apparently bits and bobbins (that'd me me, and uh, the blog you're reading right now...) and wardrobe_remix were featured on threadbanger, "a web-based network for people who make their own clothing". how bad ass of a concept is that? a pretty freakin' cool one. here's the episode with yours truly in it.
http://threadbanger.com/embed/player
awesome!
i'm def. gonna check out the rest of the videos when time allows!
go, check 'em out!
thanks to the gorgeous and talented mallory, of the indie style blog miss malaprop whose recent blog post about her being featured on threadbanger brought this to my attention! big ups/thanks to threadbanger and mallory! (w/o her i would have had no idea!)
p.s. threadbanger's most recent video also mentions galadarling, who i've mentioned here before, quite recently. i mean it, go read! her blog is like an amazing fashion and lifestyle magazine that touches on everything from marriage to how to get a great tattoo, to defining what is chic, all from gala's irreverent and joyful perspective.
knit(ting)books
so, in addition to the collecting of old craft books, patterns, and pamphlets, i also fancy love to snap up choice new craft titles. i've just added a few new and interesting books to my collection, all having to do with knitting...
knitprovisation by cilla ramnek: not really so much a book of patterns, but more of a book of inspirations and ideas intended to inspire. the photographs inside are of children and teens and are shot in a very flat, interestingly flaw-filled way that reminds me of avant-garde arty fashion magazine shots, and the whole book sort of has a very european or japanese aesthetic, i'd suggest. sort of a wabi-sabi feel, perhaps? there's a sense of the ugly made beautiful in this book, which of course appeals to me personally: i am very often a champion of that which others might find offensive or declasse. in knitprovisation, ramnek often mixes found knit or crocheted textiles together to make "new" garments, or adds embellishments. the resulting garments have a very hand-hewn, folkloric, magpie sort of feel. this book probably won't appeal to everyone, especially those who have a very minimal sense of style or those who expect everything to be "perfect" and "beautiful" in the traditional sense, or people who want explicit instructions on how to make something. but it might appeal to those who "think outside the box" and innovate when it comes to the process of creating.
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fitted knits by stefanie japel: if you have been a knitter and have been bopping around the 'net for a few years, you probably know stefanie, the knitting maven who's the blogger and designer behind her line of patterns, called glampyre knits. by and large, her knits are extremely stylish, practical, wearable, flattering, and relatively easy to knit. most of her designs feature a super easy top down raglan-sleeve style construction which often features the inclusion of "darts" and other full-fashioning marks that serve to make her knits fit a woman's form exactly, in the way that darts and other shaping device work in wovens. what does this mean? no more boxy, unflattering knits. most of the designs have a minimal or classic feel, and at times a little Victorian sort of edge.
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twinkle's big city knits by wenlan chia: twinkle has become the go-to designer for chunky knitwear with a downtown feel. chia's new book is full of the aforementioned, in spades. all this chunk love has been illustrated in a dynamic mainstream fashion mag sort of way, with a lithe model leaping and writhing around for the camera to show off the giant-gauge goods. these big gauges aren't for everyone, but those knitters who embrace the bold might just be so brash. my favorite knit in the book? the "incredible skirt", with it's graduating color and organic feel.
edited to add on 3/2/2007: upon further examination of twinkle's new book, i noted that sizing only goes up to 34" (fitting up to a 37" bust, according to the sizing notes on page 78). shame on you, wenlan chia! i think your sizing scheme is out of touch with current average sizes of women and also a bit size-ist as well. a slightly wider range of sizes (perhaps up through 38 or 40?) would have been a smarter move on your part, and would perhaps make your beautiful book more salable in the long run, to a wider audience of fashionable knitters.
(old) inspirations
being an avid thrifter, lover of old objects and design, and a person always interested in fashion and form, i have long been a collector of vintage craft books, magazines, and pamphlets. stacks and stacks of the aforementioned clog my bookshelves, fit into magazine organizers, and boxes. it almost goes without saying that much of what came before makes sense in the context of today. my collection contains crafty goodness that hails from disparate decades that span from the sleek 1930s to the over-the-top 80s. somehow it all makes sense in the mixed up fashion soup that constantly cooks inside my brain.
i particularly love these crocheted collars from the 1930s! they look very staid in the photograph above, almost nun-like, but i can see them in riotously bright hues over a modern, almost 60s-esque tent-style or a-line dress, also in a bright color. perhaps colors that are eye-splittingly contrasting. something of that nature, as is my nature and my aesthetic.
more here: http://flickr.com/photos/pintuck/sets/72157594560308539/