Because Pat was making things at small size I decided to have a go at making the head of my Lady with an Ermine using the finest yarn we had in the house.

It is very difficult to photograph illusion knitting. It needs to be seen in real-life to appreciate how it changes as you move around. In ideal lighting the image disappears completely in the straight-on version and you only see narrow stripes.

I used DMC Petra 5, which is crochet cotton. Using a hard cotton like this means that the colours don’t blend together quite as much as with other yarns but it shows that the effect still works regardless of the size or type of yarn. The finished piece is about 22 cm square. It was knitted on 2 mm needles. Anyone experienced in miniature knitting would be able to make it much smaller.

My original Lady was based on the portrait by Leonardo da Vinci. Here is the small one pinned to the larger version

… and the full-version of the original

Download the free pattern for the head
Buy the pattern for Lady with an Ermine