Ohio Knitting Mills Knitting Book : Patterns Celebrating Four Decades of American Sweater Style

Vintage-inspired projects culled from the archives of the legendary knitwear maker...Paris, Rome, London Cleveland? Don't laugh. For decades, the Ohio Knitting Mills was at the forefront of American fashion as it created knitwear designs for department stores from Sears to Saks. Author Steven Tatar discovered a treasure trove of mint-condition knitwear and patterns for men and women when he acquired the mill's archive in 2004. Now, working with the original patterns, from the 1940s through the 1970s, he has painstakingly adapted 26 colorful knitwear projects for the home knitter. Clear instructions let everyone from beginner to more advanced knitter create such All-American classics as the Winter Wonderful (from the 1940s), Rebel Rouser (from the 1950s), The Mod (from the 1960s), and Earth Mother (from the 1970s). The patterns for these sweaters, hats, and scarves are featured in their original colors (teal and tangerine, ocher and avocado) alongside newer palettes geared to the modern eye. No run-of-the-mill knitting guide, this fun-to-peruse book includes vintage photographs and first-person interviews with Ohio Knitting Mills employees, highlighting the ingenuity and excitement of an important American fashion era. From argyle to zigzag, The Ohio Knitting Mills Knitting Book brings it all back.

Denise Grollmus has written for the Akron Beacon-Journal, the Cleveland Free Times, and the Cleveland Scene, and has been anthologized in Best American Crime Writing 2006. She lives in Akron, Ohio.

Cleveland sculptor Steven Tatar was hunting for scrap metal when he stumbled upon the now-shuttered Ohio Knitting Mills. He bought the company's sweater archive and opened Ohio Knitting Mills, a stylish Brooklyn storefront, where for two years he sold vintage knits that had never been worn before. He now sells limited-edition sweaters on his Web site, OhioKnittingMills.com.