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…

in-between times

By: KDD December 1, 2019December 1, 2019

mental health, worklandscape, mental health, work18 Comments

We have just finished work on three large projects here at KDD. Two are a couple of books which you’ve already heard about and which I’m happy to say we’ll be launching very soon – Wheesht and Knitting Season. The third is a really exciting project we’ve all been beavering away on in the background,…

Morrone is out

By: KDD November 26, 2019November 26, 2019

design, Kate Davies, Kate Davies Designs, knittinghat, Kate Davies designs, knitting, Milarrochy Tweed, morrone7 Comments

Just to let you know that the Morrone pattern is now available on Ravelry and kits in both colourways are now available in the shop This fun hat has really reignited my knitting. I feel another project coming on.

Morrone #2

By: KDD November 24, 2019November 26, 2019

design, knittinghats, it's on your heid, knitting, Milarrochy Tweed, morrone8 Comments

If you asked me my preference in winter weather, I’d always say cold, crisp and bright. But still and misty is lovely too, sometimes. I knit a second version of my Morrone hat this week, to test the pattern and try out a different palette. I’m pleased with how it turned out, This second version…

a hat and a hill

You may remember that I mentioned I fancied designing and knitting myself a new hat as part of the It’s on Your Heid knit-along, currently running in our Ravelry group I wanted to create a hat with deep, folded ribbing to cover my chilly ears; which sat on the back of my head (which is…

International Women’s Day best practice award

By: KDD November 13, 2019November 13, 2019

Felicity Ford, feminism, Kate Davies, knitting, textilesbalance for better blanket, blanket, design, Felicity Ford, felix ford, International Women's Day, knitting, square share31 Comments

We are thrilled and honoured to announce that our collaborative blanket celebrating 30 diverse creative women has received a “best practice award” from International Women’s Day. We are especially proud, because such awards are usually conferred on much larger companies, groups and organisations. We’ve always felt that, however small we are as a business, it’s…

Breiwick – Jane’s first colourwork

By: KDD&Co. November 10, 2019November 11, 2019

knitting, Milarrochy Tweed, textilesBreiwick, colourwork, Ella Gordon, Jane Hunter, knitting, milarrochy heids26 Comments

…since Autumn is most definitely here I’m on to the next instalment of my first year of knitting.

Could I contend with colour-work?

It’s on your heid

By: KDD November 8, 2019November 8, 2019

knittinghats, heids, knitalong, knitting, milarrochy heids17 Comments

At this time of year – when the wind picks up and the first dusting of snow appears on the hills – I’m generally filled with an urge to whip up a hat to keep my heid warm. This November is no different. Over the past few days I’ve found myself musing about potential patterns,…

Publishing news

By: KDD November 1, 2019November 2, 2019

creativity, design, publishingbooks, business, commissioning, distribution, Kate Davies designs, Makadu, Make / Mark, new authors, publishing, trade, wholesale14 Comments

In recent years, the book-publishing side of what we do here at KDD has grown pretty dramatically. We’ve made some exciting changes that reflect that growth – both in the way we distribute our titles as well as in the kinds of books we publish. You’ll find more about the latter topic towards the end…

A square for Adrienne Rich

By: KDD October 26, 2019October 26, 2019

art, design, fabric, fairisle, Kate Davies, textilesAdrienne Rich, blanket, design, fairisle, knitting, square share, stranded colourwork, stranded knitting, tutorial, tutorials17 Comments

Are you interested in designing your own blanket squares using the Square Share pattern template? If so, this post is for you! In what follows, I’ll describe my process when developing and designing a chart for a blanket square, inspired by the work of Adrienne Rich. If one has favourite poets, then Adrienne Rich is…

Square Share

A little over a year ago I travelled to Reading for a confab with my friend Felix. We’d had an idea to work on a project together with our mutual friend and colleague, Mel, and wanted to thrash things out. By the time I was heading north again, we’d come up with a plan: to…

Let Glasgow Flourish

By: KDD October 11, 2019October 11, 2019

creativity, design, Kate Davies, Kate Davies Designs, knittingcreativity, design, knitting, knitting season21 Comments

Today we released a new pattern – the Let Glasgow Flourish blanket. Inspired by the work of textile artist, educator, and suffragette, Ann Macbeth, the blanket echoes a civic banner Macbeth created in 1910. The pared-back colourwork and abstracted motifs I’ve used speak to Macbeth’s own Glasgow Style and makes a wonderful showpiece! Knitted at…

Udal

In the spring of 2018, after a hard winter in which I’d been struggling with my depression, I spent some time in Berneray and North Uist. You can get a sense of how much I immediately loved the place, and how very much I enjoyed meeting Meg Rodger and learning more about her work –…