Autumn/Winter 2008
posted by Debbie Bliss on July 3, 2008

On Debbie Bliss:

I think I am immensely privileged to have the career that I have.I studied Fashion and Textile Design at Art College on what was a very fine art based course which gave me the opportunity to create knitted plants, hats made out of bin liners and cardboard coats for three years but left me unemployable when I left! For some years I worked in a succession of jobs that I didn’t fulfil me. I don’t regret this as it has not only made me very respectful of cleaners and waiters but also every day I feel very grateful that I now do something that inspires and excites me. Recently I returned after thirty years to my old college where my daughter was modelling in the student’s Fashion Show and was touched to see their inspirational collections and their excitement at putting together textures, fabrics and shapes.

I love working from my studio at home in east London, it is important to me that it is in the heart of my home. I am happy to work by myself with my radio on but like to hear my husband in his study, our old blind dog skidding down the stairs, and teenagers in and out of the house. I look onto a very urban, multi cultural landscape which energises and inspires me. I carry sketch pads around me constantly but if I don’t have one on me I can be seen scribbling on paper napkins in café’s!

I don’t think I am inspired by any one thing. I like to absorb life around me ,I am interested in fashion trends and predictions but the most important thing for me as a designer is to create styles that flatter women’s bodies and I take great care over proportions and shapes that flatter all sizes

On A/W 2008:

Como is a brand new yarn that is perfect for the fashion trend of chunky but lightweight garments for Fall. It is a super chunky roving that knits up quickly and easily and I was excited by the way that it made me design in a different way, with simplicity being the key. Como produces large, defined stitches that is also an on trend look and as it is knitted on 10mm(US 15) needles instant gratification also gives add on value for those knitters that want to make something for the weekend!

At the other end of the scale I have introduced Rialto 4ply to the ever popular  Rialto range .Inspired by 1940’s knits I have included simple fairisles in Rialto Classics, a collection of designs for men, women and children that also uses the double knitting and aran weight.

Also for the fall season is Winter Essentials, with designs in new shades in my cashmerinos, the Donegal tweeds and alpaca silk that celebrate my favourite season of log fires, hot chocolate, and cosy evenings with family and friends.

An Introduction
posted by Jenny Watson on March 31, 2008

Dear Knitters

My name is Jenny Watson and I have enjoyed producing my first
publication for Noro.

I have worked in the hand knitting industry for over twenty years
and gained valuable experience from many leading United
Kingdom brands working as Chief Designer for Sirdar, Emu, Robin
and Studley. Working for these companies gave me valuable
experience across a diverse range of both yarns and companies. In
more recent years I have worked as a freelance designer allowing
me time to spend with my children, Ellie, Joshua and Timothy. Living
in a small Yorkshire (England) spa town of Ilkley, I am surrounded
by the natural beauty of the Yorkshire Dales, heart of the hand
knitting industry, which is a constant inspiration to me.
The Noro Designer Mini Knits Book I have produced is aimed at
using all those odd balls of yarn you may have and hopefully
encourage the more novice knitter to pick up their needles and have
a go!

The book has thirty designs ranging from hats, scarves and gloves
to sweaters and cardigans, something to tempt all knitters, even the
younger age groups.

I very much hope you enjoy knitting my designs and look forward
to creating more.

Happy knitting.

Jenny

Hello from Downunder
posted by Leanne Prouse (Ella Rae) on February 13, 2008

Work for me is such a joy, my love of fibre, texture and colour is something that is always with me...I'm often told “ you need to take time out and have a break from work”, but "time out" for me means looking for ideas, swatching and sourcing for the next collection!

Some thoughts for spring
posted by Louisa Harding on February 7, 2008

I can't say that I have a favourite technique. It is usually a combination of three factors that determine the stitches I use. Inspiration, Yarn and who the design is for. In my publications I always work to a central inspiration theme.

This season the book 'Dauphine' was inspired by Sophia Ford Coppola's beautiful and feminine film 'Marie Antoinette'. I wanted to reflect the mood and feel of this collection in the yarns and designs, soft colours and stitch structures, so I used a lot of lace patterns and fitted garments which enhance this feminine inspiration.

When I was given the opportunity to put together my own yarn range I thought it important to select yarns that really inspired me, yarns that were different from many of those already available. I like to embrace the new yarn developments, to experiment with fibre blends and yarn construction.

For example the Thalia yarn featured in ‘Dauphine’ was developed because I wanted a softer ribbon yarn which is knitted on big needles (8 mm) but as a woman with curves traditionally if yarn is knitted on this size needle it has a very round construction which is heavy and adds bulk when worn. The ribbon yarn when knitted lies flat and is incredibly light, the average sweater takes about 400 grams (8 hanks). The colour palette for the yarn ranges are also designed from a women's perspective, very like how we put together clothes in our wardrobes, so that the shades all coordinate as I often use more than one different type of yarn in each design. The yarns do affect my designs as I chose yarns with women in mind and design for real women. My hope is my yarns and designs appeal to an attitude of mind not a specific age group.

I work on two yarn and design collections a year. These are launched in February for Spring Summer and August for Autumn Winter. The yarns that I use for each collection are seasonal with the cotton based yarns used for Spring Summer and wool based yarns for Autumn Winter. This is traditionally how the fashion and yarn industries have worked. However, many of my yarns cross over the seasons such as the Sari Ribbon, Impression and the new silk yarn launched this season called Mulberry and featured in Summer Classics, which I am also using in the new up coming Autumn Winter collection, a year round fibre.

If you were to ask me who I would love to design for and have knit my garments I would choose Elizabeth Bennett from Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice', reason - I see her as such a positive female role model. She is strong minded, independent and practical, she is creative and appreciates others who are also creative. She has confidence in her own choices and still has a romantic heart. Although Elizabeth Bennett is fictional this is the woman I design for, I see her in myself, my mother, my daughter and my nieces and many other women who embrace their creativity and take pride in their skills as knitters and garment makers.

A wintry hello
posted by Elsebeth Lavold on January 22, 2008

Here in Sweden, it is still winter. The snow is grey and so is the sky. Luckily, there's always knitting to keep my spirits up.

The stuff I knit for work is always full of challenges, many swatches are the size of half a front or so. And I often have to rip large sections out and re-do them. And still, what do I do for recreation? I knit!

When I'm not working, I love to curl up in the couch with a cup of tea within reach. And then I'll knit and read or maybe dream. And this time of year I dream of summer...(sigh).

My dream is for pared down, perfectly wearable pieces that are fun to knit, and my collection for the coming spring, The Dreamweaver Collection, is full of such pieces.

My personal favorite is Dilga, just because it is so much fun seeing how the pattern will come out following the Fibonacci sequence (read more about it in the book), but also because the sweater is classical and feminine, just in line with my personal style of dressing. The design is for Hempathy, one of my favorite yarns. It is a joy to knit with and to wear.

And I just might pick Malina as a project for social knitting (I have to be able to talk and knit at the same time). The yarn is my newcomer, Bambouclé, which contains bamboo and linen so it's cool, rustic and elegant at the same time. The yarn is for US 8 needles, and the sweater is mostly stockinette, so if I can just choose a color (there are fifteen, and I love them all) I can have the sweater done before summer.

Go for your dream, and Happy Knitting!