Vintage Knitting, Retro Dressmaking, Make do and Mend, Original and Vintage Inspired Knitting Patterns, Vintage Inspired books

Friday, October 31, 2014

De-mystifying Blocking - Part 1

As I began to plan this post, it dawned on me very quickly, that there would have to be more than one post dealing with the mystery that is blocking, as varying types of projects and differing yarns require handling differently.

‘Blocking’ instructions are usually found within the making up or finishing instructions in a pattern. Blocking has become a catch all expression which refers to how to finish or ‘dress’ your almost completed project. How to bring out the best from your chosen yarn, how to ensure the correct shape and fit to your project and how to have the desired finish to the surface of your fabric.

As a dressmaker, one of the first things I do when preparing to sew, is to open the ironing board, get the iron out and fill it with water to ensure plenty of steam. Alongside this I usually have a water sprayer and a fine, damp, muslin cloth to protect the fabric. No woven item would ever be produced without the use of some heat or pressure. And yet, when I first began to knit garments, I didn’t initially make this connection and wrongly assumed that once a knitted project was sewn up that was the end of that. Maybe I have some excuse. When I first became ‘pattern aware’ as a teenage knitter, instructions on how to approach what is now called blocking were scanty to say the least. 

Examining a book today from the late 1980s which became a firm favourite, the “Elle” knitting book, there are absolutely no blocking or dressing instructions included. Once the garment was sewn up, it was ready to go. And yet, quite obviously just from the cover image below, some form of pressing or blocking must have taken place on the samples produced for the book.



Interestingly in a number of Margaret Murray and Jane Koster books from the 1930s and 40s, they do tell the knitter to press the pieces using a warm iron, usually on the wrong side and to avoid ribbing, prior to sewing up.


I can find no evidence however of the full process of blocking, including soaking, being recommended to the knitter. This is, of course, all taken from a UK point of view although  I have many Vogue Knitting magazines from the US and Sandra magazines from Germany, neither of which make very much reference to these final steps. It would be really interesting to hear what sort of instruction patterns from the 1930s to the 1990s provided elsewhere.

My assumption is, that this is because it was assumed that knitting would always be washed once it was completed. Coal fires, cigarette smoke and an often, smoggy atmosphere would mean that most knitting would get dirty during the knitting process and would automatically mean it would be washed. Likewise drying flat and patting out to shape was an every day occurrence when natural fibres were always used.

And I think that is probably the key here. With the overwhelming popularity of synthetic yarns in the 1970s and 1980s the ability to use heat and/or warm water and pins to create a permanent shape was forgotten about by many. Coupled with that, patterns assumed a knowledge from the knitter that wasn’t always there. I may be wrong with this generalization. It might in fact, have been more of a disconnection between the washing of the garment being anything more than a need to clean the item once it was produced and the idea that this process could be used to aid the finished appearance or the sizing of the piece. Either way, many of us, including myself, grew up and learnt to knit without these links and lessons being taught or learnt until fairly recently.

I hasten to add I always washed my knitting after completion - unless I was wearing it for a night out whilst still sewing on the buttons on the train! I also, always pressed the usually individual pieces prior to sewing up. I too have fallen into the trap of assuming everyone else already knew what to do but over the years as I’ve talked to many, many knitters, I have come to realise that actually lots of knitters are completely baffled by the term, blocking, and what they are supposed to do.

So first of all, lets not worry about a word. Blocking, dressing, or finishing are umbrella terms which are telling you that you need to take further action with your knitting before it is complete. As I have already said, different projects, yarns, stitches require different approaches so I’m going to focus on today on a particular project and explain how I would approach the blocking/finishing of it.

Blocking a Pair of Scandinavian Style Mittens

These mittens are knitted in 100% wool - in this instance Excelana 4ply - but most wools behave and respond similarly and they are knitted using stranded knitting, or Fair Isle, technique. Usually when working a piece of stranded knitting there will always be some irregularity in the surface of the work and until the piece is finished it will never look quite right. Pretty much everything we would do with these mittens we would also do with a stranded garment.



Before 'blocking' to the left and after to the right
These mittens are based on a traditional scandinavian pattern which I found in Annemor Sundbo’s wonderful book,  Norwegian Mittens and Gloves, which I have then adapted - knitted using Cornflower Blue and Alabaster Excelana 4 ply.

