Designer Spotlight: Sweaterbabe!

"As knitters, we can and should knit things that don’t just mimic the styles we could easily find at stores. . . it’s all the fine details, careful knitting, yarn choice, and interesting project elements that make each knitting project worthwhile."

Sweaterbabe is a pretty hard name to forget, and once you see her work, you'll have even more reason to remember it. Katherine Lee has been designing for about 10 years and knitting for over 30. Her designs are flattering and contemporary, and feature special little details that add a touch of femininity. Her fans couldn't agree more; Ravelry shows almost 4,000 projects knit in her designs! Katherine was kind enough to answer some questions, hope her answers leave you feeling inspired!

How long have you been designing? 

I’ve officially been a knitwear designer for about 10 years. Throughout my 30+ years of knitting, I’ve always improvised and altered patterns to suit my needs though, and the designing process has since proven to be my strength in this business.  Now, I really consider it my job to design interesting knitting projects that feature unexpected and interesting details that can define a project as hand-crafted and make the time my customers’ spend knitting them really fun and rewarding!

How did you get started?

Silky Alpaca Lace Design Contest I

Trade shows are great places to meet up with other people in "the business". For a yarn distributor, that means sales reps, designers, mill representatives and, arguably our most important partners, yarn shop owners! We sat down for dinner with Stephanie Steinhaus of Unwind in Burbank, CA and put our heads together to come up with a fun, engaging way to sell some yarn. Stephanie mentioned that Silky Alpaca Lace is a bestseller in her shop, perfect for the Southern California climate and stylish enough for her young, hip customer base. After some back-and-forth, Unwind's "Absolutely No Design Skills Required" Silky Alpaca Lace Contest was born!

Stephanie was looking for designs that were climate-friendly, hip, and casual. She wanted stylish pieces that were unfussy and appropriate from the beach to the street to the office. For us, we knew that the winning design would be featured in a Web-Letter, so we had some criteria of our own. We wanted something that would not only meet our CEY design aesthetic, but also something the average knitter would have the desire and capability to execute on their own. Both our finalists were stunning pieces of work. You saw our accessory winner in the Web-Letter this week, the Dandelion Shawl from Kavita Sleight.

Here is the designer's own description:
This triangular shawl with a rounded lace edge is worked from the center of the upper edge outwards, so the size can be adjusted. The size indicated is for a small shoulderette. The lace pattern was inspired by dandelion seeds blowing in the California breeze.

The original piece is quite dainty, Kavita refers to it as a "shoulderette". We appreciate that some may want a larger shawl; the Web Letter pattern includes a size range of 34 (44, 54)" wide at top x 13 (17.25, 22.5)" deep at center point.

There are two honorable mention entries in the accessories category. The first runner-up is the Poppycock Shawl. Designed by Karen Eckhoff, this garment is truly a piece of art. Taking it out of the box elicited gasps from everyone in the room, and we all had to try it on (obviously). The colorway she chose, Midnight Forest, perfectly echoes the iridescent colors of a peacock's tail.

While awe-inspiring, Poppycock is not for everyone...the pattern numbered 11 pages long! We would be remiss if we didn't give you a couple of peeks at this stunning piece. Hopefully Karen will decide to self-publish this shawl someday!

**UPDATE** Here is a note from the Karen Eckhoff, designer of Poppycock:

Thanks everyone for your flattering comments! I am quite stunned by the response! I will be making Poppycock available, however I would like to have it tech edited and charted first, as it is quite cumbersome in its raw form. I am rapunzelrides on Ravelry if you would like to drop me a line. Thanks again for the outpouring of support! Meanwhile, let's make Dandelion, it is lovely and Silky Alpaca Lace is fabulous to work with!

We have a second runner-up that will have to remain a secret for now...there's a special project on the books and you'll just have to stay tuned.

Next week we are featuring finalists in our garment category! If you do not receive our Weekly Web-Letter, what are you waiting for?

Ravelry Roundup

Another installment of projects we love from Ravelry! What catches your eye?

Vitamin D by Heidi Kirrmaier, knit by FoggyKnits in Soft Linen

Afternoon Light by Laura Zukaite from our Fall Collection (whoo hoo!), knit by Lippyone in Kumara

These Pinked Socks, designed by Judy Alexander and knit in two colors of Alpaca Sox blew me away
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The brilliant Presto Chango by Valerie Wallis knit in Chesapeake by Ludistitcher

Hey Teach by Helene Rush, knit in Classic Silk by KnittingPark

The Radian Yoke pullover from the Summer KnitScene, knit in the suggested yarn, Firefly by Austierra.

Bonne Marie Burns's Vonica knit in Allegoro by Sticksnscones.

This Green Point shawl by Nichole Reese was knit in Sprout by Lousquared for her LYS's Spring KAL.

Designer Interview: Cathy Payson

Sparrow in Seedling

Blue Heron in Seedling

Cathy Payson is a prolific knit designer who has been designing for Classic Elite for years. Search her name on Ravelry and you'll find almost 60 patterns, ranging from online publications to books and even to TV with her contribution to Knitting Daily TV. She is the designer behind Sparrow and Blue Heron, two patterns from our Seedling booklet, and was kind enough to chat with us about her career and design process.

How long have you been designing?
I designed my first sweater over 20 years ago.


