What better combination is there than knitting and books? For the past few years, McGill librarians Jacquelyn Sundberg and Kristen Howard have been creating knitting patterns inspired by McGill Library’s rare and special collections. On this snowy April 4th, the library launched a new pattern: The Grammar of Ornament Gloves. The pattern is freely available. See it on Ravelry or download the pdf.
Whether your craft is knitting, embroidery, crochet, colour, or architecture, the sourcebook, The Grammar of Ornament (1856) might inspire! Written by Welsh architect Owen Jones, the Elephant folio edition is an ode to architectural ornament and decoration from around the globe. With richly coloured chromolithograph plates, this work is full of material for every pattern designer or artist.
You can watch the event recording on YouTube to learn more about Owen Jones, creating The Grammar of Ornament, and creating a knitting pattern based on that book. Kristen Howard and Veronica Bergston provide historical context on knitting in the 19th century, and a useful introduction to knitting resources available to all via the McGill Library Collections.
This is the fourth knitting pattern inspired by our library collections. See below for links. We would love to see your finished objects if you make a project!
Knitting Patterns inspired by McGill’s Collections
- Grammar of Ornament Gloves PDF Pattern
- Manuscript Cowl PDF Pattern
- Secret Message Pillow Cover PDF Pattern
- Halidrys Cowl PDF Pattern
Knitting Resources at McGill
- The Creative Outreach Toolkit is a guide that summarizes knitting resources, search tips for images and pattern inspiration, and tools to plan your own knitting events should you want to!
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