The Machine Knitter’s Reference: A Blueprint for Improving You Knitting

A reference work for machine knitters, this easy-to-follow, visually rich guide to innovative knit design transmits the authors’ distinct love for and expertise in the craft of machine knitting and their profound knowledge of knitting techniques.

This reference work for machine knitters by the late Beleke den Hartog, co-founder of The Dutch School of Machine Knitting, Studio den Hartog in the Hague, and Elsbeth van Heyningen, who co-headed with Beleke the Department of Fashion and Textile at The Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, leads knitters to an in-depth understanding of knitting construction. A handbook for the upcoming generation of knitting designers, Machine Knitter’s Reference is a tutorial and visual book of few words, but rich in illustrations, graphics, and photos, that can be understood by everyone. This easy-to-follow guide to innovative knit design picks up where, once the basics of machine knitting are mastered, follow up questions arise, such as: shaping 2- or 3-dimensional forms, shaping the outside, creating volume from the inside, and giving structure to a knit. It explores methods of shaping where stitches remain on the needle or are transferred to adjacent needles, as well as variations in edging the knitting, always considering what the finished product needs to convey. Moreover, the book uses different methods of calculating and designing, including graphs, formulas, and technical drawings, all enhanced by fun sketches depicting the authors in lively discussion creating the book. The calculations in the book are not according to arithmetic principles or software solutions, but are based on the use of a knitting machine and knitting technology. Ingenious alternative solutions are included in all four chapters, each of which uses a different yarn colour and a specific language. Thorough yet playful, this book transmits the authors’ distinct love for the craft of machine knitting and their profound knowledge of all knitting techniques. Offering insight for digital application, the book is a preliminary sketch (a blueprint) with many opportunities to elaborate on it. There is no single way to achieve the result; and the authors make it clear that solutions are always a personal choice.

In 1985, the late Beleke den Hartog and her mother founded the Dutch School of Machine Knitting, Studio den Hartog in The Hague. The system they worked with was based on the first Dutch School of Machine Knitting in the fifties. In 1988 they invested in a digital software applicable for apparel and pattern knitting, guiding machine knitting into the digital era. Beleke began working at the KABK (The Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, Netherlands) as a knitting expert teaching sewing and embroidery and became in 1998, the Workshop Manager for Fashion and Textile. Alongside running the workshop, between 2008-2011, she gave machine knitting lessons at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam (Netherlands).

After concluding her studies in Monumental Textile Design at The Rietveld Academy of Art in Amsterdam (Netherlands), Elsbeth van Heyningen taught textile techniques to amateurs and professionals at the Centre of Art Education MK24 in Amsterdam. She began at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK), The Hague, Netherlands as a weaving and dyeing expert and it was while working there that she developed her tufting technique. Her independent and ingenious approach to knitting resulted in unexpected results, reflected, for example, in the Diamond knitting pattern presented in the book. Together with Bekele van Hartog she developed the textile painting Royal Colour Lab system and the Laser engraving technique and sublimation print