Creative Outreach Toolkit

• University of Southampton Knitting Reference Library: The Knitting Reference Library (KRL) includes the published works collected by Montse Stanley, Richard Rutt and Jane Waller. These comprise books, exhibition catalogues, knitting patterns, journals and magazines. 

  • Victorian Knitting Manuals: Digitized Victorian-era manuals on knitting from the Richard Rutt collection at the University of Southampton.

  • Related Knitting Sites: A list of knitting history sites, blogs, projects and collections curated by the Knitting reference library.

• Ravelry: (Login required) A free website for knitters, crocheters and fiber artists. A very useful network and database for finding knitting patterns, project inspiration, fibre inspiration and communities.

• Internet Archive: A non-profit library of millions of free books including knitting books. Searching the internet archive by keywords will return thousands of books, magazines spanning the 1800s to present day. Some items are public domain and freely available. Others can be freely borrowed from library collections.

• Victoria and Albert Collection: The V&A holds the British national collection of textiles and fashion, which includes more than 75,000 individual objects or sets of objects that span a period of more than 5,000 years, from Predynastic Egypt to the present day. Of note for Knitters

  • V and A 1940s knitting patterns: A selection of patterns from the 1940s contextualized and available for free download.

  • V and A make and Do section: A series of patterns and instructions to make items inspired by the Museum collections.

• Tutorials for knitting basics:

  • Very Pink Knits

• Beginner-friendly patterns:

  • Tin Can Knits, The Simple Collection (free patterns with tutorials)

• Fair isle/colourwork: 

  • Tin Can Knits, Anthology (free "recipe" pattern to create your own colourwork)

• Catching and managing floats:

  • Video tutorial from Chai Knuckles Knitting 

• Find all knitting patterns inspired by the McGill Library Collections here

Jacquelyn Sundberg, Outreach Librarian

jacquelyn.sundberg@mcgill.ca
@Wellsinton on Ravelry

Kristen Howard, Liaison Librarian
kristen.howard@mcgill.ca

@theclosestknit on Ravelry