How did you get started?
I learned to knit while in college and after one lesson was completely addicted. I took every knitting book I could find out of the library and tried to teach myself whatever I could. Luckily the student who taught me to knit was kind enough to never say no when I asked for help, so I could easily move along in my projects. A few years after college I went to work for Aarlan Yarns and started to learn about the handknitting industry. Since then I’ve been fortunate enough to work at a couple of yarn companies (Classic Elite and Reynolds Yarns) and in knitwear design for a women’s apparel company.

Bateau Mittens in Inca Alpaca from Booklet 9121, Wharf

What's the first piece you ever designed?
Actually I designed my first sweater while working for CEY! I dug the leaflet out of my archives and it’s pattern #282 – called “The Perfect First Knitting Project”. It is a pretty easy v-neck pullover vest with a chunky cable up the center front. I think it was during my first season at CEY and was in a great yarn called Applause.

The Perfect First Knitting Project, available on Patternfish!

What pieces did you design in the Spring Collection?
I did two pieces in Seedling – I love that yarn and all the yarns in the Verde Collection. One is the hooded capelet Blue Heron and the other is a cabled necklace called Sparrow.


What is the timeline for one of your designs, from swatch to pattern to sample?
It varies and every project is different. I think ideally it’s great to have 3-4 weeks to work from beginning to end but that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes a yarn is late coming in from a mill and/or photo shoot dates are imminent so you’re given just a very short time to complete a project. You just have to be flexible and work with what you get but basically it’s sketch, swatch, write and size the pattern, knit.

Princess Mixed Rib Turtleneck from #9084 Uptown Knitting

Do you use test knitters?
Not usually. I’m sort of the chief cook and bottle washer, doing much of my knitting myself. I like to write and size a pattern first before knitting the sample. That way I sort of test the pattern myself and can edit as I go along.

Unisex Seed Stitch Pullover from #9074 Essentials

What is your "design process"?
I’m not sure if I really have a process but I think in a nutshell I always keep my ears and eyes wide open. You never know when an idea will come to you or where it will come from. I am equally inspired by home magazines as I am fashion magazines and always am looking online for trends and what’s going on in the world. I don’t think that we need to necessarily be on the cutting edge of fashion in the handknitting industry but it’s always good to see what’s out there and what may be applicable. I try to design more timeless pieces that will be challenging enough for a veteran knitter but also accessible for a novice knitter too – the main goal being to end up with very wearable pieces.

Two, Two Cabled Pullover from #9061 Beginnings

Where do you do your design work? What does your "creative space" look like?
This photo is of my workspace. But nothing beats my favorite place to knit, which is in a cozy corner of our couch. It’s a sectional with one corner which is the exact right spot to sit and knit.

What is your favorite piece you designed for the Spring Collection? What was your inspiration?
I’d have to say Blue Heron, the hooded capelet. It’s sometimes hard to think of accessories to do for the spring season but I had seen a photo of a suede hooded capelet. It looked like it was something you’d want to throw on over everything but it was a woven piece. I thought it would be a good idea to make it into a spring accessory in a cozy yarn – for a chilly night or even over a bathing suit at the beach.

The Magic of Giselle

Vogue Knitting's Magic of Mohair contest is in full swing! Vogue Knitting is holding a design competition this fall for all aspiring designers and design students. The rules are simple: submit a handknitted women's fashion garment in yarn that is at least 25% mohair and you could win! Prizes vary from gift cards and knitting supplies to the GRAND PRIZE, an all-inclusive weeklong trip to South Africa sponsored by Mohair South Africa to learn firsthand about the mohair industry, including a tour of a working mohair farm and processing center near Port Elizabeth! Also, the winner's design will be featured in a future issue of VK and will be displayed at the VKLive event this winter in New York.

With such extravagant prizes in the balance, we thought we'd give out some mohair ideas for you budding designers to get your creative juices flowing.

The objection I hear most often about mohair is, "It's scratchy." While I've felt my share of scratchy mohair, it's important to understand why some may be scratchy and some soft enough to keep next to your skin. Have you ever seen the term "kid mohair"? Mohair varies in softness depending on the age of the animal: the younger the goat, the softer the hair.

When I picked up the ball of Giselle to swatch for this post, I was mesmerized not only by its jewel-like color, but also by its softness. I rubbed it between my hands and then, curious, against my face and neck. It's a blend of 66% kid mohair (hence the softness), 23% wool, and 11% nylon; the nylon acting as a binder, holding in all the beautiful fluff that's particular to the fiber. When looking closely at my peacock-blue ball of yarn, I noticed the thin nylon ply holding it together and was delighted to see that it's green! The contrasting nylon binder adds dimension to the already brilliant, prismatic color.

Giselle is a "bulky" yarn, the recommended needle size is a US8, though the yarn itself feels quite thin. Why the beefy needle size? Because Giselle is meant to be knit as a soft, airy fabric, with plenty of space between the stitches. Last week was hot, hot, hot and I knit my swatch with my ceiling fan on--the strands are so light I had to wrangle them out of the air beside me.

I love Giselle in stockinette stitch and delicate, ladylike lace and eyelets. I swatched it here in a horseshoe eyelet pattern from Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting Patterns, and I have to admit, I couldn't get a good picture of it to save my life...I hope this one shows off the pattern and the beautiful haze.

See it in our Fall collection on our website and get inspired by our Heavenly and Weekend booklets! Stay tuned for a La Gran post tomorrow. Thanks for reading!