Step One

I usually soak the knitting in luke warm, soapy water for about 20 minutes. Use a laundry liquid specifically for wool.
 

I always use Navia Wool Care hand wash which is an organic hand wash (perfect for those of us on a septic tank) that contains organic lanolin which in turn feeds the wool as it is washed. It does require rinsing out afterwards but that really doesn’t worry me.


 It also only has the slightest scent of Juniper but otherwise lets the natural wool scent dominate. This is obviously a personal choice, but I’m not a one for perfume smells on my knits so this works perfectly for me.  The wool wash is available either from Island Wool's online shop or I also have it available to purchase when I am at events. At some point I will get it added to my online shop too, but in the meantime, I would highly recommend the lovely folks at Island Wool.

During the soaking the wool will begin to ‘bloom’. The wool absorbs the water and each stitch fills out, plumping up, filling in the irregularites and most importantly with stranded knitting, attaches itself more firmly to the stitches on either side of it.

Once you have allowed the knitting to soak, rinse thoroughly then roll your knitting in a towel and firmly yet carefully extract the excess water from the wool.

Step Two

Remove the knitting from the towel. Mittens require careful shaping to get the best results and the way to this is with a mitten stretcher (blocker). These are traditionally made of wood and come in a whole range of sizes. If like me, you are often knitting mittens in a variety of sizes being able to rustle up your own blocker is a really useful thing.

Making A Mitten Stretcher


Get yourself a firm piece of cardboard larger than your hand, a pen or pencil, scissors, a tape measure and some sellotape.

Measure around your hand at its widest point above your thumb. Divide this by two to give you the width needed for your mitten stretcher.





On your cardboard, draw two rectangles about 30cm tall and your required width. Draw a curved shape at the top as similar as possible to the desired final shape of your mitten, then round off the bottom corners to prevent snagging, and cut around your outline. Now for the fun bit. Cover your cardboard stretchers completely in sellotape. This makes them water resistant. The final step is to make a further two small rectangles the size of your thumbs in the same way.




Insert the larger stretcher into the mitt, ensuring the side seams of the mitts line up with the side edges of the cardboard and that the mitt is stretched evenly across the cardboard.

Insert a thumb stretcher into each of the knitted thumbs. Place on a rack or maiden to dry flat.

Once the mittens are completed dry remove the stretchers and hey presto, you have a beautifully smooth fair isle fabric and a perfectly shaped mitten. If you wish you could also apply some steam with the iron if necessary.

I would recommend that only at this point do you do the final darning in of any remaining ends.

Your stretcher is re-usable so write on each piece whose hand the stretcher is for and store for next time.

And there you go, that’s all there is to it. And is it worth doing? Absolutely. There is no comparison between a mitten that has been blocked, dressed, finished and one that hasn't. Its definitely worth taking just a little extra time to end up with such a professional and beautiful finished object. I’ll be back on the subject of blocking in a couple of weeks, when we’ll look at finishing a fair isle garment.

If you are interested in the mitt pattern, you can purchase Annemor’s book from online book retailers or I will also have an updated version of this classic available on my website in the next couple of weeks.

but for now,

Susan xx

Friday, October 24, 2014

The Land Army Memorial unveiled

After successfully raising £85,000 the Women's Land Army Tribute Campaign was finally able to reveal the beautiful sculpture commissioned to honour both land girls and lumber Jills who worked so hard through world wars one and two.

My land army badge
The sculpture was unveiled on Tuesday by the Countess of Wessex at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Although it was a terribly wet and cold day, many former land girls made the trip to see the 8 foot high statue for the first time. Some of them even dressed up in their land girl uniforms!

Copyright Express & Star
  The fabulous bronze was created by sculptor Denise Dutton who is based in Staffordshire herself.



Here you can see the models posing for the statue in their land army uniforms.


 Here is the sculpture in a bit more detail.


I feel extremely privileged and proud to have been involved in the campaign in even just a small way by raising funds through the sales of the Wartime Farm Sleeveless Pullover pattern and I really want to take this opportunity to thank everyone of you who purchased a copy of this pattern. You all helped make this memorial actually happen.


Funds are still needed to for annual rent on the plot, insurance and maintenance, so please do continue to support the campaign. The Wartime Farm pullover will continue to be sold to help raise funds towards these running costs.

