Knitting - UK (2020-05)

18 knittingmag.com

GUEST COLUMN

Can you explain your linear production
approach?
The linear approach in making is rather
simple, but slow. In traditional production
houses and sample rooms, you have one
person doing one job, all day, so you will
have one person knitting one piece all
day, another person linking all day. Doing
the same job is more efficient, yes, but the
way I make, each item is made from end
to end to order, which means no stock is
made which would force price drops, etc.
Each item of clothing is treasured and only
made when it’s been ordered, so it is slow
fashion that lasts.

How do you transform scrap yarn into
accessories? Can you give any tips to Knitting
readers who might want to do this with their
scrap yarn?
This is a great question. When you machine
knit, unfortunately the way you have to pull
the yarn through so it doesn’t drop your
knitting means around 30cm of yarn gets
wasted, and most factories discard this.
I keep mine, separate each by fibre, store
them and use them for all sorts of projects.
They may not be good for machine knitting,
but I use them for hand embroidery and
darning projects. I created really edgy
editorial sunglasses – they may not have
been practical, but they are part of a great
array of ideas. I used up scrap to make
Christmas decorations, and you can make

headbands, mini macramé bracelets and all

sorts of upcycling projects.

How many people do you work with? Is it hard

to keep up with demand?

I currently do all the knitting myself. I

hire help for web development, business

development and graphic design, but the

rest is all me. It’s only hard in the winter

months when there are many events to

be part of, but you have to knit in the

studio until late every day. Eventually, I’m

hoping to have a larger space to have more

machines and have help with knitting. I

would love to create apprentice programmes

to have more graduates make use of their

amazing knitting skills in real life.

What inspires your designs?

It’s usually the machine’s capabilities – I

still like to go through the old instruction

manuals, where there are a large number of

stitch suggestions, and just one stitch gives

so many options. I also like the idea of the

wearer being comfortable and the viewer

enjoying the view. So, having bright colours

and fun shapes is a winner for me.

Do you hand knit?

Yes, I learned to hand knit before machine

knitting. It’s very satisfying that you can

create a project anywhere, and make it

interactive by knitting in groups. I tend to

knit using second-hand yarn from charity

shops, usually personal projects that take

way longer than they should – as these

are just for hobbying, I tend to take my

time. Machine knitting has a lot of perks

in terms of the speed to make, but hand

knitting is more forgiving – when you

make a mistake, your work has usually not

fallen on the floor.

What role do London and the UK play in your

designs and inspiration?

Being born and bred here, there’s inspiration

and colours that change all the time. I

personally owe so much of who I am to

London, so as a love token, I name each item

after small London roads – roads that only

a Londoner may know, adding a web around

the map of London as a little thank you.

What are you working on now and what are

your plans for the future?

I just finished re-shooting all my old summer

pieces to avoid knitting an entire summer

collection. Reimagining and capturing older

pieces brings new life to original designs

that may not have been seen by many. This

also avoids further sampling, saving time

and resources. Future plans are to keep on

knitting, working on the business, getting

more well known. I’m also hoping to have

more machines this year and arrange more

visible mending teaching workshops.

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