Knitter’s world
Jake Henzler’s Copenhagen Building Blocks project has proved an inspiration to knitters all around the world…
We take a deeper look into the knitting successes of designer, Jake Henzler
When exploring new cities, taking photos of all of the wonderful things that you see is part of the joy of the experience – an opportunity to take a look at them when you’re back, reminiscing about the time you had. Instead of taking photographs though, knitter Jake Henzler decided to think outside the box and created knitted works of art based on his time living in Copenhagen.
Jake, an English teacher based in Sydney, Australia, first learned to knit when he was 19. “Mum was a prolific knitter,” he explains. “She was someone who thrived on a sense of productivity, so watching television always meant watching television and knitting. I was always in awe of how she managed to turn yarn into panels of fabric and then clothes.”
Having always enjoyed visually interesting creations, it was while Jake was at university that he started to turn his knitting into art. The idea to create knitted landscapes sparked after Jake saw an Instagram post from art curator and knitter Sophia Cai, of a jumper that was designed to look like a hotel. Another spark was the ceramics work of a friend who made chimneys based on houses from her childhood street. “I was working as a substitute teacher and I had a lot of time, so I decided to experiment with making a series of blocks of buildings that had become a part of my life in the city,” says Jake. “That quickly became far too hard, but the challenge forced me to design a way to make something simpler and the patterns for Copenhagen Building Blocks were born. I considered making specific landmarks, but I felt like the things to love about the city weren’t really captured by its tourist attractions.”
Jake started by attempting to make a famous tea store that he had visited in Copenhagen – A.C. Perch’s Thehandel – but it was quickly obvious that the detail he had imagined was not going to be viable. “I decided to start by designing the smallest possible windows, then scaling the blocks based on this size,” he says. From there, he spent some time exploring a few neighbourhoods and photographing buildings that he enjoyed looking at, but also sourcing yarn colours that he felt would fit with the tones he wanted for the city. “I also experimented with hand dyeing and fading some small batches of the colours I already had in order to produce variations of tone, but keep the same palette.”
The response to the beautiful 160x110cm piece, the pattern for which you can buy on Ravelry, has been overwhelming. “People have really gravitated to the patterns, which has been a lovely source of inspiration.” says Jake. “The first time I saw someone else’s version of my buildings, I could hardly believe they’d done it. Now people send me photos of their work all the time.”
Jake is currently working on a hanging piece commissioned for a Dutch cruiseliner. “It’s a row of Amsterdam buildings... incorporating the beautiful styles of roof-tops and facades along the canals, as well as allowing for the variations in height and width,” he says. “I’m hoping to finish this very soon and then I’ll begin writing the patterns!”
View the Copenhagen Building blocks at www.instagram.com/boy_ knits_world and www.facebook.com/BoyKnitsWorld. Find the patterns at www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/boy-knits-world
Written by Colette Earley
Ò3HRSOH KDYH UHDç\ JUDYLWDWHG WR ëH SDWWHUQV ZKLFK KDV EaeQ D ORYHO\ VRXUFH RI LQVSLUDWLRQ ,W V D KXJH SOHDVXUH WR ZDWFK SHRSOH LQWHUSUHW SDWWHUQV ëDW \RX NQRZ VR ZHçÓ