Here’s a great video:
Both for its fascinating patterns from simple inputs, and sharing of a curiosity-driven process of exploring them.
Reminds me of the work of blackwork embroiderer and digital artist Toni Buckby’s work with Sean Cotterill “Sampler/Sampler”:
MAI-DAY Textile Elements Conversations – Pattern
Part three of a series of discussion around fundamental aspects of stitch practice
Jessica Ogden and Marcia Bennett-Male
hosted by Carol Tulloch and Amy Twigger Holroyd
Not sure if this is where I should share my own work. I’m hoping it’s suitable for this forum! I turn the letters of words into numbers, and graph those onto charts that can be used for making stitch patterns, usually after using various kinds of symmetry on them.
And then some of those I turn into lace knitting designs like this one:
I’ve never had any formal training, but have learned by doing and by reading various books and websites.
You can see my work on my website:
I’m always looking for more information to fill in the gaps of what I know about pattern design. The hazard of being self-taught is that I’m constantly at a loss for technical terminology, or I feel like I might be missing out on various design tools.
Welcome @gannet! Thanks for sharing your work, I really enjoyed reading through your blog. I especially enjoyed the post on the parity problem. It reminds me of looking at the chest of drawers in my room when I was young, and being a bit disturbed that the four drawers had only three gaps between them. Then I realised if you put things in a circle, they had the same number of gaps as things, much more satisfying! Still, I feel something fundamentally strange about the relationship between odd and even that I just can’t put my finger on. It’s a bit embarrassing sharing these kinds of thoughts as they’re so naive in a way, but I think it goes beyond just the mathematics to be about learning to feel and develop structure through craft.
Anyway I wondered if you already knew the work of Amy Twigger-Holroyd? Your thoughts on transitioning between odd and even parity reminded me of the the techniques she developed for e.g. transitioning between machine and handknit gauges, maybe there is some commonality?
Anyway you’ve encouraged me to pick up the knitting project I put down by the sofa a few years ago… I’d got a bit stuck on the lacework!
Hi @gannet! Writing to say I adore your blog! I dig your post on symmetry and asymmetry as well as the one on parity. I have recently been fascinated by the idea of chirality/chiral patterns in things (the opposite of parity?). Your work on knitting parity patterns is the closest I’ve found! (I’m not a physicist but I’m always fascinated by how crafting with yarn is helping me get closer to fields like math and physics).
I’m new to fibre arts (since 2020), and I’ve dabbled some in crochet and embroidery. I resonate with your nerdy yarn experiments as I’ve tried some on my own. I recently spoke about my own projects in a talk for the Open Hardware Summit 2022. I’d love to keep this conversation ongoing. Thanks for sharing your work and inspiring us!
Wow @anu1905, you’ve only been in fibre arts since 2020, and are already crocheting lenticular QR codes??
Thanks for sharing my project, Alex! Kind of you 
I never knew what I was getting into when I started that project, I’m happy it worked out the way it did!
I have to share this lovely ‘stitching life’ blog from Karen Turner (via Tanya → solderandchaos@mastodon.social)
e.g. I love the idea that you can still invent stitching as you go, despite this being such an ancient practice.
On a tangent I’m reminded of the Rabari embroidery in this short film Ulaṭbānsi/Zigzagging, on textile culture in contemporary India:
The stitching through the woven threads as a ground for counting and geometry… A scene-by-scene description here offers extra context.
I’m a big fan of the work of Toni Buckby mentioned earlier. She now has a website exploring blackwork embroidery patterns:
http://blackworkembroidery.org/
In case anyone is near Sheffield UK, she has an exhibition coming up next week:
I love the pattern series on this website. I wondered if the gold threadwork in the exhibition cover image is an e-textile component. I wish I could attend the exhibition to learn more about her process and research.
More stunning embroidery by Toni Buckby: Embroidery – Toni Buckby
