On Devaluating Hand-Knitting

It's been a couple of weeks and I've taken some time off. I have more time off soon which means I'll be away from my office for the first time since .. Christmas last year. Ahem.

I have collaborated with the very lovely Old Maiden Aunt on something which will be released whilst I am away from my office. We began plotting this almost eight months ago. It is crazy how quickly time flies. The photo shoot happened earlier this week - you can see the beautiful Glasgow tenement buildings to the left. Ah, don't let the winter sunshine fool you. It was bitterly cold.

But let us talk a bit about knitting. It's a bit of a ramble from here on in.

Earlier this week, I met a talented girl who had designed and knitted a 4-ply jumper for a client. The client had asked the girl to supply the yarn as well as design/knit it. I asked how much the girl had charged?

An entire 4-ply (fingering-weight) jumper from design conception to finished item and including the yarn. £35. Let me repeat that: thirty-five pounds.

When I asked her why she'd charged that little, she shrugged and replied: "Because the client didn't want to pay anything more and even baulked at £35". I got very, very angry at this stage. I didn't get angry at the girl because she was obviously just trying to make a little money. No, I got angry at a marketplace which so devalues hand-knitting to the point where a customer baulks at paying more than £35 for a custom piece (including materials!) and manages to get away with it. Make that a marketplace in which the customer manages to get away with it again and again because I have heard the same story many times.

That is not okay.

Why is it that hand-knitting is so devalued? Skilled artisan-makers like the girl I met are paid pennies when they should be earning pounds. Is it because hand-knitting is predominantly female-centric? Is it because history has taught the marketplace that hand-knitting is something poor people do to make ends meet and poor people can be exploited? Is it because hand-knitting is perceived as being 'a hobby' that people do between their 'real' jobs? I looked at hand-knitters and I am amazed at their skills, patience and talent. Maybe I am wrong - certainly the marketplace tells me so.

I have never knitted for money -  but I do get asked an awful lot if I am willing to take on commissions. Usually the punter wants me to whip up an aran cardigan because a machine-knitted acrylic version is deemed too expensive. When did we move from "mass produced" = inferior to "mass produced" = superior? To my mind, a one-off piece created by a skilled artisan using excellent materials should always be considered more valuable. How do we change this perception?

I am not an artisan maker and while I hesitate to label what I do, I'm probably more of an artisan makar. "Makar" is an old Scottish word for "poet" or "bard" - and I think of my knitting designs as a way of telling stories with stitches. I care about how hand-knitting is perceived and treated. I know exactly how much time and skill go into designing and writing a pattern - what does that say about my time and skill that Ravelry currently holds 122,147 free patterns? How could I possibly add value to a pattern (and price it at £3) when 122,147 patterns are free?

It's a weird job I have chosen and it is a strange industry too. All I can do is hope that you'll like my collaboration with Lilith (note: it involves an essay about cholera, false teeth and William Morris). I'll be back with a gift-buying guide for the knitters in your life. Treat them well: they are super-skilled and deserve a treat.

Wool Week Travels

It is Wool Week here in the UK and as a result my working week is somewhat frantic. This year the emphasis seems to be wool as fashion and that ties neatly into some blog posts I have been working on. Wool School asked budding fashion designers to design woolly jumpers with the best designs being snapped up by retailers. It is a different approach to previous years' campaigns which were more focused on wool as product. I applaud the decision to shift focus - it cannot not have been an easy decision - and hopefully by asserting wool as fashion we can start to have that particular discussion. More on this when I get a chance to post my blog series.

The Knitter features my Doggerland collection this month and I was slightly stunned to find myself sharing a page with Steph Pearl-McPhee, Alana Dakos, Jean Moss, and Kaffe Fassett. No pressure, Karie. However, that does bring me to what's going on with Doggerland. The next pattern is a 4ply shawl called Vedbaek - I really love it and it's a real comfort knit. The trouble is that I have about six or seven strings to my bow and I am a bit overwhelmed with work. So, Vedbaek is sitting 75% finished on my harddesk and I am as frustrated as everybody else that I cannot just dig into it and get it published. Hang in there with me. Besides Vedbaek, there are two more Doggerland patterns to go. I cannot wait to show you.

(this does go back to one of my concerns pre-release that my portfolio was going to drag me away for lengths of time. I need a time-turmer)

But at least being busy and travelling gives me time to do some work knitting (see photo!). I finished knitting my Bute cardigan (or did I? Oooh, there's a story..) and I began knitting Orkney. It is going to be a long-term project because I'll only be able to work on it now and then - but it is so pretty. I am changing the colours completely: from the beige/purple/turquoise original to a darker, more muted version in brown/green/red. Ravelry is full of wonderfully reimagined Orkney cardigans: Doodle's Orkney, Grebe's Orkney, Pletynka's Orkney, and Whitecotton's Orkney. I am blessed to be able to spend a bit of my work time of knitting - I don't think I will have time to do so going forward, though.

And so it is time to depart. Enjoy Wool Week - I will probably enjoy it most when it is all over for another year! Shhhh...

