The Importance of Clothing

I'm a big believer in always dressing well and appropriately for whatever you are doing. Lack of interest in grooming is so critical it shows up in mental health assessments from depression to dementia as one of the diagnostic criteria. I've always felt that we tell the world a lot about ourselves by the way we choose to present in terms of clothing and grooming. I don't think is so much about looking attractive as it is about showing others we value ourselves highly enough to put an effort into our appearance.

There's a really interesting article on the topic here. Some of what I found most fascinating in the post is that how we dress can also impact our performance. It can alter our thinking and change our results. Clothing can have an effect on more than just the way others perceive us.

I think I had better change out of my P.J.s and get some work done.

New Pattern The Louise Laxton Shawlette

I've got a new pattern out, You can find it here on Ravelry and here on Patternfish.

The yarn colour is absolutely fabulous but unfortunately does not show up well on any of the monitors I have checked it on. After fiddling in Photoshop to try and true the colour I ended up reading up on the RGB colour model. You can read more here about the colour system. It would appear that the system simply cannot reflect an accurate colour in this case. 
 

I interviewed the hand dyer (Emily) of this yarn here. 

An Interview with...Rhichard Devrieze

Once a week I post interviews with interesting people about their insights on their experience of working in the Knitting industry.  I’ve noticed that every one of these individuals makes their living in a slightly different manner bringing their own unique presence to the Knitting world.

You can find Rhichard here.

Where do you find inspiration for your colourways?

Most of the colour ways come out of my head.  Maybe they are there in the subconsious, but most of them are me playing with colours.  Mood has a lot to do with it and the music that I listen to while in the dye studio.  I must admit that there are certain things that inspire me.  For instance my partners Blue Crowned Mot-Mot that resides in the dye studio during the winter.  His colours are both bright and subdued.  It's an interesting combination with some jewel tones.  I am an avid gardener so this does have an influence on my colour ways too.

What is your favourite dyeing technique?

I'll have to be cryptic and say it's that thing I do.

How do you choose the fibers that you work with?

We kind of choose each other.  It's almost like establishing an interpersonal relationship.  I'm intrigued by something new and then, when I get a positive response, I want to work at the relationship, adding complexity by learning, experimenting, engaging.  And just like long-term relationships, I definitely have fibre favourites too.

How did you determine what weights of yarn you stock?

What's important to me is what's important to the people who work with the colourways that I produce, what excites them, what stimulates them to create what they do.  For me, it's always about maximizing depth of colour, reflections, refractions, emotional impact.  Some yarns 'express' better than others.

How do you come up with names for your yarn?

I'm either thinking of something even before the dyeing process begins, or something comes to mind during the process, but, often, an intended name gets 'bumped' because what the colourway looks like as a hank is quite different from what it looks like in a skein, and then again knitted.  But, most important, I really love what I do, and naming each colourway, and giving it a lyrical description is just my way of endeavouring to engage with the people who will use it.  

A coat woven, in white and black yarn which was then dyed by Rhichard.

Could you give us an idea of how long the process is to dye a batch of yarn and prepare it for sale?

An easy answer, and not an easy answer.  Without going into the specifics and the variables, usually about a week from start to enroute.  Sometimes just a few days.  Particularly if we're sold out and a particular colourway is needed to complete an order.  But, again, because I love experimenting, I prefer not to rush things.  

Do you look at other dyers' work or are you afraid that you will be influenced by their yarns?

Are you kidding?  I love looking at other dyers' products, and love seeing what knitters do!  That's the great thing about people sharing.  But I don't think I'm influenced by other dyer's any more than I would think other dyers are influenced by what I do.  We're each pursuing our separate creative urges.  And perhaps, for me, that's just natural, since I've been rather independent my whole life.

Are you a knitter as well?

I'm what you would have to call a novice among the novices.  My forte is weaving.  And I like stitching.  My problem is that each day only has 24 hours, and I have a family and four French Bulldogs. 

Did you do a formal business plan?

Of course!  And I'm really keen to see it unfold. 

Do you have a mentor?

I do and he unfortunatly died when I was twelve years old.  It was and is my maternal Grandfather.  He was a wonderful dyer who had a blanket weaving business in The Netherlands.  It was very sad to learn from my Mother that he lost the business during the depression.  This is when he took up dyeing in Helmond, Noord-Brabant.  He did what is called Java Batiks.  This is quite an interesting process and we are lucky enough to have a number of them in my Mother's home.  I am lucky enough to have one of his books in my possesion. 

