'Naughty Needles' by Nikol Lohr
Why knit another scarf when you can whip up a sweet and sexy pair of knickers?
By Kate Rockwood
Published: February 17th, 2007 | 5:32pm
Potter Craft, $19.95, 144 pages
When you've exhausted the list of people in your life that are worthy of a hand-knit scarf, Nikol Lohr hopes you'll pass up the standard sock patterns and head instead to the bedroom to make something fun for yourself. In Naughty Needles: Saucy Knits for the Bedroom and Beyond, Lohr offers up more than 25 fresh patterns, from fun and flirty to downright dirty.
What's refreshingly clear is that none of the naughty patterns included here have been whipped up as part of some sex-sells maneuver to get on the crafty bandwagon. Knitting, Lohr argues early on, is sexy in itself, just as merging any kind of ingenuity and skill to produce something entirely your own is sexy.
The book is divided into five main sections, from sugar and spice to heavy petting to light bondage and role playing (nursie, anyone?). Each pattern warrants at least one lush, pin-upesque photo (and, honestly, the photos almost make the book worth buying in themselves), as well as easy-to-follow illustrations and instructions.
The sweeter stuff includes the Fembot, a classic Hollywood baby-doll nightie a la Austin Powers, the Zelda, a flapper-fashioned garter slip in a silk and cashmere blend, and the Gidget Goes Hawaiian bikini with a cutesy belt and front-buckle closure. Naughtier patterns include a mermaid tail (no, really), a baby blue ball gag, and hootchie kootchie pasties, which take all of five minutes to make. The crisscross gloves and garters with lace ribbon are simple and elegant, while the condom critter, a cutesy little owl with a secret compartment, could gleefully replace the scarf as the go-to gift for close friends.
An avid crafter even before kindergarten, thirty-something Lohr started knitting only a few years ago, meaning that most of the patterns in the book aren't mind-boggling difficult. The trickier stuff is detailed in the later chapters, with diagrams clear enough to teach newbies the kitchener stitch in no time. While some knitters will shy away from Lohr's frequent use of novelty yarns (leather for madame's pleasure?), even the stodgiest knitter will agree her patterns are innovative.
Also peppered through the book are icons that link to Lohr's Web site, Naughty Needles, where you can find more yarn info, resources and pattern variations. Many of the patterns - especially the sillier and more scandalous ones - can be modified for everyday wear. But then, where's the fun in that?
Issue #35
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