Discover the story behind the stitches, as knitwear designer Sarah Hatton shares the inspiration for her knitting patterns.

The Lore Collection

Knitting patterns by Sarah Hatton

We are so excited to have knitwear extraordinaire, Sarah Hatton, design 7 new knitting patterns as part of our Lore Collection. So excited, in fact, that we just had to find out more about her inspiration, and design process, for this collection...

Hi Sarah! We LOVE your new patterns - where did your ideas for the Lore Collection begin?

I’ve worked with your wonderful head designer, Cynthia, for a few years behind the scenes, so it was really lovely when she reached out to me to work on the Lore Collection! It’s always a bit scary agreeing to work on a collection when you haven’t seen the yarn, so there was a nervous anticipation for it arriving. But, once I’d opened the boxes, that quickly turned into excitement, and my mind started racing with ideas. Both yarns are super-soft, and the knitted fabric drapes really nicely. The cotton blends of the Secret Garden DK and Cotton Braid made them perfect for a trans-seasonal collection - so that was my starting point for sketching.

What excited you most about creating this collection?

I was keen to make a collection with a really relaxed feel that matched the yarn, and I wanted to create something with a broad appeal. I generally start any collection with a piece of scrap paper; there is nothing more intimidating than a blank piece of paper! I work very rough thumbnail sketches outlining my initial ideas, even if it’s just a rough shape, or scribble about the stitches I would like to use. The next step is to cast on, and get a feel for the drape of the yarn, and what stitches will work. Quite often, once you actually start working with the yarn, other ideas come to mind, or stitches you think will work don’t turn out how you’d expect, or look scruffy.

Do you have any advice for people who would like to build on their knitting skills?

A lot of people find the idea of knitting full garments intimidating, or fear textures and cables as they haven’t worked them before, but I think you can create beautiful knits from very simple stitches. The Lyonesse Trellis Tee is a perfect example of a ‘stepping stone’ idea of skill building: there’s plenty of relaxing stocking-stitch knitting, but then the sleeves have a very simple cable pattern. The Atlantis Cable Sweater would then make a great follow-on project as, although it has cables all over, the pattern is only 8 rows, so after a couple of repeats it starts to flow easily.

I’ve also given options on designs where possible, so there will be a choice of body or sleeve lengths – I recommend measuring a garment you already wear, and love the feel of, and pick the length nearest to this. On the Agartha Knitted Vest, I’ve included two body lengths, giving people the chance to create two different looks from one pattern!

I hope people enjoy knitting this collection as much as I enjoyed designing it.

About Sarah Hatton

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