KNITTING UP DULWICH ROAD

I’m sticking with the Lido, because the window grille is a lovely piece of ageing municipal ironwork, with curlicues that seem at odds with the clean, monumental brickwork. I guess they were in place when the Lido opened in 1937, although I can’t find any contemporary images of the outside of the building from Dulwich Road. Whatever the case, the grille offers an opportunity to have some fun with ideas for knitting.

My first thought was to use a simple zigzag lace-work pattern, just to give a feel of ironwork. I may go for that if more ambitious ideas prove impossible, but it feels pretty boring. Instead I’ve found two interesting openwork patterns in 250 Japanese Knitting Stitches that I’d like to try out.

The first has a line that winds around groups of bobbles which might represent the curlicues quite well. (If you have the book, it’s pattern 42 on page 45.) I can’t include an image from the book because it’s under copyright, so I’ve done my best to trace around the knitted sample in the photo. (Rubbish tracing – was rushing to finish; the columns on far left and right, and in the middle, should all be the same.) The dots are holes.

I’ve added a pink line to the image on the right, to show an adaptation I’d like to try that would follow the ironwork more closely. I’ve never played around with an openwork stitch before, so I have no idea if it’s possible and, if it is, whether I have the skill to do it. Another adaptation would be to stagger the swirls, but that might pull the whole thing out of shape. Only one way to find out. I’ll knit a small sample of the original pattern, to learn it. Then, if I like it, I’ll try the adaptations.

The second pattern is too intricate to trace and I wouldn’t be able to adapt it so I will just knit it up. If you have the book, it is pattern 5 on page 31.

I’m looking forward to working towards this square.