Invisible Threads in Knitting

by Annemor Sundbo

A Knitting book for anyone interested in culture and anyone who likes to knit.
The book uses knitting memories, the language of symbols, folk beliefs, and leftover yarns as the exciting means of traveling into the world of knitting techniques.
There is a magic in these patterns which conjure up all sorts of forms and figures just by using two needles and garter stitch.

Genres: Knitting, Nonfiction, Crafts

193 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Variety

[Unionpearl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annemor Sundbø’s Invisible Threads in Knitting (translated into English by Carol Huebscher Rhoades) is a charming history of Norwegian knitting and cultural traditions. Sundbø owned a wool recycling factory in Norway, and saved countless mittens, socks and sweaters from the shredding machine. She ponders the lives of each piece of knitting from its origin (knit lovingly by hand), through the first phase of home recycling (re-fashioning as needed into new garments). She follows socks and sweaters as they begin to unravel and imagines them re-made into mittens, slippers, even underwear. But it was only when they finally reached the end of their useful lives that she got ahold of them---when these enduring pieces were consigned to the wool stripper to become shoddy, and made into batting for comforters.
See also: Sundbø, Annemor. Everyday Knitting: Treasures from a Rag Pile (Kristiansand : Torridal Tweed, 2000).

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an truly amazing book that I found at the Sellwood library branch. It combines history, anthropology and knitting. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in either knitting or Norwegian culture.