I thought I would close with an illustration I found on the cover of Woman's Magazine from September 1941. Its called Land Girl and inside the magazine it states that it is taken 'from the camera study by W. Suschitsky' who was a photographer and cinematographer born to Jewish parents in Austria in 1912. He moved to London from Vienna in 1934 due to the political climate, where he worked on Government information films during WW11.



What fascinates me about the illustration though is the colour choice for the land girl uniform. Brown jumper and blue tie. Had the illustrator not seen a land girl uniform? Artistic licence? Or was there an alternate colourway? I'm leaning towards the first option but would love to hear if anyone knows differently.

Thank you all once again,

for now,
Susan xx




Thursday, October 16, 2014

The Bright Young Things

Thank you so much for the lovely response to Tess Young's Clemmie design. To celebrate the end of Wool Week I wore it to a knitting event at Williams Wools in Kendal on Sunday. It was incredibly comfortable and easy to wear and I received a lot of compliments! I wore it with one of favourite Cath Kidston tea dresses and felt relaxed and yet elegant. Just the result I was hoping for.

Me, Clemmie and Adrienne Williams


Anyhow, now that we are well under way with the Knits for a Cold Climate collection, I want to give you some more general background on the period we cover with the patterns. The 1920s and the 1930s were some of the most fascinating decades in terms of fashion, art and culture.

The 1920s were very much a reaction to the desolation and change brought on by the Great War (also known as World War 1). Many things had changed as a result of the War: Women had been thrust into industry (and had received the right to vote), air travel and modern media were both making the world smaller and larger, and a whole generation was permanently scarred by the losses incurred by the War. Is it any wonder that people decided to drown their worries and anxieties in fashion, art and music? Berlin, London, and Paris became fashionable cities where penniless artists could mingle with rich socialites - the world may have changed irrevocably, but the noise of despair was drowned out by jazz, cabaret, flappers, fast cars, cinema and bohemian artists.

The Bright Young Things
 Amid all this hedonism we find Nancy Mitford. Nancy was part of the "Bright Young Things" set - a group of bohemian and flamboyant aristocrats hell-bent on seeking entertainment and flying in the face of conventions.They were the original celebrities famous for being famous - and were chased throughout London by journalists as they partied hard, indulged in various substances and experimented with unconventional relationship configurations. Nancy was in her late teens/early twenties and would later base several characters in her books upon the friends she made during this period of her life. People like Noel Coward, Cecil Beaton (whose beauty as a young man is staggering), and Evelyn Waugh were also part of this set alongside people whose charisma and excess never transcended the period.

Cecil Beaton
And they all looked fantastic. Beaton is one of the most renowned and influential portrait photographers and I have studied his work at length. One day I'll talk more about him but let me just share this portrait of Marlene Dietrich and rejoice in his brilliance (admittedly from the 1930s but who's counting?).

Marlene Dietrich
In "A Stitch in Time, vol 1" I go into detail about the 1920s silhouette, but suffice to say the ideal 1920s girl looks completely unlike her mother. She looks boyish with short, bobbed hair and a wardrobe designed to conceal her hips and bosom. Her eyebrows arch towards the sky in an expression of perpetual wonder and her lips are painted with a perfect bow (Lillian Gish and Clara Bow - stars of the cinema - were huge influences upon this look). Ladies' fashion was both androgynous and overtly feminine: the lines of the outfits may have been boyish, but the materials were sumptuous and decadent with silks and velvets ever present. The clothes allowed for unprecedented movement - the Flapper girl needed to be able to dance, play tennis, and compete in death-defying car races - but she looked completely glamorous whilst doing so. The 1920s It Girl appeared to have it all. Also see my recent blog post for more detail about the knitted fashions of the period.

All this decadence, hedonism and care-free behaviour hid a lot of darkness - and eventually it all came crashing down. I'll discuss it more when we get to the 1930s, but I hope you enjoyed a brief glimpse into the Roaring Twenties.



If you really want to immerse yourself in this most decadent of decades why not indulge in some movies, books and art from my lists below:

1920s films:
The Kid (Charlie Chaplin)
Metropolis (Fritz Lang)
Get Your Man (Clara Bow)
Pandora's Box (Louise Brooks)
Safety Last! (Harold Lloyd)

1920s books:
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Agatha Christie)
Mrs Dalloway (Virginia Woolf)
Good-Bye to All That (Robert Graves)

1920s Art and Design:

If you want to watch an entertaining British film about the Roaring Twenties, I can also recommend Bright Young Things, a 2003 film by Stephen Fry starring notables such as James McAvoy, Emily Mortimer, Peter O'Toole, David Tennant, Michael Sheen and Richard E. Grant (many in "blink and you will miss them" roles) and the vicar in Our Zoo!