The Boyfriend Jumper - Or Why Do All Male Knitting Patterns Look the Same?

In late 2009 I knitted a jumper for David. He wanted a warm, cosy jumper that he could wear all winter round and I was happy to oblige. The only problem was that men's jumpers are generally written for men of a very different body shape to David. I had never really thought about men having similar clothes shopping problems to women, but they do. David is very, very slim - and so I ended up calculating a jumper based upon a women's 36" jumper. However, David has much broader shoulder (and slimmer hips) than an average woman and so I was never really happy with the fit. I knitted the jumper out of New Lanark Aran in the Bramble shade with the yoke details in Noro Kureyon sh 124. David wanted deep, intense colours and that is what he got. Over the years David has worn the jumper a lot - essentially every single day between September and May for four years. It has become his trademark uniform for every knitting show he has attended (and he gets recognised now because of it: look, Mr Bookish in his beetroot jumper!). I have reknitted the ribbing twice - the neckline and the hemline have been particularly prone to fraying - and I have also reinforced the neckline as the yoke has grown over the years. Now the elbows need mending as they are this close to wearing out.

I think we have come to the point where I am happy to mend the elbows, but I should perhaps knit David a new jumper so he has another one he can wear day-in/day-out.

The discussion went something like this:

Me: "You know, I'm really busy with samples but I was thinking that maybe I should try to kni.."

David: "YES! I want a new jumper and I want it to be deep teal but not in a solid way but maybe with a tweedy or heathered feel and then I want red and orange details at the yoke. And then the fit should be slightly different. It is a bit too relaxed around the body and I'd want it to be more fitted too. Look, here's the sort of colour I want but actually a bit darker.."

And at that point David showed me a ball of Rowan Fine Tweed he had found in my stash. Not that he had been waiting to tell me about the jumper he had been plotting in his head. Not at all. We started looking at online yarn shops for the perfect deep teal yarn but eventually we decided upon yet another jumper in New Lanark Aran. David loves the feel of his current jumper and my stash came up with the Raven shade (limited edition shade!).

Now we just have to find a pattern for a men's jumper - and this is where I will probably have to sit down to calculate my own pattern. The choice of mens' pattern has improved immensely since I last looked in 2009 but the vast majority of jumpers are still in the "plenty of ease" category and the smallest sizes would simply drown my boyfriend. It's also startling how many men's patterns include cables - unfortunately David loathes cables. Still, I am heartened by designers like Todd Gocken and Josh Bennett who both think men deserve something a bit more modern looking. My good friend Ben Wilson has long been hinting at a men's collection with a modern silhouette - his We All Play Synth pattern isn't quite what I need for David's jumper, but it is much closer than 99.9% of men's patterns on Ravelry. There is definitely room for more patterns of that ilk. Get on with it, Ben!

A handful of modern men's jumpers (and how interesting that all bar one are designed by men!):

• Drangey - Stephen West.
• Hell's Kitchen - Josh Bennett
• Brigade - Todd Gocken
• Leviathan - Drapes & Robertson
• Svethninge - Vithard Villumsen (I once sat behind Vithard on a train in Denmark and wondered if I should introduce myself. Awkward.)

Apropos of nothing, John Lewis Oxford Street is offering men-only knitting classes - maybe that's a sign of a possible sea change? Maybe next time I have to knit David a jumper (2017!) I'll be able to do what's so easy to do with women's patterns: go to Ravelry, type in a few key words and have 500+ patterns to choose from. I hope so. Men deserve better.

Something About Lace

I am working on a series of blog posts - hence the silence. For now enjoy this wonderful little video about Shetland lace (via Snàth Handspun):

On a similar note, I am running a workshop on triangular lace shawls in Edinburgh's Be Inspired Fibres later this month.

Be back soon with that mammoth blog series ..

Wardrobe Project #1: The Stevie Cardigan

. When my friend Paula first knitted her Stevie cardigan some two years ago, I was somewhat jealous. Paula had frequently worked on the cardigan at knit night and I had been struck by just how fun it looked. Then Paula started wearing her cardigan and I loved the finished item. I coveted it. It looked put-together but had a certain quirkiness to it too. You could dress it up and dress it down. Paula kept wearing and wearing her cardigan - in fact she began calling it her "go-to cardigan". Aaaghr. Earlier this year I got hold of some Rowan Wool Cotton for a project that didn't pan out for various reasons. I looked around for a pattern that would suit the yarn. And, you guessed it, Paula turned up at knit night wearing her Stevie cardigan. Three months later I finally have my own Stevie cardigan and I absolutely freaking love it.

Fact box:

Yarn: Rowan Wool Cotton DK in French Navy. 10.5 balls. Pattern: Stevie by Sarah Hatton from rowan Studio 24 Needles: 3.25mm & 4mm

Stevie is knitted top-down (which I have to admit still really appeals to me even if I know why pieces knitted flat are structurally sounder in many ways). The yoke is the most involved piece of knitting as you have to work some short rows across ribbing and you also increase in a specific matter. Still, it is not more involved than I was able to do it whilst at knit night.

