Knitting it together: A case study of a sweater

As a widely practiced craft, knitting provides an excellent medium for study of the dynamic of individual expression within group standards. When knitting garments, artists balance the desire to make a personal statement against shared notions of what constitutes a "good" garment. Knitters work with the standards of two different groups in mind: those who make garments and those who wear them. In this article, a fiber artist in northern New York reveals her criteria for excellence in fiber work through one sweater made as a birthday gift for a friend. By describing the sweater and the decisions entailed in making it, the artist articulates aesthetic and technical preferences and relates them to the preferences of those around her. The sweater embodies the values of friendship and simple living embraced by many fiber artists.