It’s a Stitch Up

An iPhone cover in 4 ply merino, knitted in the round, in a textured stitch.

I love the way everything bursts into life in late spring. The garden is full of inspiring colours, textures and shapes. Read full post…

I’ve always been put off dyeing yarn because my experience of dyeing fabric is that it’s either expensive (with machine dyes) or messy (with vat dyes). However, the temptation to dye my new silk tops for spinning was just too great: enter the Kool Aid. Read full post…

Inspired by Smashing Puffin’s Quarterly report, I decided that knowledge is power, and in order to keep the stash and UFOs under control, I need stats.
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It’s been three years since I last had a desk at home, but look at our amazing new studio! It’s hard to believe my sewing machine, laptop and design materials now have a proper home. I hope I’ll be a bit more productive on the design side now that I have a space to devote to being creative. Read full post…

A lot can happen in a few days in the business of spinning. I’ve been playing with the bits and bobs I bought following my spinning beginnings at The Handweavers Studio. The fibre is a dream to spin compared with the unwashed fleece used in the workshop, making the carders I bought superfluous, but I’m sure they’ll come in handy soon. Read full post…

I’ve wanted to try my hand at spinning for some time – knitting a garment from scratch is pretty cool but knitting something from your own hand-spun yarn is a whole other level. There are the obvious advantages of being able to extend the creative process to yarn, getting the exact colour combination, blend and texture I want (well, maybe with a bit more practice). Also, I’m much happier knowing where fibre is coming from – with manufactured yarns it’s often unclear. As with supermarket produce it can be originated in one country, spun in another, packaged in another then shipped halfway round the world before landing in your stash. Starting with the raw fibre, you’re cutting out a lot of those stages, and if you want to you can narrow it down to the farm, or the exact sheep! Read full post…

Things I’ve been looking at on the web…

There’s just about time to catch the Tsars exhibition at V&A before it closes this weekend, worth a look for the fantastic military jackets. I’ve long been interested in military inspired fashion, epitomised by Jimi Hendrix’s over-the-top brocade. Military themes have also inspired knitwear design - the ‘Heroine’ oversized felted coat from Twist Collective, ‘Revolution’ from Knitty and Veronik Avery’s Military Cardigan from Knitting Classic Style. Read full post…

I love fine gauge yarns, but it’s always nice to see the instant results that you get knitting super-chunky yarn on big needles. Chunky yarn gives you the freedom to experiment, knowing that you can re-knit in no time if it doesn’t work out.

There are some lovely patterns around for Rowan Big Wool, but it’s not the cheapest, or softest, or most hard-wearing yarn in the world, so I decided to check out the alternatives. Read full post…

In part 1 I discussed some camera basics and tips for setting up your shoot. In this post I’ll look at how to address some common problems using camera settings and low-cost equipment. Read full post…