The rest of the cardigan is very, very plain sailing - especially if you have done any other top-down garments. Pure stocking stitch, some waist shaping and then ribbing.

The ease of knitting Stevie meant that I made some - ahem - involuntary modifications. The biggest difference is in my choice of ribbing. I used 1x1 ribbing rather than the 2x2 ribbing prescribed by the pattern. I actually think it looks just as nice.

Other mods: I shortened the body by a few inches (I have a short waist) and lengthened the sleeves (I have monkey arms).

I began knitting this in early June. If I hadn't had other things on my needles - specifically four shawls, a scarf, two cowls and four hats - I might have finished Stevie within a fortnight or so. It is a fast, easy knit and I enjoyed it immensely.

Would I do things differently, though? I would probably add another two inches to the sleeves. Even with the added length they are .. well, "bracelet length" is what I have seen some people call it. I would also move the waist shaping a few inches north.

And I'd also do some rather severe waist shaping.

It has been so long since I last did a top-down cardigan that I forgot a few basic rules: I am very top-heavy and if I knit something that will fit across my bust, I need to adjust the fit around my (much smaller) waist. The cardigan is too big around my waist, alas. If I had more time on my hands, I'd rip back and undo it. Maybe I still will - though it is a tiny cosmetic flaw that few people will notice beside myself.

Some words about the yarn: I had worked with Wool Cotton before but mainly for small projects. I am very, very pleased by how it knitted up and how much I enjoyed using it. The yarn is a 50/50 mix of merino wool and cotton - which makes it a perfect yarn for Scotland as it will take me from spring, through summer and into autumn. The stitch definition is excellent and it feels lovely against my skin. Having seen how Paula's cardigan wears, I am certain this cardigan will last me years as well. I can see Wool Cotton become yet another one of my go-to yarns - I do try to use a many different yarns as I can but there is something to be said for good, reliable workhorse yarns.

I am also very taken with the deep inkiness of the navy blue.

Buttons. Let us talk briefly about the buttons. I was dithering between a couple of options.

First I ruled out using red buttons although I am a big fan of combining red and navy. Using red buttons would have limited the appeal of the cardigan. I wanted a basic go-to style rather than a bold "here I am" statement.

Then I was looking at some small bronze buttons that I had bought at Woolfest. I liked the matte surface of the buttons and how the red-brown colour played with the navy. Eventually I realised that the buttons would be too small for the cardigan.  I have this silly idea that the size of the button should correspond to the thickness of the yarn used - and the bronze buttons were destined for a 4ply project rather than a DK one.

And then my Other Half dug out these shell buttons. We both liked how the pattern on the buttons called back to the shaping of the yoke. The size was right too - as was the natural colour.

So here we are. The first cardigan in my ongoing project to knit wardrobe staples. It is incredibly comfortable to wear, it works with so many things in my wardrobe and it was a joy to knit.

Don't forget to leave me suggestions for wardrobe staples - I am always on the lookout for more patterns to add to my queue!

Botanical Gardens Shawl

Welcome to new visitors brought here by Knit Now and Yarnwise magazines! It has been a bit of a bumper week in terms of media coverage, it is fair to say. I have a pattern in the latest issue of Knit Now. The Botanical Gardens Shawl was a lot of fun to design: it starts off as a standard stocking stitch triangular shawl and then moves into a striking flower pattern which gives way to softly falling petals. I really enjoyed designing something that just flows organically from one stitch pattern into another and which  looks clean & non-fussy.

The shawl also served as a master-class in how magazine work actually works. It is not a designer having a definite vision: it is always a collaboration.

I designed this shawl for Knit Now's Garden Party story in December or January. I first envisioned the shawl knitted in lace-weight yarn and in soft pastel colours - a very soft sage green or a pretty primrose. The Knit Now team suggested the gradient SparkLynne 4ply yarn from The Knitting Goddess instead - the chosen colourway ran from a cool white via pale lavender to  a dark violet. It was a completely different direction but the graduation works perfectly with the way the stitches travel and a 4ply makes far more sense too. The ombre yarn meant that the shawl was moved from the Garden Party issue to the Colour Graduation issue as well - and the shawl works so well within the context of the other designs in the issue.

(I know that Joy of The Knitting Goddess is planning on restocking her shop with more colour-gradient yarns, so if you don't see a colourway straightaway - keep looking!)

Both Knit Now and Yarnwise focus on my Doggerland collection - Knit Now has a wonderful interview with Fiona of The Island Wool Company and Yarnwise has written an entire feature about the collection(!). I know a lot of people are still trying to catch up on knitting from the collection, so I am slowing things down a tiny bit. The next pattern is a unisex pattern and it should be out by mid-week next week.

So, it has been a bumper week - maybe it is more like a bumper year, really. Apart from the Doggerland collection, I have more 'things' in the pipeline. I am working with Old Maiden Aunt on a special project which will be unveiled in November, I'm collaborating with The Yarn Project, and I am also busy swatching for other 2014 work. I can show you a tiny, tiny glimpse of what I worked on yesterday - any guesses?