Knit Today

What led you to start designing knitwear?
I’ve always had a tendency for spotting a gap in the market and creating something to fill it. My grandma remembers me cutting up old curtains in her garden shed when I was seven to make shorts for my Barbie. Unfortunately, I hadn’t allowed any gusset room and poor dolly could barely fit a leg in! In my teens came a tie-on nose-warmer for my chilly bedroom, and a tie-dyed bedsheet cut and fashioned into a pencil skirt and shell top. It was only when I set up my small business, Knitty Nora, that I began designing seriously. I sold children’s knits around the local farmers’ markets,  but I didn’t think it would become the  career it has until my book Knits for dogs and cats was published by GMC in 2006.

What kinds of things do you like to design?
I have a bit of a butterfly mind – one minute I am totally into vintage women’s wear, and the next I’m thinking about a collection of teddy bears. In a way, I wish I could find a pigeonhole and wedge myself in it so people could recognise my work by its signature style. On the other hand, it means I’m quite adaptable and can design right across the spectrum. Plus, it means I never get bored with my commission work. I am also a big fan of natural and organic fibres, and my new books – Natural knits for babies and toddlers and Natural crochet for babies and toddlers (published by GMC 2008) – include garments and toys designed using a range of easily available natural yarns and organic fibres.

What would you like other knitters to get from your designs?
Whenever knitters start a project, they need to get the ‘oooh’ feeling – “oooh, I love that” or “oooh, I know somebody who would love that.” I hope people get a bit of that when they see my designs, and I aim to design the pattern so knitters can create the project easily and painlessly. Nothing is more satisfying than trying on a finished project and having it look exactly (or better) than you first envisaged.