By: KDD February 6, 2020February 7, 2020 textile history, textiles, weavingband weaving, eighteenth-century textiles, inkle weaving, lanyard, Oa, phone lanyard, pickup weaving, tapes, textile history, weaving, woven bands32 Comments

on the uses of handwoven tapes and bands

I really enjoyed reading your comments on my last weaving post – especially hearing about the impressively wide range of new skills you are all currently picking up! I’m continuing to enjoy my weaving, and am finding it very inspiring. It really interests me that one of the first things many people think of when…

By: KDD February 2, 2020February 2, 2020 photographyKate Davies, light by the sea, photography, Tom Barr, Write by the sea16 Comments

returning light

Hello, it’s Tom here. The light has been returning and the days are gradually getting longer and I thought I’d pop in to let you know some news about my new exhibition, and to show you some of the photographs I’ve taken during the first few weeks of 2020. In January we often see a…

By: KDD January 26, 2020January 26, 2020 weavingband weaving, inkle, inkle loom, inkle weaving, pick up weaving, weaving55 Comments

picking up

A little over a month ago, I wrote this post about learning how to weave with Belinda Rose, and beginning to weave bands on my new inkle loom. Since then I’ve been really enjoying playing and experimenting with weaving narrow bands – particularly using pick up techniques. As is my usual tendency, I began by…

By: KDD January 16, 2020January 16, 2020 Warm HandsFenella Pole, Frauke Urban, Jane Hunter, Jeanette sloan, Kate Davies, KDD, Melanie Patton, Mimi Onyekwere, Sam Kilday, Samiratu Kargbo, team, Tom Barr, Warm Hands20 Comments

warm thanks

Well, the book is out, and today Warm Hands is being shipped to knitters all over the world. I do hope you’ve enjoyed our introduction to the project and each of its talented designers in the posts we’ve put together over the past couple of weeks. In a project like this, which involves so many…

By: KDD January 15, 2020January 15, 2020 amazing knitters, textiles, Warm HandsBarrington, cables, knitting, Mr Hugzzz, Steve Malcolm, Warm Hands11 Comments

opera

It’s book launch day! And, for the final Warm Hands pattern reveal we are ending with a showstopper – the Opera gauntlets by Steve Malcolm. Jamaican-born Steve is an experienced and committed designer who is perhaps best known for his amazing cable patterns – but is someone who is generally hugely passionate and knowledgeable about…

By: KDD January 14, 2020January 14, 2020 amazing knitters, Warm Handsdesign, JS Bach, knitting, simone urban, Warm Hands9 Comments

purl bump

Today is the penultimate design reveal from Warm Hands – a collection of original patterns for mitts, mittens and gloves co-edited by Jeanette Sloan and myself. If you are interested in knitting any of the glorious designs the book contains, I should also mention that it’s the last day to pre-order your copy from the…

By: KDD January 13, 2020January 14, 2020 amazing knitters, Warm HandsDrunkknitter, heartland marsh, Safiyyah Talley, Warm Hands5 Comments

heartland marsh

Today’s Warm Hands pattern is a super-cosy pair of mittens knitted in our aran-weight Àrd-Thìr – Heartland Marsh. These beautiful stranded mittens, worked at a dense gauge that’s sure to warm your hands right through the depths of winter, are the work of talented young designer and podcaster Safiyyah Talley. (Safiyyah in her design, the…

By: KDD January 12, 2020January 14, 2020 amazing knitters, art, textiles, Warm HandsSaighead, Tiina Väätäinen, Warm Hands9 Comments

saighead

Today’s Warm Hands designer, Tiina Väätäinen, hails from eastern Finland – where there are many opportunities to wear the warm, woollen accessories she loves to knit and design. Tiina’s a talented designer of socks and mittens which often incorporate many playful elements. Her beautiful Lumikuningatar mittens, for example, reflect their snowy landscape across the hands…

shop

The KDD online shop stocks our yarn, knitting kits, books, and knitwear (socks, snoods, and jumpers, made right here in Scotland) You can purchase Kate’s hand-knitting patterns as digital PDF downloads through Ravelry Tom’s photographic work is available to purchase as high-quality archival prints To date, we have produced fifteen books under the KDD and Makadu…

