Behind the Idea:  Knitter’s Compass

Behind the Idea: Knitter’s Compass

It’s show season, and I’ve been getting tons of questions at my booth about the Knitter's Compass.

It’s one of those things that if you don’t look closely, or if you’re not a knitter, you might not get it.

 

You all know I like outdoorsy stuff, so when coming up with this idea, I thought a lot about symbols for the outdoors and what could be applied to knitting as well.  A compass was the obvious choice because knitting is all about the journey, right?  I love a finished object, but half the fun of knitting is casting on and actually making something.  It’s the process, not always the final destination, that can be the most soothing and satisfying.  A compass just seemed to be the perfect compliment to that idea.

I like to "knit-ify" objects, so the obvious first choice was to substitute the compass needle for a knitting needle. After that I started thinking about opposites. You know, North/South. Knit/purl.  Cast on/bind off.

 I think my favorite part, though, is one of the details that a lot of people don’t notice until I point it out to them. The numbers running along the edge of the compass are all knitting needle sizes instead of degrees. The best part is the tiny 10 1/2.

What knitting journey are you currently on?

 

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