I tried illusion knitting once (Illusion knit – Shadow Knit) – and it worked – mostly ;-)
I learned it from strumpfbina’s Totenkopf Illusion Pattern (German).
You can see the result on the photo.
As template I used an old filet crochet template showing an angel. After the first rows I realized that fine details don’t show, so I didn’t knit the wings ;-)
The rest looks like a Mensch ärger’ Dich nicht pawn :)
That’s the item seen from above – rather…nice, I’d say ;-)
Links:
strumpfbina’s Totenkopf Illusion Pattern (German)
In the advent calendar of Wollke7 you can find behind door no. 3 the link to a PDF file with instructions for a potholder with a shadow Christmas tree (German).
How to design your own illusion patterns (for Hand knitting instructions scroll down)
At instructables.com: Shadow or Illusion Knitting
At craftster: Custom Illusion Knitting Tutorial – an instruction on how to design your own illusion knitting pattern
Google search result for ‘(illusion or shadow) knit’
Google image search result for ‘(illusion or shadow) knit’
Google search result for ‘schattenstricken’
Google image search result for ‘schattenstricken’
Wikipedia entry for Mensch ärger’ Dich nicht