Tag: hand knitting

  • using the Twisted Stitch Sourcebook

    using the Twisted Stitch Sourcebook

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    how to get the most out of this generous, accessible, and inspiring book

  • new yarn! launching friday

    new yarn! launching friday

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Hello, everyone Things have been a bit quiet around here – largely because I’m busy working on the Knitting Season club. As well as the designs, the club involves a 12-week essay series (a course, if you like) exploring a range of different approaches to creative practice. These essays are polemical, and are meant to…

  • en-able

    en-able

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    I was recently having a chat with an academic pal of mine, who is working on a project looking at changes in the hand-knitting industry over the past few decades. She asked me about how I thought the industry had changed, and what I felt the major differences might be in establishing and running a…

  • Designing the Ardmore gansey

    Designing the Ardmore gansey

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    I can’t believe we are in the ninth week of the Inspired by Islay club! I’ve spent such a long time with these designs, and the thoughts about these designs, and it is very satisfying to finally send them out into the world. One of the things I rather miss is writing more about process.…

  • Lopi & Band interview

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Today I want to share with you a conversation I recently had with Margret Linda Gunnlaugsdóttir and Ásdís Birgisdóttir – two of Iceland’s most important and influential designers of hand-knits. I knew of Ásdís and Linda’s work with the 1990s Icelandic magazine Lopi & Band, and was fascinated with their designs, which seemed really distinctive…

  • Cockatoo Brae

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Yes, you did read that correctly — Cockatoo Brae. This remarkable phrase is, in fact, the name of a lane in Lerwick, Shetland, and it is also the name of the final yoke in my collection. This design emerged from an exciting collaboration with my friend Ella. In Shetland, machine and hand knitting go very…

  • yoke collection

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    One of the many fun elements of researching my book has been seeking out yoked sweaters on eBay and in charity shops. I have learned a lot from these garments, which are often a hybrid of machine and hand-knitting, and thought I’d share a few of them with you today. I think I showed you…

  • Fred Perry Knitting Patterns

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    If you are like me and have long admired the longevity, distinctive mod styling, and careful brand aesthetic of British retailer Fred Perry your heart may have skipped a wee beat when you read those words. Fred Perry Knitting Patterns? Really? Yes, really. The gorgeous golden cardigan on the left currently retails on Fred Perry’s…

  • A grand day

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    (combed tops and yarn in the sample room. Wool heaven.) Yesterday I had a grand day out. Martin and Janet Curtis kindly invited me to the opening of the new showroom at Haworth Scouring, the world’s largest commission scouring company, and an important hub of the British wool industry. The opening showcased many different elements…