Tessa Lorant's place in the history of knitting is explained in the seminal A HISTORY OF HAND KNITTING, Richard Rutt (Batsford 1987)
A few excerpts from that book:
Tessa Lorant is one of the small number of women in
England
who bring a mathematically trained mind to their knitting. She has also a flair
for reviving nineteenth-century patterns and reediting them…
...when she went to
university in 1947 she read mathematics. Her tutor was both a keen geometer and
a keen hand knitter, who interested her pupil in the topological
characteristics of knitted loops...
...She became a computer programmer. Interest in computers led her to machine knitting...
THE BATSFORD BOOK OF HAND AND MACHINE KNITTING
This book provides a survey of knitting from the simplest of
handknitted stitches to the most sophisticated of domestic knitting machines.
The emphasis is on encouraging the reader to explore modern
techniques, and to make individual and original clothes, furnishings and wall
hangings by the simplest and quickest methods. There are hints on easy ways of
making up — often a much neglected aspect of producing a knitted garment, but
crucial to the final outcome.
THE BATSFORD BOOK OF HAND & MACHINE KNITTED LACES
The outstanding art of knitting lace can be practised by
hand or machine or, better still, by a combination of the two. There is wide
scope for the use of knitted lace, including fashion, furnishings, hangings,
trimmings for linen, accessories, nets, edgings or insertions and room
dividers.
The techniques are not difficult to master, and the
selection of modern knitted lace illustrated in the book shows the high
standards that can be attained.
The techniques needed to knit lace are carefully explained.
The reader is also shown how to combine different laces, how to make the
appropriate seams and joins and, most important of all, how to dress and starch
the finished lace to bring out its full beauty.
YARNS FOR TEXTILE CRAFTS
For anyone working in textile crafts, the range of yarns
offered — in terms of texture, colour, and fibre quality and content — often
seems overwhelming. This book helps to make the choice an informed on for both
newcomers and advanced crafters.
Tips are included on how to
·Decipher the often difficult code of
industrially packaged yarn
·Accurately compare yarn prices
·Combine fine industrial yarns to create your own
individual, thick ones
·Reuse previously knitted or crocheted yarns
·Turn an ‘unsuitable’ yarn into a unique design
element
The book features a conversion table which makes it simple
to convert from any of the yarn measuring systems in current use to a more
familiar one.
The Silver Gauge, described
under Knitting Aids, is an invaluable
tool for finding the gauge of a yarn and so being able to substitute yarns
given in patterns.
Knitting Books
