Hi Georgia! What are you up to today?

I’ve just got of zoom; I’ve been talking to a wonderful group of knitters in the US about Vivid, my latest collection, as part of a retreat weekend!

Tell us a little bit about your path to becoming a knitwear designer?

I’m trained in textile design, specialising in knit, but it wasn’t until a few years after I graduated that I began applying my design skills to hand knitting, rather than machine knitting which is what I did a lot more whilst studying. My wonderful Nan taught me to knit as a child and whilst I did incorporate hand knitting into my degree collection, it was actually working for Rowan Yarns in store at Liberty of London that really got me into designing my own hand knits and patterns, and of course, Knit Now has a special place in my heart for publishing my very first design and pattern! Now I’m designing full time and loving every minute of it.

I love the way you find inspiration for your designs – can you talk a little about that process?

It all starts with architecture and that goes back to my time studying in London. I always say that the biggest thing I got out of the three years I spent at university was finding my design aesthetic, my unique creative style. And for me it was and still is, building my designs on a foundation of architectural inspiration. I look at modern architecture and translate its lines, shapes and patterns into knits and purls; into textured knitted fabrics.

You’re working with Rowan these days, how did that come about, and what’s it like to work with such a well-loved yarn company?

It’s a joy! Rowan give me a lot of creative control which I really appreciate and love, they understand that for me it’s not just about the knitting but the narrative that goes alongside it, and they have supported me and my work since I worked for them in store. It really is a privilege working with a brand that has such an amazing heritage as Rowan and seeing my work alongside their longstanding designers who I admire so much, still makes me want to pinch myself! Working for Rowan in one capacity as I did gave me a lot of knowledge of the brand and it meant I got to meet people within Rowan that otherwise I probably never would have. It was actually when I had my work on display at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace, as part of a graduate competition, that Rowan first saw my work, not long after I took the job at Liberty, and asked me to work on some designs for them, and it’s just grown from there.

Which of your designs are you proudest of?

I have a new book and collection coming out in January, and it’s by far the thing I’m most proud of creating. It was the lockdown project that kept me going through it all and it turned out even better than I ever hoped it could. I really can’t wait till I can talk about it more!

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve ever faced with your knitting?

Knitting is by nature soft and flexible, and my love of structure and geometry can sometimes be hard to realise in this medium that I and we all love so much, so that’s my biggest challenge with knitting. But I guess it’s really about embracing the limitations of knitting and finding ways to express what’s in my head the best way I can, creating these soft structures.

What’s the best piece of knitting advice you’ve ever received?

“Your knitting is your friend, you don’t need to fight with it” from my wonderful friend Trudy.

There’s a fair bit of talk about being eco-conscious with our crafts of late – do you have any tips for greener knitting?

In the same way that the greenest most environmentally friendly option when it comes to clothing, is the clothing already in your wardrobe, the greenest yarn to knit with is the one already in your stash. I’ve been really challenged lately to try and find ways of using up all the precision raw materials and yarn that I already have, that I’ve hoarded as so many of us do. There’s quite a few stashbusting designs in Vivid, my latest collection, and that was something I wanted to be intentional about. I want to encourage as many knitters as I can to make use of all their left over yarn and odd balls! That’s not to say, don’t buy any new yarn, because we all love to buy yarn! But maybe you can buy yarn to enable you to make a project that uses up some of what you already have too, or make a project from your stash for every project you buy new yarn for, just be intentional with it.

What would your perfect day of knitting look like? Where would you be, what would you be knitting, what yarn would you use, what snacks would you have, who would you be with etc?

I would be knitting something simple so that I can get all the mindful goodness out of knitting! I’d probably be using a woolly yarn that has great stitch definition, snacking on crisps with a glass of Kombucha, sat with my husband and my family, my favourite people!

The nights are getting really long now, and it can be so easy for this to affect our moods. Do you have any thoughts on how knitting can help our mental wellbeing?

Absolutely, I’m a massive advocate of mindfulness, it’s really helped me through some difficult seasons in my life and knitting is such a great mindful activity! Pick something simple and repetitive, and use some really great yarn that feels amazing as it runs through your hands for an extra sensory treat.

Do you have any big knitting plans coming up?

Right now I’ve just designed my autumn winter 22 collections with Rowan and whilst we’re waiting for photography I might start working on a bit of a passion project I’ve wanted to do for a while; a mini collection of designs inspired by buildings that no longer exist, immortalising architecture that I love in knits and purls!

Where can people find out more about you and your work?

I’m Georgia Farrell Design on instagram and Facebook, follow me there for all the latest from my design studio, and you can find out all about my work on my website georgiafarrell.co.uk

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