What other films, books, music or art would you recommend from, or about, the 1920s?

for now,
Susan xx


Thursday, October 09, 2014

Clemmie

I'm incredibly excited to reveal the latest design in the Knits for a Cold Climate Collection.

Clemmie knitted in Fenella 2ply - using Atomic Red with Jonquil sash
Clemmie has been designed and created by my new design team collaborator here at Susan Crawford Vintage HQ, the incredibly talented Tess Young. Tess has a number of self published designs available and has also previously designed for Quince & Co., with a design aesthetic that combines a love of vintage with a vast knowledge of knitting techniques and an instinctive understanding of fabric, drape and structure. When we first discussed design ideas together,  I just knew she would design something very special with Fenella, and she has. Let me now pass you over to Tess, who will tell you more about her inspiration and the design process in creating Clemmie.

Tess:  

The Clemmie drape is my first pattern for the Knits for a Cold Climate individual pattern collection under the Susan Crawford Vintage label. Clemmie is the third pattern in the collection, inspired by Nancy Mitford, her novels, her life and her family. Nancy was one of the original "Bright Young Things" - a group of decadent and bohemian socialites roaming the party scene in interwar London - and she used these experiences in her books. You can see the two other patterns already released, Nancy herself and Asthall.

It’s been difficult keeping this exciting collaboration with Susan and Karie Westermann under wraps. I’ve so enjoyed working to Susan’s design brief, but it has been a challenge to reign in the inspiration this period provides for lovers of vintage fashion and knitwear.


Clemmie knitted in Atomic Red Fenella with Roman Plaster sash

When Susan and I first started discussing a design collection to include her new Fenella yarn I was immediately drawn to the 1930s, a period when much knitwear called for 3 ply yarns, but also characterised by elegant glamour, a little more restrained than the 20s, but perhaps more sensuous for it. This period saw the return of the waistline and accessories of the period, including capelets, shrugs and boleros, would stop just below the fullest point of the bust to emphasise the natural waist and hips. This can be seen in this illustration for Germaine Page hats, which also features the drape that was my original inspiration for Clemmie. 


The period was also characterised by details and designs that broadened the shoulders, again to offset the waist, and emphasised necklines. The use of bows, interchangeable collars, corsages and panel details were all key elements of garment design. 


The lace edging detail on Clemmie was inspired by a garment that features these elements so redolent of 1930s design and which is my favourite vintage piece; a crepe de chine dress, cut on the bias and constructed to hug the waistline and hips, with panel inserts in the skirt to make it float at the hem. 


 The panels of exquisitely hand sewn mesh, satin inserts and satin covered buttons at the neckline of the dress informed my choice of the simple mesh lace edging for Clemmie.


Knitted on 4mm needles, the Fenella creates a fine open fabric with wonderful drape which makes it an elegant finishing touch for formal wear but, as our model remarked, is surprisingly warm making it also ideally suited as elegant outer wear.


The Details:

You can buy the PDF Clemmie pattern from the Susan Crawford shop here

OR

You can buy the pattern from Ravelry here. (You do not need to be a member of ravelry to make a purchase from the site.)

The PDF pattern costs £3

You can also purchase or take a look at all the possible colour combinations of Fenella on the shop
here 

Materials Required:

Option 1(as shown)
Main body – 5 skeins of Fenella 2 ply wool (shown in Atomic Red and Columbine)
Contrast drape – 1 skein of Fenella 2 ply wool (shown in Roman Plaster, Jonquil and Marriner)

Option 2
Main body worked in 2 colours with all lace edgings in contrast colour and drape worked in main colour;
Main colour – 4 skeins of Fenella 2 ply wool
Contrast colour – 3 skein of Fenella 2 ply wool

1 pair of 4mm needles
Stitch markers
Stitch holder

Fenella retails at only £4 a skein making Clemmie an extremely cost effective project.

Clemmie knitted in Columbine with sash in Marriner
And why Clemmie?

