How to knit your home
We are living in a new Age of Austerity – financial times are tough and budgets are often straightened. But that doesn’t mean we can’t give our homes a vibrant makeover. We can even do so without even having to visit a shop – and with little more than a pair of knitting needles, a ball of wool and a little patience.
Clockwise from top left: Update a chair with a colourful cover. Adapt the pattern to fit any chair of similar style and pick a colour to suit your room; chunky cables will accentuate the curve and texture of a lampshade; chic and understated, this cable cuff adds style to a simple vase
For a dazzling new book by Melanie Porter provides the patterns for 30 knitted home accessories, from a flower-vase cosy and an upright chair to a cable rug, a footstool and a honeycomb pillow. In fact, Hand-Knit YourHome provides even the most novice knitter with all they need to breathe fresh, inexpensive, life into their home, whether it’s traditional, contemporary or something in between.
After studying at London’s famous Central Saint Martin’s College, Porter spent 10 years as a knitwear designer for a number of fashion houses before starting her own knitted homewares brand. It proved a huge success and now inspires and informs the patterns in her book.
From left: Create functional and interesting rope-knit basket using giant knitting needles; reinvent a traditional footstall with a contemporary, colour-block version
‘I am inspired and excited by the process of hand-knitting itself,’ she says, ‘and like to challenge the materials and scale used. In Hand- Knit Your Home, you will find projects to be made from rope, wool, bamboo, and mohair. Each material gives a completely different feel, from the contemporary to more classic styles.’
And it’s easier than you think. There’s even a comprehensive guide towards the back of the book, covering everything from knittingneedle sizes and weights and lengths, to crochet and felting techniques. In fact, even if you’ve never picked up a pair of needles in your life, it’s enough to make you want to go knitty.
Clockwise from left: This honeycomb pillow case adds both colour and texture, and working with one colour yarn at a time, it's easy to make; a chunky throw will decorate a sofa or add colour in the bedroom; revamp a vintage footstool with a bespoke honeycomb cover; keep out the drafts with a felted draft excluder. The cable pattern has a short repeat, so it's easy to pick up the rhythm; covering a vase with a knitted cosy is a great way to make it good-looking enough to keep on display, even when it has no flowers in it
Hand-Knit Your Home by Melanie Porter, with photography by Emma Mitchell, will be published by CICO Books on 14 March, priced £12.99.
Clockwise from top left: Update a chair with a colourful cover. Adapt the pattern to fit any chair of similar style and pick a colour to suit your room; chunky cables will accentuate the curve and texture of a lampshade; chic and understated, this cable cuff adds style to a simple vaseFor a dazzling new book by Melanie Porter provides the patterns for 30 knitted home accessories, from a flower-vase cosy and an upright chair to a cable rug, a footstool and a honeycomb pillow. In fact, Hand-Knit YourHome provides even the most novice knitter with all they need to breathe fresh, inexpensive, life into their home, whether it’s traditional, contemporary or something in between.
After studying at London’s famous Central Saint Martin’s College, Porter spent 10 years as a knitwear designer for a number of fashion houses before starting her own knitted homewares brand. It proved a huge success and now inspires and informs the patterns in her book.
From left: Create functional and interesting rope-knit basket using giant knitting needles; reinvent a traditional footstall with a contemporary, colour-block version‘I am inspired and excited by the process of hand-knitting itself,’ she says, ‘and like to challenge the materials and scale used. In Hand- Knit Your Home, you will find projects to be made from rope, wool, bamboo, and mohair. Each material gives a completely different feel, from the contemporary to more classic styles.’
And it’s easier than you think. There’s even a comprehensive guide towards the back of the book, covering everything from knittingneedle sizes and weights and lengths, to crochet and felting techniques. In fact, even if you’ve never picked up a pair of needles in your life, it’s enough to make you want to go knitty.
Clockwise from left: This honeycomb pillow case adds both colour and texture, and working with one colour yarn at a time, it's easy to make; a chunky throw will decorate a sofa or add colour in the bedroom; revamp a vintage footstool with a bespoke honeycomb cover; keep out the drafts with a felted draft excluder. The cable pattern has a short repeat, so it's easy to pick up the rhythm; covering a vase with a knitted cosy is a great way to make it good-looking enough to keep on display, even when it has no flowers in itHand-Knit Your Home by Melanie Porter, with photography by Emma Mitchell, will be published by CICO Books on 14 March, priced £12.99.