Elizabeth Zimmermann
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Zimmermann was a British-born
knitter
known for revolutionizing the modern practice of knitting through her books and instructional series on American public television.
Though knitting back and forth on rigid straight needles was the norm, she advocated knitting in the round
using flexible circular needles to produce seamless garments and to make it easier to knit intricate patterns. She also advocated the Continental knitting method, claiming that it is the most efficient and quickest way to knit. During World War II
, German or continental knitting fell out of favor in the UK and US due to its association with Germany. Many English-language books on knitting are in the English or American style. Elizabeth Zimmermann helped to re-introduce continental style knitting to the United States.
and Germany
. Her autobiographical "Digressions" in the book Knitting Around reprinted many of her original artworks alongside the text. Zimmermann learned to knit first from her mother and aunts (English Style
) and then later from her Swiss governess (German or Continental Style).
.
seen in an American magazine (Vogue Knitting). (While it may have been the first item knitted, another pattern had been published 2 years previously. The pattern for which EZ knitted the model was published in Vogue Pattern Book in 1958, while a collection of patterns for men's and women's Aran sweaters with matching socks and mittens, entitled "Hand Knits from the Aran Islands," was published in a 1956 issue of Woman's Day Magazine.)
According to her posthumously published book The Opinionated Knitter, a yarn-company editor altered Zimmermann's circular knitting instructions for a Fair Isle Yoke pullover after she submitted the sweater, rendering it in the back-and-forth "flat" knitting method that was more popular among American knitters at the time. This alteration led Zimmermann to begin to publish her own instructions as Wool Gatherings.
-- as she said in her book Knitter's Almanac, "the geometry of the circle hing[es] on the mysterious relationship of the circumference of a circle to its radius. A circle will double its circumference in infinitely themselves-doubling distances, or, in knitters' terms, the distance between the increase-rounds, in which you double the number of stitches, goes 3, 6, 12, 24 and so on." The shawl is not, however, based on Pi
in any special way, but only on the property common to all two-dimensional shapes in Euclidean geometry
that all dimensions increase by the same factor at the same rate; the circular shape is simply created by regularly spacing the increases). Zimmermann is also known for the "i-cord" (or "idiot cord"), and the "Baby Surprise Jacket," which is knitted completely flat and then folded, origami-style, to create a shaped jacket.
She also founded a series of Knitting Camps that continue to this day under her daughter's direction.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
knitter
Knitting
Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth or other fine crafts. Knitted fabric consists of consecutive rows of loops, called stitches. As each row progresses, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can...
known for revolutionizing the modern practice of knitting through her books and instructional series on American public television.
Though knitting back and forth on rigid straight needles was the norm, she advocated knitting in the round
Circular knitting
Circular knitting or knitting in the round is a form of knitting that creates a seamless tube. When knitting circularly, the knitting is cast on and the circle of stitches is joined. Knitting is worked in rounds in a spiral. Originally, circular knitting was done using a set of four or five...
using flexible circular needles to produce seamless garments and to make it easier to knit intricate patterns. She also advocated the Continental knitting method, claiming that it is the most efficient and quickest way to knit. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, German or continental knitting fell out of favor in the UK and US due to its association with Germany. Many English-language books on knitting are in the English or American style. Elizabeth Zimmermann helped to re-introduce continental style knitting to the United States.
Early life
Born in England as Elizabeth Lloyd-Jones, she attended art schools in SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Her autobiographical "Digressions" in the book Knitting Around reprinted many of her original artworks alongside the text. Zimmermann learned to knit first from her mother and aunts (English Style
English knitting
English knitting, also known as right-hand knitting or throwing, is a style of Western knitting where the yarn to be knit into the fabric is carried in the right hand...
) and then later from her Swiss governess (German or Continental Style).
Business
EZ (as she is known among knitters) eventually migrated to the United States with her new husband, German brewery master Arnold Zimmermann. The Zimmermanns initially settled in New York and eventually moved across country, finally settling in Wisconsin in a converted schoolhouse which would become home to Schoolhouse Press, a mail-order knitting business still based in the schoolhouse and run by her daughter Meg SwansenMeg Swansen
Meg Swansen is a renowned knitting designer, owner of Schoolhouse Press and the daughter of Elizabeth Zimmermann. Similar to her mother, she has helped to popularize knitting and is a well-respected author and knitting teacher, especially at her knitting retreats...