Do you have a business model that you have emulated?

Yes, and no.  My partner and I are big fans of a marketing expert who has had a programme on CBC-Radio One, in Canada, for a number of years (and my partner and I are big CBC fans).  So there are some key words in our business model.  Affability.  Availability.  Accountability.  Strategic Engagement.  Exceeding Client Expectations.

What impact has the Internet had on your business?

We are a focused-internet-based business.  We have a website that is linked to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Ravelry.  So new colourways that get posted on our website automatically get identified.  We're very aware of internet marketing strategies, but we don't pursue those in an aggressive way.  We just really want to be friends with our wholesale accounts and with their customers.  Working hard is great, as long as it's fun.  

How do you maintain your life/work balance?

I guess that's where the phrase 'strategic engagement' also applies, even though it's not always that simple.  Having a very patient and supportive life-partner certainly is important, which means that I can attend a respectable number of dog shows each year, and yarn trade shows, knowing that things will be okay if I'm away. 

How do you deal with criticism?

If the criticism is constructive and well-intentioned, I welcome it, of course.  If it's mean-spirited, well, it is what it is, and then it's not really relevant.  And wouldn't it be great if 'critique' was offered, instead of criticism?

How long did it take for you to be able to support yourself?

One can support oneself on very little, if one's aspirations are . . . limited.  Mine aren't.  I don't have aspirations for 'big' but I do for excellence.  But then I think that that's what would be expected, and should be expected.

What advice would you give someone who wants to pursue a career in hand dying yarns?

Be passionate.  Appreciate.  Welcome.  Care.  Never stop learning.  Laugh.

Why Designers Don't Knit for Themselves

Have you ever scanned down a list of knitting event teachers bio photos and noticed that many of them are not wearing hand knit garments? Did you notice next, that the ones who are sporting something hand knit are often showing an accessory? 

Why do you think that happens?

I suspect the main reason is that the samples of the garments they design don't fit. Samples are knit in small sizes to fit tall models. Some publications request the samples to be produced with longer measurements than the pattern is written with. Most of us don't make much money so we move on to the next design before we can knit something for ourselves.

Very few women fit into those small sizes and often for the designer to have a garment to wear in public and properly showcase the design, further pattern customizations are required. In my case, I need more room on the front of a garment, shorter than average sleeves, a narrower shoulder and a shorter armhole depth which then requires sleeve cap changes.

I really enjoyed reading Amy Herzog's post here.

Amy says "Unfortunately, designers don’t actually get much time to knit sweaters for themselves… …and even less time to knit already-released sweaters for themselves." Further down in the post she shares the modifications to the pattern which make the garment flatter her specific shape. 

If I was a fairy godmother I would wave my magic wand and make every knitter understand that modifications are normal and are required. Everyone would pick their patterns and have the necessary knowledge to make the garment fit them. 

How to Generate Ideas for Post Topics

An Interview with...Anna Dalvi

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/nacken

Once a week I post interviews with interesting designers about their insights on their experience of working in the Knitting industry. I’ve noticed that every designer makes their living in a slightly different manner bringing their own unique presence to the Knitting world.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/eyjafjallajokull-shawl

You can find Anna here and here on Ravelry.

Where do you find inspiration?

I find my inspiration a little here and there.  A lot of the motifs come from nature, and me just mulling over what the colours of the yarn remind me of.  But I also like to design things with roots in folk lore and fairy tales.  I love mythology and have designed numerous items inspired by various stories.

My second book - Ancient Egypt in Lace and Color - is a perfect example of how I like to tie stories to designs. In ancient Egypt, colour had symbolic meaning in art. For example, red was associated with anger, green with death and blue with fertility.  The book contains two shawls in each of the six main colours used in ancient Egyptian art, and each design in the book is accompanied by a story from Egyptian mythology.

What is your favourite knitting technique?

I like any kind of knitting where things are happening - lace, cables, colour work…..  I really want the knitting to keep my interest, and the way to do that is to have patterns that keep me on my toes.

Could you tell us a little about your book, Shaping Shawls?

