Those of you who may follow me on my personal social media may know that in addition to comics (and a few other hobbies), I’m also an avid knitter. So when “Knitstrips,” a book of knitting patterns in the style of a comic book, both sides of my brain became intrigued. But does it fulfill both the Knitter Kate and the Comic Book Lover Kate?
Cover by Michele PhillipsWritten by Alice Ormsbee Beltran and Karen Kim Mar
Illustrated by Laura Irrgang and Michele PhillipsThe world’s first comic-strip knitting book, Knitstrips presents 22 original patterns, boundless humor, and seriously appealing knitting instruction
Inspired, original, and laugh-out-loud funny, knitstrips are patterns and knitting instruction mixed with advice and humorous commentary—and presented in illustrated comic book panels. Launched in 2016 on the mega-popular knitting site Modern Daily Knitting, the strips gained instant popularity and have attracted thousands of avid fans. The book includes 22 brand-new patterns and is designed to mimic a bound collection of comic books in a series: each “issue” with its own cover and wry theme—from yarn stashes to binge knitting—that is close to the heart of knitters. Issues offer four to six knitting patterns each, plus designer highlights and a variety of stories and technical discussions. The result is a fresh, lively knitting adventure that is like nothing the fiber world has seen before.
Unless you’re Albus Dumbledore, reading knitting patterns is not as scintillating as, for example, the newest Bridgerton novel. And with a plethora of ways to get knitting patterns (magazines, digital downloads, designing a pattern yourself), as well as digital tools to store and view those patterns, publishing a print knitting pattern book is almost a lost art for a niche audience. The way to succeed is, as the song from the musical Gypsy goes, “you gotta have a gimmick.” Enter the combination of knitting and comic strips, which first appeared on the website Modern Daily Knitting in 2016. (I guess you can call these the first knitting webcomics.) There’s something about this combination that has potential to work. Often knitting patterns are text, with the occasional chart if the pattern is complicated enough, schematics and measurements, and a couple of photographs of the finished item so you can see what the fruits of your labors should look like. And all that is really . . . kind of dry.
Now “Knitstrips” gives you all of this, but also adds in a bit of humor, as if you are looking inside the knitter’s or designer’s brain in the creation process. All those standards of knitting patterns are present throughout the 22 patterns in this book, but also some fun commentary and humor. Word bubbles capturing the frustrations at trying to calculate border depth on a shawl. (If you have ever wondered “will I use algebra/geometry again after high school?” come be a knitter. Trust me, you will.) Panels that let you see texture up close in a hat. Plenty of word bubbles of encouragement in a sweater pattern that is simple enough to be your first adult sweater, if you’ve never done an adult sweater before. The comic strip format also lends itself to work-in-progress illustrations for patterns, to help you not feel hopelessly lost. (It also helps that these are fairly simple patterns, good for all skill levels.) Adding to the fun and whimsy, the patterns themselves are grouped into four sections that each have their own comic book cover, very similar to some of the Marvel covers of yore. The comic influences remain strong (if perhaps just a bit dated), especially if you look at some of the original Knitstrips patterns on Modern Daily Knitting, which look more like illustrated patterns than comic strips.
Don’t expect any Zdarksy-style nine panel grids or experiments in negative space in “Knitstrips.” Each pattern is presented in a consistent layout of six panels per page, similar to Golden or Silver Age comics. The primer at the front of the book provides you a key to the symbols you see in each panel as well as reading instructions (left to right, top to bottom). The art itself combines flat heavy inks (like those Golden and Silver Age comics), but uses color to add depth and dimension in subtle ways, particularly on faces. While it would have been fun to see patterns experiment with breaking some artistic boundaries, we must remember that the comic is the medium to the message – – in this case, the pattern – – and that medium needs to be as clear and as accessible as possible to all skill levels.
“Knitstrips” isn’t just about the patterns. There are anecdotes about the knitting world sprinkled in between the patterns, stories about yarn bombing, designer’s yarn picks for their patterns. If there was any place to show off what the illustrators on this book could do, it would be in these sections, as they’re not meant to be read in in the instructive manner. And there is some fun with different fonts, lighter pencils, negative space, and panel shapes, breaking up the pattern sections very well. The comics reader in me wanted to see something more, perhaps less telling and more showing, as this is already a text heavy book from the patterns themselves.
The simplicity in comic book style and text-heavy script may not make your favorite knitter a comic book fan. But if your favorite comic book fan is looking for a unique way to learn to knit, or up their knitting game, this could be a way to get the best of both worlds.
