Don't be fooled: the pattern in this tapestry isn't as obvious as it
seems. When viewed from an angle, Einstein's face suddenly emerges from
the stripes.
The wall hanging, designed by husband-and-wife team Steve Plummer and Pat Ashforth from Woolly Thoughts, was created using a technique called shadow knitting, which requires two coloured yarns. By knitting alternate rows of each colour, and using a combination of raised and flat stitches, an image can be concealed within the ridges of the weave.
The wall hanging, designed by husband-and-wife team Steve Plummer and Pat Ashforth from Woolly Thoughts, was created using a technique called shadow knitting, which requires two coloured yarns. By knitting alternate rows of each colour, and using a combination of raised and flat stitches, an image can be concealed within the ridges of the weave.
A tapestry design is planned out beforehand by overlaying a grid
on a chosen image. Each square is assigned a type of stitch: either
bumpy for a key feature or flat for a background element. Plummer
starts to knit a pattern before he's finished encoding it, tweaking the
grid as he goes along. It takes about 100 hours to produce a finished
chart.
Although all shadow knitters use a grid to plan their tapestries, Plummer and Ashforth have developed a new charting process
that allows for more complex images and detailed shading. The former
mathematics teachers used their knowledge of 3D visualisation to come
up with the revised technique.
If you enjoyed this video, check out our previous Friday Illusions to see, for example, how to stop a spinning object with your mind or how contrast can affect your perception of speed
http://www.newscientist.com/.
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