Unravel: Knitwear in fashion exhibition - Antwerp

While we were in Antwerp, we were lucky enough to stumble upon the Unravel exhibition about knitwear in the history of fashion being hosted by the Momu Fashion Museum.  I had no idea that the exhibition was on - it was just pure luck that we walked past the Musuem and I happened to notice a rather large piece of knitting hanging from the first level (as pictured above).  Of course I dragged boyfriend through the doors and immediately bought entry tickets.

Knitted orb lamp cover

The exhibition featured a tour of knitwear 'through the eras' amongst some interesting knitted items, such as the orb lamp cover (above), which stood about one metre high and knitted fruit and vegetables.  A number of famous designer pieces were on display - Westwood, Chanel, Missoni etc.

It was difficult to pick my favourite era - the 20s had many great wooly garments, but then I was also drawn to the oversized jumpers of the 80s (think Daryl Sommers).

Some of the pieces were bizarre (I'm thinking 'Bjork-wear') while others were simply sculpturally amazing.  Given that I had only just mastered the art of turning the heel in a pair of knitted socks, I could certainly appreciate the craftmanship (or craft-womanship) that went into creating these knitted shapes and textures.

Stitchybritt and a pile of BIG knitting

You can see some more professional shots of some of the exhibition here. 

As our holiday drew to an end, I was pleased to cast off the last few stitches and finally be able to say "I knitted a sock!".  Ok, so it was only one sock, and pretty much completely useless without a matching friend.  But having been through the process, unravelled and re-knitted bits that looked a bit dodgy, and persevered - I knew that the second one would be much easier knitting.

Next post I'll wrap-up my sock knitting adventure, the lessons I learnt, and the pros and cons of using the magic loop.