by Carol Meldrum
Dive into the Olympics with Knitlympics! This fantastic new book lets you knit all your favourite sporting heroes and heroines, past and present. Whether you’re a fan of athletics, swimming or gymnastics there is a project for you.
Includes patterns for 20 Olympic icons, from ancient Greece to London 2012. You don’t have to be athletic to knit your own lighting-fast Usain Bolt, mustachioed Mark Spitz or sparrow-like Olga Korbut. Additional patterns for basic sports kit mean that you can knit any athlete you like, ensuring that no one is left out. You can even join in on the opening of the games by knitting your own Olympic torch and go for the gold by knitting Olympic medals, a podium and of course a coveted ticket. A techniques section for novice knitters means that everyone can take part.
Click here for an exclusive free Steve Redgrave pattern download!
Also by Carol Meldrum: Knitted Icons.
Going for Gold!
A note from author Carol Meldrum
I jumped at the chance to work with the team at Collins & Brown again on a doll-based book. Having learnt so much on the previous projects I was up for the challenge of Knitlympics.
At the top of my list was giving slightly more definition between the male and female doll athletes, but doing this in a way that didn’t over-complicate anything, while making sure it was still accessible to all skill levels. Once I was happy with the basic doll pattern and we had worked out which sporting heroes to include, I roped in my fantastic team of knitters (Mum and Auntie) while I concentrated on researching each character and creating the outfits.
With the wonders of the internet and all the information a click away it was relatively easy getting hold of images to work from. Some of the images were in black and white so a little extra bit of hunting was required to find the correct colours for Fanny Blankers and Jesse Owens. There were also a few characters included that I had not heard of, such as swimmer Mark Spitz, who was actually one of my favourites to make. Apparently the Burt Reynolds-esque moustache started out as a joke but he decided to keep it! Just as well, as it is a show-stopping image that really makes you smile. Most of the outfits are adaptations of the same pattern, with slight tweaks and changes to fit into the sport. The ladies leotard is split in half to make the shorts and vest pattern for Zola Budd and Carolina Kluft. I must admit I was slightly worried when doing Chris Hoy that I was going to be asked to create a knitted bike – now that would really have been a challenge!
It has been a real treat putting everything together for Knitlympics and paying homage to some of the world’s sporting heroes. I remember watching the nail biting battle between Seb Coe and Steve Ovett when I was a kid and never once imagined that I would one day be recreating that moment through the medium of knit. I hope you have as much fun as I did making the characters and accessories to celebrate London 2012.
