Naama Rietti

"raw, natural and organic; an allowance of freedom without restraint has driven my process . . . sensual and erotic, animalistic interventions plait, knot and weave their way into sculptural bodily forms. A mixture of luxurious leathers and lustrous animal fibres layer the body, celebrating the female form and its seductive endowment." Naama Rietti graduated from Kingston University with a BA in fashion in 2010, for those of you interested in incorporating knitting into your designs her show and development work are very inspiring.
See a full interview with Naama here.

Sandra Backlund III

"The handicraft process is also very important. It is a freedom to be able to make your own fabric while working." Sandra Backlund

"I am very interested in almost every traditional handicraft method and I do experiment a lot with different materials and techniques, but it is my three dimensional collage knitting that is most significant." Sandra Backlund

Above: body sculpting, knitted fashion from Sandra Backlund's collections: Last Breath Bruises and Don't Walk

Annie Larson

Annie Larson has for over a year been fashioning her brand of ALL knitwear, the result is a riot of colour, just what you need when the world outside is winter white. Annie promotes her wears through flickr and a blog, editorials and shop displays. Annie's knitwear is made of cotton yarns using knitting machines.

Christien Meindertsma I

I love this project by Christien Meindertsma and I can't wait to see the results of 'One sheep Sweater' knitted sweaters each one made from the wool of the only flock of Merino sheep in the Netherlands, owned by Matlee Kamp.

. . .the wool is on the way to being washed and spun . . .

'Extravagansey'

Pittenweem Craw Step Gables

Fife East Neuk fishing port

Textile finishing is an interesting field and after visiting 'Extravagansey' today is even more so. Dr Annie Shaw of Manchester School of Art has created a clever collection of knitwear designs based on the traditional gansey sweater worn in the 19th and 20th Century by deep sea fisherman. Looking backwards to look forwards has resulted in an inspiring collection that comments on cheap mass manufacturing in relation to monies saved in production and reinvested into design and finishing. The design inspiration is from the coastal fishing villages we are familiar with in Fife and their rich heritage handed down from generation to generation.

The eastern seabord of the UK and in particular the fishing ports around the north east of England -Filey, Whitby and our own Fife fishing ports of Pittenweem, Anstruther, Crail had traditional patterns worked into the knitted fabrics to identify seaman from specific ports. This design device was useful whilst the men travelled between ports and also should they unfortunately drown, helped to identify the bodies (similar to the origins of naval tatoos but in garment form).

Usually made in one piece with no seams and in a navy, oiled wool to aid hyrdrophobic properties, the sweaters were hard wearing, practical and made by the loved ones of the fishermen to protect them from the harsh north sea environment.

The Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther have invited some of our students to hear a presentation by Dr Annie Shaw this week. We look forward to hearing about the thematic development and how she has integrated modern technology into a series of mini ganseys made in cashmere and worsted lambswool. Textile finishing techniques are inspired by the gansey end-use theme and include sea washing, rubberising, embroidery, beading, printing, embellishment, needle punch felting, lacing and piercing. All of this adds up to a very contemporary range with an edge, linked to Fife.

Is fashion - art, wearable and commercial? Yes and the deep fried example above is for experimentation purposes. The Scottish Fisheries Museum is an excellent day out and a great place to knit with a friend, a pot of tea and a friendly chat with the locals. Where do Tom Hanks, Prince William and Samuel L Jackson go when playing golf nearby? Anstruther Fish Bar.

Christine

Loose Knit with Ivano Vitali

All woven from different brands of Newspaper to achieve different hues and textures, this is the wild fashion of Italian Ivano Vitali, knitted and crocheted, magical newsprint.

Knitting Big

This is the big knitting of textile artist Ingrid Wagner. The top image is of particular interest for upcycling as Ingrid is knitting rag strips, you could consider this or crochet.

Yoshikazu Yamagata

For those of you mastering the art of knitting, this is Yoshikazu Yamagata, have a look at his amazing portfolio, I am sure that you will gasp, laugh and hopefully be very inspired!