Pitti Filati

Trends and colours from Pitti Filati:

U-NISEX

Displaying ideas on kimonos to focus on the element of shape,

highlighting materials and stiching.

CHIL-DISH

Displaying techniques and colours using rag dolls

PRE-HE-STORY

Using a limited colour palette using lots of effects such as fringing giving a very
primitive feel.

Fashion at work at trend area

Spinners:

Pinori: ponchos using giant stitches and heavy yarns

for a very pieced together look.

Avia:
Distressed, thick and thin yarn used giving a warn out look

Acadamia:

Displaying techniques using lanterns

Be miva:

HF Filati

Shops

Gucci womenswear, using all tweeds and tartan for a tailored,

classic look

Ballantyne:

Roberto Cavalli

Learn to Machine Knit in 6 Weeks

NEW 6 WEEK COURSES.

Starting this summer ......












Pre University
Get the skills to make great designs
to create a superb portfolio!


Undergraduates
Take your work beyond the levels
seen in Universities !


Graduates
& Designers
Enhance your design style to secure
employment and design jobs!

30 hours top quality instruction per week + extra 5 hours studio time per week !

uk knitters
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Machine Knit Spring Class comes to an end.

For the final part of the course students receive direction from the industry, in this case Topshop and using all the skills they've learnt in the previous 8 weeks make designs with this customer and the brief in mind.

Yordanka made these beautiful experiments into neutral, textural knits.
We also looked at 'crazy bonkers' novelty knits, using placed jacquard, bright clashing colours, short row stripe, intarsia and crochet- and yes, licquorice allsorts for inspiration!

Progressing from never using a knit machine before to making full garments to a brief in 12 weeks, as most of these students did, is pretty impressive!

Crochet Designing.

When we've covered all the knit techniques we can fit into Parts 1 and 2 of the Design Workshop we turn to crochet as the icing on the cake.

One of the advantages of crochet over knitting is being able to work in any direction, so once the students mastered the basic stitches they could freestyle.

They combined crochet with knit, at a neckline or in a seam joing other pieces together.

Dan gave a jacquard swatch an interesting edge.

Looking at natural structures is always helpful for stitch and shape construction.

Cookie crocheted this twisting, organic cable- ish swatch.

The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef (below),that we saw last summer at the Hayward Gallery in London was an awesome achievement and provided no end of ideas!!

Fresh FairIsle Knits.

Traditional Fair isle knitting can look simple but its construction is actually quite the opposite. To make traditional patterns you must understand the composition or rhythm of colours. use tones well then choose a good placement for your garment design.

When mastered it gives beautiful results and is really satisfying to knit. FairIsle is a classic fabric that fashion companies continually like to see re-invented. It's good to give a nod to the historic but to make it your own is much better.

Using bright colours can make traditional patterns look more less conventional.

All of the workshopees have mastered the technique and then experimented with placement or combining with other patterns. They also used other knit construction techniques, learnt earlier in the course, to make original and interesting samples.

Ambitious novice knitters get Jan 09 Workshop underway!

So we're almost at the end of Part One of the first Design Workshop of 2009, and the workshopees are coming on leaps and bounds.

This is Dan from London, who had not knitted on a machine before.....

"It's been just great so far. I can't believe how much I've learned in such a short space of time, fantastic! I really like the way the course is structured. Working towards the group review on a Friday is a great way to focus attention each week."

.... and images of his work in progress about contemporary cables for menswear

After learning and experimenting with techniques such as ; stripe, pointelle, jacquard, and cables always with fashion in mind, each week we turn swatches into garments.









Using different ways of shaping the fabric into interesting silhouettes, we drape and build contemporary designs.

Emily, a handknitter from California.....

"I am enjoying the course immensely so far. I enjoy the challenge of learning each skill set/group of techniques weekly and pushing myself to fully explore the technique and then apply it in whatever way I see fit, in the context of a full garment or just an idea."

...and her work in progress.

This course runs untill the 27/03/09, Summer Workshop commences 15/06/09.