Knitting designers of the month: December
Published on 20 November 2018 By Merion 3 min read
Summer knits are fun - it's a chance to explore cotton, linen, bamboo and silk and combine them with easy drape or fitted chic. Meet our designers for December, Dianna Walla, Sachiko Bergin and Kiyomi Bergin.
Dianna Walla
Diana Walla is a knitter’s knitter. Inspired by travel, stitch dictionaries and garment construction, Dianna’s designs are full of beautifully complex colourwork and textured stitches. Two years in Norway confirmed her love of traditional Nordic knitting, which continues to be a strong influence in her work. She is based in Canada, and has designed for Quince & Co and Brooklyn Tweed, and her designs have appeared in PomPom Quarterly, Interweave Knits and Knitscene magazine.
A neat cropped sweater is perfect for cooler days, and we LOVE the vintage feel of this Amiina jumper. There is just the tiniest bit of colour work nestled into the waist for extra knitting fun...
Elskling was a cardi designed for any occasion - and it truly is a versatile piece you can pop over a summer dress at the beach or over a strappy vest and old jeans.
Whatever the weather, it's always good for sock knitting! Portable and neat, the Southern Fiords socks have just the right about of colour work for regular sock knitters, and enough of a challenge for those of you new to Fair Isle!
Sachiko and Kiyomi Burgin
Twin sisters Sachiko and Kiyomi are based in Toronto, where they design knitwear independently and as a team. Their collective design skills combine individual talents - Kiyomi brings a background of illustration and loves yarn dyeing and sewing; Sachiko studied jewellery and metal-smithing, and has an interest in machine knitting. All of this fabulous creativity blends to produce beautiful design work with a distinctive fashion edge. The sisters have recently contributed to a soon-to-be-launched collection for The Yarn Collective celebrating 90s gothic fashion, entitled Sage.
Sachiko’s designs
Vaara is one of those jumpers that you will love making as much as you love wearing - it's a gentle tee that you can make in your favourite sport weight yarn - cotton, linen or a blend - it's entirely up to you. There is plenty of positive ease for scorching days...
Knitted from the bottom up, Saila is a sweet day to evening knit that works with smart pants or casual jeans - it's a quick project with a fun lace repeat that is written out row by row to follow.
Working with lace weight yarn feels more frightening than it actually is - and Sachiko's Arwan shawl uses one skein of Portland Lace yarn from The Yarn Collective. This gorgeous shawl uses an easy-to-follow chart to show you how to achieve the clever repeat.
Kiyomi’s designs
Cables and simple eyelet lace make a sweet vest even sweeter - Kiyomi's Windlass is a warm weather nod to the traditional fisherman's gansey.
Sassy and sophisticated, the Heya Tank is knitted in two pieces and seamed - there are no ribs and no edgings. It would be absolutely fabulous in fine silk yarns, linen or cotton - a true summer knit.
Thoroughly modern, the Fissile vest is a neat knit with vented back - fabulously simple but so bold! Knit in your favourite DK weight yarn - you can change the look so cleverly here with solid/semi-solid/print yarn.
