GOOD READ: Meet an independent publisher making waves in the knitting world

Hi Lydia! Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m Lydia Gluck, and I am one of the Founders and Editors at Pom Pom alongside Meghan Fernandes. I am from the UK and grew up in South Wales, and then studied Linguistics at Manchester University. I have been knitting and crocheting for about 15 years, and as soon as I learned I was completely hooked (if you’ll excuse the pun!). Since then I have dabbled in weaving, embroidery, macrame, sewing, and have recently taken up quilting too! I love textiles in all their forms! I am currently studying part time for an MA in Fine Art at Norwich University of the Arts alongside working at Pom Pom and I feel very lucky indeed.

Why did you choose the raglan technique as a basis for this book?

I chose Raglans because they are one of my favourite shapes (boxy!) for a top down pullover. I love that the increases create diagonals, and that those ‘seams’ are a great place to play with using increases in a decorative way. I personally don’t like seaming pullovers (although I know many people prefer seamed pullovers for all sorts of reasons!) so I like that the design involves very little finishing. Also, because it’s top-down you can try it on as you go, adjusting the length of the body, sleeves, and neckline easily.

Who should be picking up a copy of Ready Set Raglan? Who did you have in mind when you were creating it?

One of the best things about Ready Set Raglan is that it’s a book I think knitters of varying levels will love. We imagine it being picked up by someone who is reasonably new to knitting, or perhaps wants to embark on their first pullover, or someone who has worked through our beginner’s book Knit How and wants a new challenge. I love that the patterns are accessible in terms of skill; once you can knit in the round and know how to increase, you are most of the way there! But the book is also something we think more experienced knitters can come to for simple projects where they can customise to their heart’s content and use the backdrop of the relatively simple shaping and stitches to play with colour and texture. Ready Set Raglan also teaches knitters how to create their own decorative design down the raglan pullover’s faux seams, so it would also be a fab starting point for an advanced knitter who wants to try their hand at designing!

I love that the patterns are accessible in terms of skill; once you can knit in the round and know how to increase, you are most of the way there!

Ready Set Raglan inspires and empowers knitters to customise their knits. Do you think customisation is an important skill in knitting?

I think if someone wants to customise their knits then they should definitely have a go! In the book, we have laid out options for anyone who wants to try customising something for the first time and help them think about all the possibilities of making their own clothes. I believe that the ‘important’ skills in knitting are very particular to each maker, so whichever skills allow someone to create what they would like to create will be important to them. The book also allows you to follow patterns in a more traditional way, and we think everyone will have fun trying them out!

How does Ready Set Raglan introduce customisation to a newer knitter?

Ready Set Raglan includes ideas and instructions on how to customise various aspects of the pullover you want to make. We introduce these with a combination of discussion about how to make certain changes, and indicate where in the pattern you might decide to make any alterations. We also provide images to illustrate how various options might look once the pullover is finished. Basically, we encourage people to think about making a pullover that is perfect for the person who will wear it, whether it's for the maker themself or for a loved one. The possibilities of making your own clothes can be overwhelming at first, so we feel that by pointing out which aspects of a pattern can be customised we can help newer knitters build confidence to have a go themselves.

Ready Set Raglan is fantastically inclusive. Could you tell us more about inclusivity in the process of making the book?

Ready Set Raglan is inclusive of a large range of sizes, and designed to include knitters of varying gender expression. We are proud of how inclusive it is, but we know that it won’t include absolutely everyone, and we are continuing to work on welcoming and including more and more knitters in our publications. Over the past few years in particular, we have been thinking more carefully and being more intentional in serving our community better by making everything we do more accessible and inclusive. We still have a long way to go, and we owe so much of what we have learned to those who have spoken out and taught us to think in different ways about what it really means to be inclusive. Inclusivity is very much on our minds, and a huge part of decisions we make, but we don’t believe it is for us to decide whether or not something is inclusive. However, we do believe it is our responsibility to listen, but also to do our own research and take action, and to ultimately be accountable to our community.

Inclusivity is very much on our minds, and a huge part of decisions we make

The book teaches knitters how to create jaw-dropping colour combinations. Could you tell us about colour combinations in the book?

Here at Pom Pom we are great lovers of colour, and we get so much joy from experimenting with colour combinations! We know that sometimes it can be tricky to decide on a colour for something that you will spend a long time making (we’ve been there!), so we wanted to show the finished pullovers in a variety of colours and yarns as inspiration for the reader. We also wanted to share a few tips and tricks on how we go about choosing colours both for our publications and for our personal projects. When it comes to making, the bottom line for us is that it should be fun, and can also be a process of self-discovery. What do I actually want to wear? What will I enjoy making? What colour will make me comfortable or lift my mood when I put it on? Colour is very personal, so we encourage people to really think about what they will love to wear, whether that’s a navy pullover that goes perfectly with everything, or whether it’s a neon colour-block pullover that matches their glasses!

Ready Set Raglan is filled with stunning photography and enchanting illustrations. What is the process behind making a book like this?

Thank you!! We worked with some of our favourite collaborators to put together the photoshoot, and the images really showcase how talented they are! As with all our publications, the process always starts with the original concept, colour palettes, and mood boards. As we work through a project we have to make adjustments based on all sorts of factors, so like any creative project the process is one of imagination and reimagination as things progress. We recently published a blog post series, ‘12 Weeks of Raglan’, to give a little insight into how Ready Set Raglan went from concept to publication! The making of the book is a real collaboration, and I am so grateful to the incredible team at Pom Pom for making it happen. The illustrations were created by me, and I hope they show how much I love distilling techniques into step by step instructions!

Ready Set Raglan contains gorgeous Raglan patterns for more experienced knitters. Tell us more about this pattern collection.

As knitters ourselves, we love to make a variety of different kinds of projects, and lately I have been drawn to making simple designs again and again, with colour as the main focus of my creativity when making. Our raglan collection caters to different levels and different makers, including patterns that are accessible to someone making their first pullover (like Eirys) alongside patterns that have the added interest of a more complicated decorative increase (like Lobelia). We want to inspire and empower knitters with our patterns - we like to think of the patterns in Ready Set Raglan as trusty blueprints which knitters can use to create brilliant pullovers more than once!

We want to inspire and empower knitters with our patterns

Ready Set Raglan is also available with adorable “I made this” pins. Where did the idea behind these pins in combination with this book come from?

We love enamel pins, and have made them a few times before. We want our readers to wear their new raglan pullovers with pride, so we thought “why not add a little pin to let the world know you made your own pullover?” We hope they prompt many an impressed gasp of “you made that?!” But seriously, the drawings I created for the book work really well as badges and the little illustrations proved popular on Instagram. We are hoping to make more in new colours very soon!

Ready Set Raglan from Pom Pom Press is available now from stockists worldwide priced £19.50, or online from the publisher.

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