“I would never wear this in public” (2022), hand-knit with wool the artist hand-dyed for Factory Obscura in Oklahoma City. All images © Kendall Ross, shared with permission
Creating pieces that are part artwork and part fashion, Oklahoma City-based artist Kendall Ross of I’d Knit That imbues her knitwear with plenty of personality. “My I’d Knit That project got started because I thought the name was funny, and I was convinced I needed to claim the Instagram handle before someone else did back in 2019,” she tells Colossal. “Originally, it was a very casual way for me to share photos of what I was making and to organize knitting meet-ups with my friends from college. Still, I started taking it very seriously, and it ended up being a very important way for me to share my art and connect with other artists.”
Ross emphasizes bright hues in her pieces, using stitching methods like intarsia or Fair Isle colorwork—also known as stranded colorwork—to illustrate playful graphics and incorporate original texts. In a statement on her site, she writes that she is “drawn to telling unapologetically intimate, complicated stories of feminine, overlooked moments…putting private emotions on display for people to wear on their chest in their public lives.”
All of Ross’ vests and cardigans are hand-knit from either acrylic or wool yarn, the latter of which the artist hand-dyes herself whenever she is able. “I have done a lot of hand-dyeing in the past, and I really love the process of it,” she says, sharing that space is limited in her home studio, so she isn’t able to add color to all of her materials. This winter, she’s looking forward to a residency at Penland School of Craft in January, where she’ll focus on the hand-dyeing process.
Ross is currently working toward shows in 2024 in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and the Pacific Northwest, and she also teaches at the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, where this winter, she is offering a class on how to knit sweaters for dogs. “I think they only agreed to let me do it because I talk about my basset hound Frankie so much, but I’m very excited about it!”
Find more in the artist’s shop, and follow updates on Instagram. (via Kottke)
“Girl Talk” (2021), hand-knit acrylic
Left: “Stress Knit” (2022), hand-knit wool. Right: “Bad Driver” (2022), hand-knit with wool the artist hand-dyed
“Product Placement” (2023), hand-knit wool
“Fake Vest” (2023), hand-knit wool
Left: “Storyteller 2” (2023), hand-knit with wool for La Colombe Coffee. Right: “Company” (2022), hand-knit with wool the artist hand-dyed
“Everyone will forget about this” (2023), hand-knit with wool the artist hand-dyed
“Boring” (2023), hand-knit wool
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Kendall Ross Gets Personal with Her Colorful Sweaters Embedded with Stories appeared first on Colossal.
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