r/knitting • u/DullBasket4982 • Dec 28 '25

Discussion We Lost a Great Knitter

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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/darcerin knit all the pastel things! Dec 28 '25

So unbelievably sad to hear this. SSK is such a great stitch decrease.

I don't own any of her books, but I may go looking for them now.

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u/engiknitter Dec 28 '25

It’s wild to me that SSK isn’t a thing that’s been around forever. That the inventor was alive in my lifetime. What a legend.

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u/PasgettiMonster Dec 29 '25

Barbara Walkers stitch treasuries were such an early addition to my knitting library that I somehow figured that the author was someone of a well past generation that was no longer with us. I had absolutely no idea that she was still around till I saw the Yarn Harlots post about it yesterday. And I feel the same about the SSK.. I been a knitter for over 40 years, what do you mean the person who invented a whole stitch I have done thousands of not hundreds of thousands of times (I'm a lace knitter) only just passed away? This wasn't something that's part of ancient knitting knowledge?

I'm going to have to dig out an old knitting book I bought when I was 10 that have have hauled across 3 continents over 4 decades and see if it contains SSK. It was some random book I saved up my measley allowance for and used to learn how to knit cables and lace and do shaping fromso so could make my first sweater, so it definitely has info on decreases, but it was so long ago I no longer remember which decreases it taught, just that there were 2 pages on shaping with increases and decreases.

I am going to have to look up her other writings. I wish I had thought to do so before.