Ernst Haeckel: Knitting Art Forms of Nature

Have you heard of Ernst Haeckel yet? He was a German biologist who discovered, described and named thousands of new species, mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms, and coined many terms in biology.

His published artwork includes over 100 detailed, multi-colour illustrations of animals and sea creatures, collected in his book Kunstformen der Natur (“Art Forms of Nature”). The book is in public domain and a PDF version can be downloaded here (cave: It’s a huge file!).

As soon as I discovered the first images I knew I had to translate its beauty into knitting. Some of the illustrations even look like knitted shawls, much like the original source of the Plant Anatomy patterns!

1. Circogonia

We start with the first page of illustrations: Circogonia (Phaeodaria).

Number four caught my attention as its shape – at least, one half of it – looks like a crescent or half circle. It is called Cortinetta Tripodiscus. Let’s have a closer look.

This shape detail has been translated to a shawl knitting pattern called Cortinetta Tripodiscus.

2. Dinobryon

The second shawl from the series has been inspired by slide #13 (Dinobryon).

This shape detail has been translated to a shawl knitting pattern called Poteridendron Petiolatum.

3. Triceratium

The third shawl from the series has been inspired by slide #4 (Triceratium).

This shape detail has been translated to a shawl knitting pattern called Actinoptychus Heliopelta.

4. Ostraciontes

The fourth shawl from the series has been inspired by slide #42 (Ostraciontes).

This shape detail has been translated to a shawl knitting pattern called Ostracion Turritis.

5. Diatomea

The fifth shawl from the series has been inspired by slide #4 (Triceratium).

This shape detail has been translated to a shawl knitting pattern called Aulacodiscus Grevilleanus.

More details will be added during the next days. Stay tuned!