The Knit Sampler
What about it ?
Machine-knitted historical reproduction, 2025
This project explores the reproduction of 19th-century knitted artefacts as a process of both technical learning and historical reactivation. It began with a knitting machine that was completely out of order — its malfunction became the starting point for understanding how mechanical systems translate, distort, or extend the logic of handcraft. Repairing and recalibrating the machine became a form of apprenticeship in itself, forcing me to unpick its mechanics, tension systems, and their relationship to the human hand.
Once operational, the machine allowed me to investigate stitch structures, tension variations and finishing techniques used in early knitted garments, particularly through the reproduction of two historical nightcaps from the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collections.
Through cycles of trial and failure, I produced more than one hundred test samples, exploring the boundaries between structure and error, precision and improvisation. Only a selection was documented, as the project’s essence lies less in archiving than in the repetition and adaptation that sustain technical mastery.
The resulting sampler pages compile fragments that trace this process of reparation and learning. Each piece reflects a negotiation between historical accuracy, aesthetic sensibility and material durability — a triad that guided the reconstruction process.
Because all materials were sourced second-hand or from deadstock, their unpredictable origins limited strict historical accuracy while introducing an additional layer of contemporary ethics and visual interpretation.
The project thus becomes a conversation between conservation and re-creation, translating museum knowledge through the hands of a malfunctioning, then reawakened, machine.
Reproduction of a Child’s Nightcap
Cream wool, machine-knitted
A faithful reproduction of a 19th-century child’s nightcap held at the V&A Museum.
Reconstructed through machine knitting, it replicates the original’s proportions and stitch rhythm while integrating reflections on the durability and availability of materials. The piece balances the pursuit of authenticity with a contemporary approach to sustainable making and aesthetic reinterpretation.
Reproduction of a Man’s Nightcap (Revisited)
Cream polyester with brown inserts, machine-knitted
A reinterpretation of a man’s nightcap from the same collection, created with synthetic fibres and machine-based adjustments. The material shift from wool to polyester reframes the piece as both historical citation and contemporary experiment — questioning how technological translation, aesthetic choice and resource constraint interact to shape our perception of historical objects.
Material Test Page of the Sampler
This material record gathers a small selection from the numerous samples produced throughout the project — trials of cap shaping, tassel formation and hemming techniques. Rather than a systematic archive, it serves as a record of process and persistence, mapping how repetition, malfunction and repair became forms of knowledge in themselves, and how material substitution can open new readings of historical making.
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