about KDD

Kate Davies Designs (KDD) was established by Kate Davies in 2010, when a stroke at the age of 36 ended her career as a literary academic. While recovering from her stroke, Kate supported herself by designing digital patterns for hand-knitting, established an independent publishing company, and began to produce books that combined her skills as…

tutorials

Ester A tutorial to make the 5-stitch star motif that features on the Ester hat. Inside and Outside the Red Box. A Bold Beginner Knits Tutorial for the Footfall shawl Triangular shawl construction. A Bold Beginner Knits Tutorial for the Footfall shawl “Join body and sleeves into yoke” A Bold Beginner Knits tutorial for the…

on the uses of handwoven tapes and bands

By: KDD February 6, 2020February 7, 2020

textile history, textiles, weavingband weaving, eighteenth-century textiles, inkle weaving, lanyard, Oa, phone lanyard, pickup weaving, tapes, textile history, weaving, woven bands32 Comments

returning light

By: KDD February 2, 2020February 2, 2020

photographyKate Davies, light by the sea, photography, Tom Barr, Write by the sea16 Comments

picking up

By: KDD January 26, 2020January 26, 2020

weavingband weaving, inkle, inkle loom, inkle weaving, pick up weaving, weaving55 Comments

warm thanks

By: KDD January 16, 2020January 16, 2020

Warm HandsFenella Pole, Frauke Urban, Jane Hunter, Jeanette sloan, Kate Davies, KDD, Melanie Patton, Mimi Onyekwere, Sam Kilday, Samiratu Kargbo, team, Tom Barr, Warm Hands20 Comments

opera

By: KDD January 15, 2020January 15, 2020

amazing knitters, textiles, Warm HandsBarrington, cables, knitting, Mr Hugzzz, Steve Malcolm, Warm Hands11 Comments

purl bump

By: KDD January 14, 2020January 14, 2020

amazing knitters, Warm Handsdesign, JS Bach, knitting, simone urban, Warm Hands9 Comments

heartland marsh

By: KDD January 13, 2020January 14, 2020

amazing knitters, Warm HandsDrunkknitter, heartland marsh, Safiyyah Talley, Warm Hands5 Comments

saighead

By: KDD January 12, 2020January 14, 2020

amazing knitters, art, textiles, Warm HandsSaighead, Tiina Väätäinen, Warm Hands9 Comments

rhombus

By: KDD January 11, 2020January 14, 2020

amazing knitters, Warm Handsknitting, Romi Dame la-Lata, Warm Hands7 Comments

Today’s Warm Hands design is the work of Romi Dame la-Lata – a neat wee pair of fingerless mitts, featuring a geometric lace pattern and added texture – called Rhombus. Here’s Romi to tell you more about herself, and her design. “I was born in a small city in Argentina and moved to Spain in…

craobh

By: KDD January 10, 2020January 14, 2020

amazing knitters, textiles, Warm HandsCraobh, Jenn Wallace, Warm Hands6 Comments

Today’s Warm Hands design is a lovely pair of mitts with several thoughtful and well-designed details that make them an extremely knitterly knit – Craobh The Croabh mitts are the work of Jenn Wallace. Knitting and archaelogy have both formed important parts of Jenn’s life since she whipped up her first pair of mitts while…

haresd

By: KDD January 9, 2020January 14, 2020

Warm Handsharesd, mittens, Warm Hands6 Comments

Today’s Warm Hands pattern is by . . . me! Meet the Haresd mittens. This project is much more about lending a platform to other designers than it is my own design work. As editor, I waited until the commissioning process was complete, then thought about what might be useful for me to add to…

Mudra

By: KDD January 8, 2020January 14, 2020

amazing knitters, knitters, knitting, Warm Handshands, India, knitting, Lana Jois, Warm Hands17 Comments

Today’s Warm Hands design is one I’m particularly excited to introduce: the Mudra mitts, which are the work of Lana Jois. Lana is an experienced and prolific designer, whose speciality is creating really beautiful lace accessories. You may have knit her lovely Winding Roads shawl from last Autumn’s Interweave, or admired her many gorgeous and…