Craft: transforming traditional crafts

Knitters never cease to inspire me, and Kydel Makes is no exception. Her work is creative and ambitious. It is also beautiful, feminine, and well made. She is a great example of a crafter who is self-taught, which even if you don't knit, there is much to be learned from her unique experience.

One Project You Are Particularly Proud Of

1. I would probably say it's my School Daze pom pom hat. t is not knit in a conventional way since it started life as a cabled cowl. The ribbing is done later and it has a contrasting cast off edge for a bit of snaz. I kinda like it.

Two Mistakes You've Made in the Past

1. Not going to uni and buncking off most of college so I have no actual qualifications in anything. I was in a band with 2 other girls at the time. All I wanted was to be a guitarist in a rock band. It didn't work out and I left at 26 years old. Too old to be studying since I had to support myself. I really should have went back to school but I thought things would just fall into place. They didn't. Now I'm doing what I really want to do but with no training or real skills.

2. Getting into debt and running away from it. It's kinda scary when every time the phone rings it's someone wanting money from you. I tend to avoid the phone if I don't recognise the number.

Three Things That Make Your Work Unique

1. Sometimes Terry thinks up the ideas. "Make some green gloves with a red bow and red ends" ... Ok.

2. I knit as I go. I usually don't have much more than a sketchy plan in my head and go from there, writing down what I just did as I go. Sometimes I get too carried away and forget to write things down for too long. Then when I have to write out the pattern for release I have to knit little sections again to see what I did. Dur!

3. I never do gauge swatches. I know I should. I know I should learn how certain yarns knit up and what size it will be etc...but I don't. I just want to make things. Swatches feel like a waste of my time when I could be making something else. You can slap my wrists now.

Four Tools You Love To Use

1. My bunch of bamboo circular needles (16 in), esp my little fatty (10mm).

2. My tatty row counter. I don't use it lots but when I do it reminds me of my Nana since it was hers and she died 10 years ago. A month or so ago, Kaden took it and dropped it in a glass of fizzy pop. It came back really sticky and hard to turn. I won't buy a new one though until it can't do the job any more.

3. I have a lot of vintage straight needles which were also my Nana's. I don't get to use them too much because I tend to knit in the round, but when I do get to use them they're lovely.

4. James C Bretts 100% pure merino. It is so soft and feels almost like silk. It's my favourite yarn to work with.

Five Inspirations

1. Nature. Strange as that might sounds. There is a lot of things out there that give cause for inspiration.

2. Films and TV. Lots of inspiration can be taken from what others are wearing.

3. The internet... kinda like above.

4. Other designers. Some people say they don't look at other designers so they don't steal ideas accidently but I draw a lot of inspiration from them. I also check around on ravelry when I have an idea to make sure no-one else has had it first (which is a nightmare when they have cos my idea is wiped).

5. My son. Sounds corny but some of the things he likes to wear are an inspiration to make him something a bit better. Cheap jumpers or hats can be re made into something better.