Illusion Knitting - The Dude

Thank you for seeking more information on my knitted piece, The Dude Illusion.

Creating a more joyful world through Illusion Knits™ is my mission. Illusion Knits™ surprise and delight by inviting the viewer into a personal interaction with the artwork. Although I have been creating fiber art for decades in many mediums and with many techniques, I find that I am uniquely drawn to illusion knitting. The endless fascination of mystery and revelation inherent in this form evokes intense responses from viewers. The pieces seem to create an environment that encourages and allows observers to experience an almost childlike openness to uncertainty, curiosity, discovery and joyful surprise. This highly unusual textile presents a wonderful opportunity for individuals and institutions to place art in their environment that can provide personal enjoyment as well as represent their passions and personalities in an unfailingly delightful and engaging way.

What is Illusion Knitting?

Illusion knitting, also known as shadow knitting, has been around for a long time. It is a technique that utilizes the structure of knitted stitches, and 2 colors of yarn, to create an image which, when viewed from directly in front, appears to be mostly just vertical stripes of alternating colors. However, as the viewer physically changes their location further to the side of the piece, the previously hidden image comes into sharper focus.

How is the Illusion created?

What makes this possible is the structure of the stitches. In knitting there are 2 kinds of stitches, a knit stitch, and a purl stitch. When one knit stitch follows another knit stitch, the surface is smooth and flat. When a knit stitch is followed by a purl stitch, the stitches push against each other and form a raised bump.

By combining the flat surfaces with the raised surfaces it is possible to create an effect similar to a tiny mountain range. When you look straight down, you see the colors, but don't perceive the heights of the mountains, But viewed increasingly from the side, some of the mountains block your view of the valleys, and you see the color of the mountain, but not the color in the valley.

Thus, the Illusion.

Why does it look like there are 3 colors in the Illusion image, even though the stripes are only in 2 colors?

There is a second illusion in my Illusion Knits™. By combining successive "mountains" of alternating colors, the eye perceives a blend of the 2 colors, essentially allowing me to design my images in 3 colors, even though only 2 colors of yarn are used.

Part of what I bring to this old style of knitting is a graphic design procedure that allows me to create these 3 color images, which I then translate into graphs that are in only 2 colors. A white square on the graph represents a knitted stitch, and a black square represents a purled stitch. There is no representation in the pattern for color. It is alternated every 2 rows.

How long does it take to create one of my Illusion Knits™?

There is a great deal of design work that goes into one of my Illusion Knits™ before any knitting is even involved. Depending on the complexity of the design, it can take anywhere from half a day to 3-4 days to complete the graphic design to my satisfaction and then create the special pattern that can be read by my knitting machine.

I then load that pattern into my knitting machine, which will automatically select the correct needles for every single knit and purl stitch. The knitting machine works in much the same way as a loom does, as it selects which warp threads will be raised or lowered for every pass of the weft thread that is woven in. Just as with the loom, operating the knitting machine remains a very hands-on affair, to make certain that every stitch comes out correctly. The huge advantage of using the knitting machine for this type of knitting is that the machine will always select the correct needle position for every stitch on every row. In the case of the Dude Illusion, that amounted to nearly 40,000 stitches. To knit this piece by hand would mean referring to a black and white graph, 200 squares wide and 400 squares tall, where every single row requires a different selection of knit and purl stitches. Not only would the time involved be nearly overwhelming, but the likelihood of errors is very high.

The production phase of a project includes roughly 20 hours of machine time (excluding time spent repairing errors from things like broken yarn), and additional time for materials choices, acquisition, and preparation; finishing; and framing. All told, the production time is typically 1-2 weeks in addition to the design time.

How can I purchase my own Illusion Knit™?

I can create an Illusion Knit™ for you from a custom image, and in the colors of your choice. Contact me for pricing and details.