WIPW – Draco Malfoy Illusion Knitting

I’m burning the midnight oil tonight, thinking about Draco Malfoy…actually, I have tonsilitis and am finding it impossible to fall asleep as everytime I get close to the brink, my mouth pops open, my tonsils dry out, and they start hurting again. I’ve taken a few paracetamol – hopefully they will sort me out and I’ll be well on my way to Bedfordshire soon. I’m hoping that writing this post about Draco Malfoy will help me by allowing me to lie in tomorrow morning a bit, as I will know I’ve already written it!

Draco Malfoy – Illusion Knitting

I know a lot of people won’t know what the heck illusion knitting is. I think it was invented by Steve Plummer – even if it wasn’t, he is the one who introduced it to me, and the most prolific creator of illusion knitting patterns on the web – that I know of.

View of the Thames (Copyright Woolly Thoughts)
View of the Thames (Copyright Woolly Thoughts)

Steve, and his company Woolly Thoughts, herald this rather mathematical way of knitting for good reason. It’s simply mind-boggling. The basic premise is that by following a pattern that creates stripes in two colours of yarn, with knit and purl stitches creating raised and depressed areas of colour, what appears at first sight to be a striped fabric will actually reveal a picture when viewed at an angle. Doesn’t make sense? I didn’t think so…here’s one I did earlier.

From the front...
From the front…
Viewed at an angle (isn't he beautiful?)
Viewed at an angle (isn’t he beautiful?)

I knit Harry Potter for Grumpy back in 2010 (I can’t believe it was so long ago!). He took me three months, and I knew that one day, Grumpy would want an arch-nemesis to adorn the wall next to Harry.

I started knitting Draco Malfoy in January…2012…and he is now little more than halfway done. The picture, while being incredible as an effect, takes a long time to knit – I rarely have ‘just knitting’ time, and usually all my crafty endeavours take place while I’m in the pub/on a train/chatting to someone in a cafe.

You just can’t do this with illusion knitting. One row is always all knit-stitch – but you have to count out blocks of numbers up to 90 for the return row, and it’s a pain when you get it wrong. Very antisocial when you break in the middle of a conversation for five minutes while you count, or very annoying when you miss your stop on the train because you were in the middle of a row. Yes, I have done that.

Draco Malfoy...Looks a bit strange, doesn't he?
Draco Malfoy…Looks a bit strange, doesn’t he?

I’m determined to finish Draco Malfoy before I cast on anything else – my wishlist is getting longer and I’m working harder than ever on finishing him. Here’s to praying that my journey home to Devon this weekend – twelve hours on a train – will see success!

Much love,

Corrie xx

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10 Responses to WIPW – Draco Malfoy Illusion Knitting

  1. Heather says:

    Wow! I love this (I also love Harry Potter!). I haven’t ever heard of this type of knitting before, but I am sure it would be something to really concentrate on! I bet you can make some really lovely artwork though!

  2. Wow the Harry Potter looks incredibly. The Malfoy, will, I’m sure, be it’s equal.

  3. Grumpy says:

    Woohoo, can’t wait :)

  4. Michelle says:

    This is such an impressive undertaking! I’ve seen illusion projects like this on Ravelry before, but I’ve never had the courage to attempt one. Harry looks fantastic. I’m sure Malfoy will be equally spectacular.

  5. Feel better soon! The illusion blankets and banners are always so awesome, but I once knit an illusion dishcloth and it just confused everyone. Maybe I need to hang around cleverer people?

    • Corrie says:

      That’s why I made it a wall-hanging! When she opened the Harry Potter it was a Christmas present and I made her do the whole transformation thing. It was fun!

  6. Ali says:

    I’d never heard of illusion knitting. You must be so patient. The finished effect is wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
    Ali x

  7. Congrats on Harry. Best wishes on Draco. and thanks for sharing the Thames pic. very very cool!

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