Simone

“The inspiration comes from the beautiful, natural materials and colors you can get from the animals and plants living and growing in the local landscape. The making of natural dyes and knitting are slow processes which create a deeper connection to the things you make.”

When did you start knitting/weaving/crochet?

In my childhood I started knitting clothing for my dolls.

What's your craft origin story?

I have always liked to make things with my hands and to work with materials and colors. And textiles has always been one of my favorite materials. During my study at the Design Academy Eindhoven I developed these skills that later led to my profession as a designer. Four years ago I picked up the craft of knitting again, then I discovered continental style knitting with circular needles. This made knitting much easier and fun. Since then I knit on regular basis making home wear.

What technique did you use for your regional wool project?

The socks are made with the basic stockinette stitch using shadow wrap heal technique and the Finchley Graft method is used to finish off the toe.

The idea was to get pair of warm feet using local wool and natural dyes. The dye plants comes from my vegetable and flower garden. I wanted to explore how many different colors could be extracted from one plant. The blue tones comes from the fresh leaves of woad plant and by experimenting with different mordants, the woad seeds produced the yellow, green, and pink tones.

What was the inspiration for your project?

The inspiration comes from the beautiful, natural materials and colors you can get from the animals and plants living and growing in the local landscape. The making of natural dyes and knitting are slow processes which create a deeper connection to the things you make.

What did you discover from  using regional wool in your project?

That it is still a challenge to go from raw wool to spun yarn locally.

What were the trial and error of the project?

Understanding the whole process of natural dyeing from harvesting, right amounts of leaves and seeds, water temperatures and the different mordants is learning by doing.

What does knitting/weaving/spinning/crochet do for you personally?

Creating a garment stitch by stitch, watching it slowly take shape in your hands, is meditative and satisfying.