Exhibition/event has ended.
Unraveling the Intricacies of Knitting Machines: Exhibition on Home Knitting Machines
Lifestyle Design Center
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〽My mother knitted gloves for me at night
──From “Kaasan no Uta” (Mother’s Song, music and lyrics by Satoshi Kubota), published in the July 10, 1956 issue of the Utagoe Shinbun
Hand-knitting, which requires long periods of time to complete projects, has been described as a handicraft that is particularly imbued with people’s emotions. It is exemplified by gloves knitted at night by mothers and handknit scarves that are presented to loved ones. By contrast, home knitting machines, which became popular in Japan after World War II, were designed to enable anyone to knit items quickly, easily, and beautifully.
In Japan, home knitting machines attained mass popularity from the late 1950s through the 1960s. At their peak, one million machines were produced annually, and they were also marketed as wedding gifts for brides. Along with sewing machines, home knitting machines were a standard household item as well as a work tool for mass-producing knit products. However, as ready-to-wear clothes became commonplace, knitwear shifted from being “something to make” to “something to buy,” and from “a household chore” to “a hobby.” Eventually, home knitting machines gradually disappeared.
This exhibition traces the relationship between lifestyles and knitting with a focus on household items over the years, including knitting machines, knitwear, magazines, and other materials. The exhibition also introduces the works of knitters who use knitting machines. It reexplores the possibilities of long-forgotten home knitting machines 100 years after their development by Masa Hagiwara in 1923.
[Related Events]
1. Weekend Knitting
Dates: November 17 - 19, January 19 - 21
Venue: Seikatsu Kobo Workshop Room (Carrot Tower 4F)
Participation fee: Free (Charges apply only for talk events)
2. Venue Tour
Dates: November 17 - 19, January 19 - 21
Time: 11:00-, 14:00-, 16:00- (about 40 minutes)
Capacity: 8 people each time (reservation required, first come first served)
Note: Only held at 11:00 on November 19.
3. Knit Space: Hottarakashi Handknitting Club
Time: 10:00-17:00 *Free entry/exit
Application: Not required
4. Talk "Unraveling the Threads: The History and Future of Knitting Machines"
Interviewer: Tatsuya Yokoyama (knitted mushroom artist/NPO Life Knit)
Guest: Kei Kitagawa (Irodori Lace Museum/researcher on the History of Modern Japanese Western Art)
house), Eiji Tanuma (Knittingbird)
Date: November 19 (Sun) 15:00-17:00
Capacity: 40 people (reservation required, first come first served)
Fee: ¥500
*Please check the official website for event details and how to apply.
──From “Kaasan no Uta” (Mother’s Song, music and lyrics by Satoshi Kubota), published in the July 10, 1956 issue of the Utagoe Shinbun
Hand-knitting, which requires long periods of time to complete projects, has been described as a handicraft that is particularly imbued with people’s emotions. It is exemplified by gloves knitted at night by mothers and handknit scarves that are presented to loved ones. By contrast, home knitting machines, which became popular in Japan after World War II, were designed to enable anyone to knit items quickly, easily, and beautifully.
In Japan, home knitting machines attained mass popularity from the late 1950s through the 1960s. At their peak, one million machines were produced annually, and they were also marketed as wedding gifts for brides. Along with sewing machines, home knitting machines were a standard household item as well as a work tool for mass-producing knit products. However, as ready-to-wear clothes became commonplace, knitwear shifted from being “something to make” to “something to buy,” and from “a household chore” to “a hobby.” Eventually, home knitting machines gradually disappeared.
This exhibition traces the relationship between lifestyles and knitting with a focus on household items over the years, including knitting machines, knitwear, magazines, and other materials. The exhibition also introduces the works of knitters who use knitting machines. It reexplores the possibilities of long-forgotten home knitting machines 100 years after their development by Masa Hagiwara in 1923.
[Related Events]
1. Weekend Knitting
Dates: November 17 - 19, January 19 - 21
Venue: Seikatsu Kobo Workshop Room (Carrot Tower 4F)
Participation fee: Free (Charges apply only for talk events)
2. Venue Tour
Dates: November 17 - 19, January 19 - 21
Time: 11:00-, 14:00-, 16:00- (about 40 minutes)
Capacity: 8 people each time (reservation required, first come first served)
Note: Only held at 11:00 on November 19.
3. Knit Space: Hottarakashi Handknitting Club
Time: 10:00-17:00 *Free entry/exit
Application: Not required
4. Talk "Unraveling the Threads: The History and Future of Knitting Machines"
Interviewer: Tatsuya Yokoyama (knitted mushroom artist/NPO Life Knit)
Guest: Kei Kitagawa (Irodori Lace Museum/researcher on the History of Modern Japanese Western Art)
house), Eiji Tanuma (Knittingbird)
Date: November 19 (Sun) 15:00-17:00
Capacity: 40 people (reservation required, first come first served)
Fee: ¥500
*Please check the official website for event details and how to apply.
Schedule | Oct 31 (Tue) 2023-Jan 21 (Sun) 2024 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Free | ||||
| Website | https://www.setagaya-ldc.net/program/580/ | ||||
| Venue | Lifestyle Design Center https://www.setagaya-ldc.net/ | ||||
| Location | Carrot Tower, 4-1-1 Taishido, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 154-0004 | ||||
| Access | Direct walk from Sangen-jaya Station on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi and Tokyu Setagaya lines. | ||||
| Phone | 03-5432-1543 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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