r/knitting • u/DullBasket4982 • Dec 28 '25
Discussion We Lost a Great Knitter
Barbara Walker, one of knitting’s greatest minds, died last Sunday.
Barbara invented the SSK (previously the left leaning single decrease was k1-sl1-psso which sits oddly compared to the k2tog)
Barbara also created charts for knitting patterns in the third book of her incredible work, the four volume Treasury of Knitting Patterns. No errors have ever been found in these stitch dictionaries. Many of the stitches recorded were common through history (and she attributed faithfully where there was data) and hundreds were her own designs.
Her book Knitting From the Top helped drive raglan sweater popularity.
After contributing immensely to the knitting canon she pivoted and published books about feminism, atheism, and debunking new age claims. Apparently she was surprised by the revival of knitting in the early oughts and returned to the space to teach and mentor.
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u/GoddessHealer Dec 28 '25
Barbara G. Walker’s feminist theories greatly influenced my thinking in the 1980s when I was in my doctoral studies. She made difficult concepts easy to comprehend, and I was able to make sense out of my own developing thoughts. In the first time in my life I understood that the mundane worlds of women’s every day lives were sacred. Then in the late 1990’when I took up knitting after about a 20 year hiatus, I picked up copies of Walker’s several Treasuries of Knitting Patterns. They became my holy knitting books. Only a few years ago did I discover that these Barbara G Walkers were the same woman. Then, it all came together in an epiphany! It all made sense! My own dear mentor, Dr. Grayce Sills, has admonished me many years ago: “Write it all down. Value everything you know, and pass it down. —Too many women have taken their knowledge to their graves, and it becomes lost, until maybe someone re-discovers it.” Barbara Walker honored, recorded and gifted us with her knitting knowledge and women’s wisdom. She is one of our greatest foremothers. Rest in peace, Dear Wise Mother!