It’s all in the Detail!

You know the feeling? Coming home after a full day’s work - you even popped by the gym on the way home…you did the dishes too, and all you need is to melt into the couch, put your legs on a chair and watch a movie with some relaxing knitting occupying those hands of yours?

So, you reach out for the nearest project bag, whilst your mind is already imagining the relaxing feeling of the yarn smoothly passing through your hands that are gently moving stitches from left to right needle without you even looking at what your hands are doing.

And then, you realise that the project is not in its bag but on exactly the same spot on the floor where you left it last night as you understood that you were too tired for something this complicated after 8 o’clock in the evening… dammit!

On a lucky day, you may succeed in pursuing someone else to go grab the other knitting project for you. The one that is simple, top-down with a stitch pattern you managed to memorise instantly, right?

I’ve found unfinished knitting projects left in the back of the cupboard. Projects that are almost 10 years old and that I gave up on only because I had reached a part of the process where I needed to make a decision of some kind….and I just didn’t have the forces to do so.

At that time, my knitters-life was different from now. In reality, it was an escape from my unfulfilling work life and not being able to sleep at night. Therefore, in those rare moments that I had for myself I just needed something easy.

However, already at the time I felt that something was lacking. I did find it meditative to move stitches one at the time. Likewise, it felt nice to sense the yarns in my hands working in a steady rhythm. However, I also felt the urge to develop technically as a knitter and I often found that the final project did not have the fitting that I wanted and was furthermore lacking design technical details.

Hence, I soon started showing interest in the work of knitwear designers that engaged themselves in fitting and knitting techniques – unaware that this would be the start of my journey towards becoming a knitwear designer myself….along with the tailored look that is characterising my designs.  

I feel a natural compassion for constant development and I’m always on the lookout for better ways of doing things. This also goes for my design process.

My basic ideas about designs and knitting patterns are:

1) Always to insist on the best possible solution – be it difficult or simple

2) Unexperienced knitters can succeed with more complicated patterns and constructions – if the pattern is well written and supported by video tutorials  

In my knitting patterns for men, every detail has been thought (and knitted) through. Therefore, each technical detail is the result of a conscious decision rather than ‘how we use to do’.

I also (still) experience those days where my energy level is low and I am not capable of knitting anything that takes brains. Hence, I’m always busy with several projects. Some of them are at the stage where I can simply ‘just knit’ and those I keep for days where I’m tired. Other projects are for the days when I slept well at night and I’m ready ‘to rock’.

I never, however, start a ‘quick-knit on a huge needle size’ the reason being that I find the more complicated knitting projects so much more enjoyable and the final products a lot more useful for me.