Author(s): Claire Montgomerie

Crafts

The contemporary trend for retro-inspired fashion and vintage clothing is often overlooked in modern knitting patterns and many of today's knitters are frustrated by the limited availability of challenging patterns using interesting shapes and stitches, which is why so many are turning to vintage patterns. Unlike others knitting books based on copying vintage patterns, however, "Knitting Vintage" aims to reinvent retro patterns for modern fashion trends. Divided into chapters according to eras, there are approximately five knitting projects per decade, from the 1900s to the 1980s - the last time that handknitting was popular with the masses and before runway trends were so readily available and affordable. Mood boards provide illustrations, photographs, materials and colourways that were used as inspiration for the projects. A beautifully illustrated publication with a nostalgic feel, the book has a foot firmly in the present. Each project uses modern yarns but encourages the use of vintage accessories and notions, with listings of where to source them. The patterns are for more experienced knitters, but there will be a range of skill levels involved to encourage newer knitters to progress and learn new (or old!) techniques.