It’s time for another Cosy Knits release today. Joining us on the blog is the very talented Kate Heppell as we take a look at her design, Comerford.
By day, Kate works for Practical Publishing, where she is the Editor of Knit Now magazine and the Associate Publisher of Crochet Now and Your Crochet & Knitting magazines. In her eight years in the job, she has edited over a thousand patterns, which she likes to think has given her an insight into what a good pattern looks like. She enjoys the puzzle of making a stitch pattern behave and the challenge of making a garment look fantastic for a broad range of sizes. She lives in Manchester and when she’s not knitting or crocheting, she can either be found watching women’s football or sat at home wishing she was watching women’s football. So you can imagine that we were excited to work with Kate for Cosy Knits.
Comerford is an elegant, cropped sweater that is both fun to knit and wear. The delicate yoke pattern creates a subtle but eye-catching feature on the sweater which allows it to be dressed up with your favourite vintage dress or as a relaxed look with your favourite jeans.
Can you tell us about your inspiration for Comerford and how it translates to your finished piece?
As soon as I saw the mood board for this collection, I knew the feeling I wanted to evoke. When I was younger, I would spend many hours with my Dad, sat by the fire in his local pub (Comerford’s) listening to him play the guitar. My favourite garment shape to design is a seamless yoke and I wanted to find a stitch pattern which echoed that flickering flame so I went on a hunt for a stitch I could shape into a yoke. I found a couple of stitches which I could modify and combine to create the shape I had in mind. For the cosy fireside feel, I wanted to design the garment with plenty of positive ease in both the body and the sleeves, but I didn’t want it to swamp the model, so I kept the length relatively short.
What drew you to your colour for Comerford?
I couldn’t possibly choose a colour, so Carol chose for me – but I think it works brilliantly.
Do you have any advice/tips for knitters before they knit Comerford?
Make sure you swatch in the round – lots of knitters find that their tension varies depending on what needles they use for the swatch. When choosing a size, don’t just pay attention to your own body measurements. Compare the finished bust circumference to the measurements of a jumper which fits you the way you would want this to fit you. The body and sleeves are very simple but if (like me) you’re prone to distractions, you might want to use a lifeline when working the yoke.
If you could choose another colour for Comerford in Nua Worsted, what would you choose?
I’ll take one in each colour, please!
Could you share a favourite knitting story with us?
As someone who’s lived and breathed all things woolly for the past 8 years, it’s really hard to think of just one story! I’ve met most of my best friends through knitting and I would genuinely be so lost without this community. Here’s a fun fact for you, though – the first designer interview I ever did for Knit Now was Carol! We featured Contemporary Irish Knits in Issue 3 of the magazine. That issue also featured a pattern from Rachel Coopey who also has a design in Cosy Knits.
Who or what inspired you to pick up the needles?
I learned to knit in school when I was 11 – we all had to make a teddy to send off to a charity somewhere. I was slow and terrible and I really didn’t enjoy it. My Nanny and Great-Grandma had to finish my teddy for me. I came back to knitting in my teens. I was doing a lot of sewing and general crafty stuff, hanging around on some online craft communities and I found that if I could choose the project myself and didn’t have a deadline, I could actually enjoy knitting!
Where are we most likely to find you knitting?
Unfortunately, my job doesn’t actually involve all that much knitting! I knit a bit here and there at my desk, but only when I’m testing out a yarn or something like that. My favourite place to knit is on a long train journey – I love being able to turn that wasted time into something productive.
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Thank you so much, Kate, for introducing us to Comerford. If you would like to hear more from Kate you can find her over on Instagram and you can browse her gorgeous patterns over on Ravelry.
There will be more upcoming releases from Cosy Knits coming soon but make sure to check out today’s featured contributor on social and their patterns on Ravelry. If you’ve missed any of the previous releases, you can catch up with all of the Cosy Knits blog posts on this page.
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