.
Initiatives
Zimmermann is credited with knitting the first example of an Aran sweaterAran sweater
The Aran sweater is a style of jumper/sweater that takes its name from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. It is sometimes known as a fisherman sweater...
seen in an American magazine (Vogue Knitting). (While it may have been the first item knitted, another pattern had been published 2 years previously. The pattern for which EZ knitted the model was published in Vogue Pattern Book in 1958, while a collection of patterns for men's and women's Aran sweaters with matching socks and mittens, entitled "Hand Knits from the Aran Islands," was published in a 1956 issue of Woman's Day Magazine.)
According to her posthumously published book The Opinionated Knitter, a yarn-company editor altered Zimmermann's circular knitting instructions for a Fair Isle Yoke pullover after she submitted the sweater, rendering it in the back-and-forth "flat" knitting method that was more popular among American knitters at the time. This alteration led Zimmermann to begin to publish her own instructions as Wool Gatherings.
US television
Zimmermann's PBS knitting series is still available on VHS and DVD. In one episode, a police officer (and friend of the family) pulled Zimmermann and her husband over for "knitting without a license." (Always knitting, she'd even developed the ability to knit while on the back of her husband's motorcycle.) In The Opinionated Knitter, Zimmermann's daughter Meg notes that while her mother wanted to call her first book The Opinionated Knitter, her publishers changed it to Knitting Without Tears. However, the former perhaps best expresses Zimmermann's knitting philosophy. In all her published works (print and video), she encouraged knitters to experiment and develop their own patterns and ideas, letting their latent creativity unfold.EPS system
Her "EPS" (Elizabeth's Percentage System) is still widely used by designers: it consists of a mathematical formula to determine how many stitches to cast on for a sweater, given that the sleeves and body are usually proportionate no matter what yarn or gauge is used.Original patterns
Other patterns and techniques for which she is well known are the so-called "Pi Shawl," a circular shawl that Zimmermann claimed was formed by regularly spaced increases based on PiPi
' is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter. is approximately equal to 3.14. Many formulae in mathematics, science, and engineering involve , which makes it one of the most important mathematical constants...
-- as she said in her book Knitter's Almanac, "the geometry of the circle hing[es] on the mysterious relationship of the circumference of a circle to its radius. A circle will double its circumference in infinitely themselves-doubling distances, or, in knitters' terms, the distance between the increase-rounds, in which you double the number of stitches, goes 3, 6, 12, 24 and so on." The shawl is not, however, based on Pi
Pi
' is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter. is approximately equal to 3.14. Many formulae in mathematics, science, and engineering involve , which makes it one of the most important mathematical constants...
in any special way, but only on the property common to all two-dimensional shapes in Euclidean geometry
Euclidean geometry
Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to the Alexandrian Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described in his textbook on geometry: the Elements. Euclid's method consists in assuming a small set of intuitively appealing axioms, and deducing many other propositions from these...
that all dimensions increase by the same factor at the same rate; the circular shape is simply created by regularly spacing the increases). Zimmermann is also known for the "i-cord" (or "idiot cord"), and the "Baby Surprise Jacket," which is knitted completely flat and then folded, origami-style, to create a shaped jacket.
She also founded a series of Knitting Camps that continue to this day under her daughter's direction.
Death
Zimmermann was the first knitter to be honored with a full obituary and article in the New York Times titled "E. Zimmermann Is Dead at 89; Revolutionized Art of Knitting." It appeared on Sunday, December 12, 1999. Her motto was "Knit on with confidence and hope, through all crises."External links
- Schoolhouse Press Started by Elizabeth Zimmermann in 1958
- Remembering Elizabeth... from Knitting Universe Magazine
- The Influence of Elizabeth Zimmermann and School House Press An online catalog of the University of Wisconsin Design Center October 2006 Exhibition.
- Elizabeth Zimmermann: A Tribute to 50 Years of Inspiration at Vogue Knitting