduction * Chapter One: Knitting: a gendered pursuit? * Chapter Two: Knitting the Past:: Revivalism, Romanticism and Ruralism in Contemporary Knitting * Chapter Three: Twisted Yarns: Post-modern Knitting * Chapter Four: Unravelling the Surface  Unhomely Knitting * Chapter Five: In the Loop? Knitting Narratives, Biographies and Identities * Chapter Six: Knit Power - The Politics of Knitting * Conclusion: The World is Full of Ugly Jumpers * Bibliography