The original Clementine was the grandmother of the Mitford sisters. She married Algernon Bertram Mitford, a diplomat who had travelled in Russia, China and most notably Japan, about which he authored Tales of Old Japan, before serving under Benjamin Disraeli in the British government.

Clementine and Algernon were also patrons of the artist James Whistler, whose interest in Japanese art they shared and who painted portraits of both Clementine, ‘in draperies of Chinese blue silk’ and Algernon ‘in Van Dyke costume’. Unfortunately both paintings are believed to have been destroyed by Whistler to avoid them falling into the hands of his creditors.

Clementine and Algernon as Lady and Lord, then Baron Redesdale spent summers at Batsford Park, where their grandchildren visited them in the summer. On the death of her husband, in 1916, not long after that of their eldest son who died on the Western Front a year earlier, the title and Batsford Park passed to David Mitford, father of the Mitford sisters, who moved in with his family briefly before selling it and moving to Asthall. Clementine moved to Redesdale Cottage, the family’s country home in Tynedale where they had extensive land holdings. She stayed there taking an active part in community life until her death in 1932.

The second Clementine was the daughter of Clementine and Algernon’s eldest son, Clement. She was born after her father died in the Battle of Loos in 1915. It’s said that her childhood was as the ‘relatively’ poor relation once the inheritance went to her father’s younger brother, but she married well aged 23 in 1939, having been proposed to by Alfred Beit under the family’s Goya. Beit was a conservative MP and heir to the wealth accumulated by his father, a South African diamond millionaire and a considerable collection of paintings now housed in the National Gallery of Ireland.

Whilst a child Clementine's mother spent periods abroad with her second husband and Clementine spent much of this time with her cousins. She was regarded as a great beauty, and cousin Nancy described Clementine as one of London's 10 most elegant women.

During the Second World War Beit served in Bomber Command and Clementine worked in a factory making air reconnaissance cameras and became a member of the Transport Workers' Union. After the war they went to South Africa and planned to stay, but returned in 1952, reportedly due to their opposition to the National Party's apartheid regime. On return they moved to Russborough House near Dublin. Their art collection made them target of burglaries at Russborough House in the 1970s and 1980s.

Here is Clementine with her grandmother Clementine, the Dowager Lady Airlie (having reverted to her own title when her daughter in law inherited the title Lady Redesdale on the death of her husband)



The third Clementine, was another ‘cousin’ Clemmie, the daughter of grandmother Clementine’s sister Blanche, and Lord Henry Hozier. However, due to her mother’s infidelities, her paternity is disputed with one of the candidates Aunt Clementine’s husband, Algernon.

Again, regarded as a great beauty this Clemmie married Winston Churchill in 1908 and the Mitford girls spent time with them at Chartwell when growing up, although Diana and Tom Mitford, the lone brother among the sisters, visited most regularly as playmates for the Churchill’s children, Diana and Randolph.



Clemmie made her début at Yarndale along with Asthall and it was wonderful to see the response from knitters after quite a long gestation period. Thank you to everyone who stopped, looked, purchased and indeed, even stroked her. Pattern pre-orders have now been dispatched so if she’s not with you yet, she will be very shortly.

Me:
Thank you Tess for creating such a beautiful design and for loving Fenella as much as I do, and thank you also to our fabulous model, Zunya, who bravely agreed to model for me despite having no previous modelling experience, and for entering into the spirit of the shoot with such gusto and providing us with such amazing images.

for now,
Susan xx



Wednesday, October 01, 2014

Asthall

I'm finally recovering from an amazing time at Yarndale in Skipton which took place over the weekend. I talked so much that I have developed an incredibly croaky voice over the last few days!
It was marvellous to meet so many of you and I had a lovely time admiring all your beautiful knits. It was equally wonderful to be only an hour away from home and to be able to travel back to the comfort of my own bed each night. After years of having to travel to get to all these places, it is great to find yourself closer to all things woolly related.

There were several new designs on the stand at Yarndale, but I want to draw your attention to the next instalment in the "Knits for a Cold Climate" collection. The Asthall cardigan is an elegant cross-front cardigan knitted using Excelana 4ply in Saharan Sand.