When I started designing lace shawls, each design was an exploration of shapes.  My first lace shawl, Mystic Waters, was a triangular shawl.  When I designed it, I sat down and tried to figure out how to knit a triangle.  I figured that if I started at the bottom point and knit upwards, if I made each row a little longer than the previous row, I would get a triangle.  Once I had designed that, I tried to construct a neck-to-edge triangle (top-down) with a spine - that is a triangular shawl constructed by two triangles. That became Mystic Light.  And so on.  For a couple of years, I kept exploring different shapes. In the end, I decided to write it all down as a book, so that other designers would have a sort of blueprint for how the geometry of lace shawls works. That way, it would be a great reference, and people wouldn't have to do the same exploring that I did.

Do you look at other designers' work or are you afraid that you will be influenced by their designs?

Given that I spend a fair amount of time networking on Ravelry, etc, of course I look at other work occasionally. Most of what draws my interest are interesting construction and I sometimes look at knit items and try to figure out how they were constructed.  But on the whole, there are endless combinations of knits, purls, increases and decreases, and I think that as designers we should listen to our inner voices and find inspiration there, rather than trying to create something for someone else.

How do you feel about the so called controversy of "dumbing down" patterns for knitters?

I think there's room for both simple and complex patterns. And simplifying instructions is really not at all the same as "dumbing down" patterns.  I tend to think of it as optimizing patterns - rather you would optimize code as a software designer.

How many sample/test knitters do you have working for you or do you do it all yourself?

I have used some sample knitters in the past, but since I often modify the design as I knit it, I tend to work better if I knit the piece myself.  Plus I also really enjoy the knitting - after all, it's what drew me to this business in the first place - so I would be hesitant to give that up.

I also have several test knitters who knit for me on an ad hoc basis.

Did you do a formal business plan?

No.

Do you have a mentor?

I've been lucky enough to have several friends in the industry.  Overall, it's a friendly place and most everyone is happy to talk about what they do, what works for them and what might not.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hrungnirs-heart

What impact has the Internet had on your business? My business would not be possible without the internet. I sell most of my patterns online, to customers all over the world. And I run knitalongs, hosted online.  The knitalongs also draw participants from all over the world and the internet allows us all to share in the progress, share pictures and talk about the design, knitting or just anything at all.

Do you use a tech editor?

Yes, of course.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/ancient-egypt-in-lace-and-color

How do you maintain your life/work balance? I think this line of work is very good for me at this point in time. The schedule is super flexible, which means that my schedule can work around the kids' schedules, what with school and hockey and everything else.  I can knit anywhere - at home, at the cottage, in the car (if I'm not driving, of course), at their hockey practices, and so on. The actual design work and charting tends to be done in spurts and during more quiet times, so it all works well.

How do you deal with criticism?

I try to learn from it.
 

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/havsfrun

How long did it take for you to be able to support yourself? How much you "need" in order to support yourself is so relative that it's almost impossible to answer.  It certainly helps to have income from a number of different sources (e.g. self publishing, books, knitalongs, teaching, submitting to other publications, etc). But even so, it's hard to get all of that to add up to enough to support a family of five.  

That said, there's great flexibility with this job - it can be done from almost anywhere at almost any time, and is ideal (for me) to combine with a young family.  And a supportive spouse.

What advice would you give someone who wants to pursue a career in knitting?

It's a great business to get into in terms of starting small. There is no need for large capital investments, etc. Especially not initially - really, what you need is some yarn and needles. And if you're considering it, you probably already own both. But it's not a very lucrative business for both, so be prepared to do a little of everything.  

I originally started in order to finance my hobby.  I thought it was a great way to make some extra money so that I could splurge on special yarn and fancy needles.  Then it grew into something bigger, because I really enjoy what I do. But it's a long, bumpy road, with unstable and variable income.  

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/shaping-shawls

Are Men Sweater Worthy?

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/family-of-cabled-sweatersaption

In an earlier post I did on the sweater curse I went looking for a pattern for a man's sweater that I could use for the top of the post. I was a little surprised to discover how very few there are.

Check out these searches on Ravelry.

Knit sweaters for adult women:  
  
19,584 matches 

Knit sweaters for adult men:

2,039 matches


I'm not sure why I was so surprised. I've only knit a few myself through my long knitting career. My husband rarely wears sweaters and I guess I thought he was unusual. I have in the past knit them for both my father and father-in-law. I did one for a boyfriend years ago but never did a second as we broke up before I started it. One of my friends just finished a gorgeous sweater for her son.

I think the questions are: are we not knitting for men because they don't wear hand knits, are we not knitting them because there are so few patterns, are we too busy knitting for ourselves and kids, or perhaps we just don't think men are sweater worthy?

What do you think?