Cables and Macrame

We're nearly at the end of another successful 6 week course. Within the 6 week course, each week you can choose between two machine knit techniques. This time around on week two everyone chose to study Cables.

We look at all aspects of knotting and cabling so it makes sense to study the humble art of Macrame. A firm favourite of 1970s craft magazines and the ultimate way to make a cheap rope hanging plant pot ( should you need one) it also has infinite applications in fashion.

Making cables off the machine is a great way to play with and sculpt your knots.

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
Powered By Ringsurf

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.