I was inspired by the long, graceful lines of the late 1920s and the feminine styling of the early 1930s. It is a relatively straight-forward knit, worked predominantly in stocking stitch but with a fascinating 'Japanese Feather' lace stitch worked across the lowest part of the cardigan and on the cuffs of the three quarter length sleeves. The raglan shaping creates a neat finish to the cardigan reducing bulk and drawing the eye inwards. The asymmetric fronts are fastened using a brooch or decorative pin. The brooch in these images is a modern resin pansy purchased at the V&A a couple of years ago with that Arts and Crafts feel to it I was trying to emulate here.



Like Nancy, Asthall is again modelled by Theo. We styled the cardigan together choosing a simple denim pinafore dress underneath to show that it can be dressed down as well as up! I think Saharan Sand really comes alive when teamed with all shades of blue, but particularly denim blue as in the photos.



Its the perfect cardigan to wear over bias-cut tea dresses for day or evening wear.  I can also see Asthall being worn with wide leg 1930s style trousers with a silk blouse peeping out underneath. I have most definitely read too many early 20th century ladies' journals but I have the following running through my head: "For casual walks in the countryside or cosy nights at home - it has to be Asthall!"

So why Asthall?  An Oxfordshire manor house built of Cotswold stone, it was the Mitford family home from 1919, when Nancy’s father, David moved the family there after the death of his father. It was a house kept full of society folk, with regular weekend parties being held. Alconleigh from Nancy’s novel, The Pursuit of Love, is largely based on Asthall, although the family moved to Swinbrook House only seven years later in 1926.


Whilst working on "Knits for a Cold Climate" over the last few weeks I have been heavily immersed in all things relating to Nancy Mitford and the Mitford family. So, it came as a bit of a shock when I learned that the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, Deborah Devonshire had died (I urge you to click on the link to see the extraordinary hand knitted cardigan she is wearing in the photo.) The Dowager Duchess was the last surviving Mitford sister and was quite the character. She was one of the last Great English Eccentrics: famous for all the things she disliked (magpies, women who want to join men’s clubs, hotel coat-hangers; and drivers who slow down to go over cattle grids) but who suspected that she was a devoted Elvis Presley fan? She had an extraordinary life - I will be writing more about her later as a pattern inspired by her is revealed. But what sad, unexpected news. Debo as Deborah was affectionately known, was born at Asthall in 1920, so it seems particularly fitting that I should be releasing this pattern.  I love this photograph of the entire family taken there when Debo looks around 2 years of age. You can see Nancy, the eldest sibling, sitting at the back of the group.


So, for the details -

You can buy the pattern from Ravelry here. The PDF pattern costs £4 (You do not need to be a member of ravelry to make a purchase from the site.)

The pattern is available  in a wide range of sizes to fit from 76 to 127 cm (30 to 50 inch) bust and both written and charted instructions are included.

The pattern will also be available from my online shop very soon.

Other Materials Required are:


8 to 15 balls of Excelana 4 ply depending on size required
1 3.25mm circular needle, 100cm long
or 1 pair of straight 3.25mm needles
1 3.25mm circular needle, 40cm long
1 set of 3.25mm double pointed needles
Stitch markers
6 large safety pins

You can also see the full range of Excelana 4 ply colours here and here.

So just what exactly is "Knits for a Cold Climate"? The title obviously inspired by probably Nancy Mitford's most famous novel, "Love in a Cold Climate", it is a collection of single patterns all inspired by Nancy, her novels, her life and her family. Here's a glimpse of the work in progress 'cover' image for the collection.


The patterns will be released every week or two, all using either Excelana or Fenella yarns. I am keeping the publishing dates very flexible so that they can fit in with everything else that is going on over the next few months and just want to enjoy the design process without imposing rigid deadlines in an already heavily congested schedule. The patterns will therefore only be available to purchase individually for the time being, and very excitingly, for the first time, the patterns are being designed not just by me, but also by Tess Young and Karie Westermann, for the Susan Crawford Vintage label.

This is a really, really thrilling new step where I get to work with like-minded designers - all of us creating new designs with a very particular design brief and aesthetic. There will be guest posts from both Tess and Karie when they each publish their designs, giving you an insight into the inspirations behind them. It really is quite amazing how many different directions one design brief can take people. I think we've hit on a seam of inspiration that could actually keep us going for years! Do sign up for my newsletter to be kept informed of new releases as they appear. There will be around 10 patterns in all, with a real mix of projects.  Look out next week for the release of Clemmie, a stunning Drape knitted in Fenella and designed by Tess Young.

but for now,
Susan xx