Q & A with Erika Knight
Following the hectic period that was Wool Week, the Campaign for Wool managed to grab five minutes with Knitting sensation Erika Knight to chat all things wool.
“My ethos is simple: to keep sheep grazing our beautiful landscape, to promote our distinctive British sheep breeds and to make it all here in Britain, supporting British manufacturing.
Wool is naturally soft, comfortable and sustainable, making it the ultimate fibre for the hand knitter.
My yarn collection is concise and considered with colours carefully selected so that you can be confident in choosing a quality yarn for whatever you wish to create.” Erika Knight
1, Tell us a little about why you choose wool over other fibres?
Wool is the perfect fibre; naturally soft and sustainable, renewable and comfortable.
2, What was your favourite moment from your Wool Week experience?
There were many! It has been great to see the diversity of projects and media that people have employed to get their individual message across. A personal highlight of Wool Week was seeing my whole team together teaching people to knit with wool and enjoying creating. Of course looking out onto Oxford St from inside the window at John Lewis where passers by and people on buses were engaging with us doing extreme knitting with giant needles was a real highlight, if not a little surreal.
3, How do you source your wool?
The wool used for my yarn collection is sourced from some of the finest flocks in Britain via spinners who have over 100 years of experience within the industry.
4, What does the Campaign for Wool mean to you?
The Campaign for Wool has raised an awareness and appreciation of this naturally beautiful fibre in all sorts of areas – from people who had believed that British wool was scratchy and only suitable for carpet making to children who did not know what wool is or where it came from. It has raised awareness that wool can be used in so many different ways in the home and for clothing.
5, What does the SS14 season hold for you?
I believe in knitting wool all summer through, so I will be continuing to raise awareness of wool through my own yarn collection and promoting the brand globally.
6, At what age did you first start knitting/crocheting?
When I was about 20 and was a young punk knitter at Art School – dropping stitches, creating ladders, fixing holes together with safety pins and creating pieces of colourful knitwear for friends’ catwalk collections.
7, Technologies to further the potential of wool are advancing all the time, i.e. wool velvet, how do you think this will affect the wool and clothing industries?
It can only be a good thing, as people seek more ways of using this fantastic natural resource. I think there is a demand now for a better quality and more innovative fabrics generally to suit our varying lifestyles. We want clothes to be durable, comfortable and good looking and technology really enhances the possibilities of wool.
8, How does using woollen cloths differ to other man-made materials?
For me, it is the feel and the drape of natural fibres that really sets them apart. Wool has an inherent texture, it is long lasting and takes colour very well. Woollen cloths have a longevity and quality that just gets better with age.
9, What is your favourite woollen item of clothing and why?
I think it would have to be the wooly jumper – timeless, comfortable and an old friend. It is the perfect item of clothing as far as I am concerned!
Find out more about Erika and her products on her website http://www.erikaknight.co.uk/