FRANCESCA HUGHES
We meet the inspirational young knitwear designer
is a young knitwear designer who loves to explore the possibilities of shape, construction and stitches. She designed the pretty ‘Sessilia’ cardigan on page 50 for us, and has also created patterns for West Yorkshire Spinners,
The Fibre Co., Stranded Magazine, and
Knit How. Francesca is also part of the team at John Arbon Textiles, working at its North Devon mill to produce exquisite handknitting yarns. We chatted with Francesca about her creative life.
When did you learn to knit, and who taught you?
“My Nan, (my mum’s mum), Beryl Margaret Kibble, taught me to knit. I remember it was something we used to do together whenever we visited, as they lived a good few hours away in the Midlands so we didn’t see them super often. But for a week at a time during the school holidays, my Nan would cast on for me at the beginning of the week and I’d do the fun garter stitch in the middle, then Nan would cast off for me at the end of the week. I also had one of those wooden soldier things which you used to knit tubes - French Knitting, or a Knitting Nancy as I now know them to be called. I didn’t realise they were the same thing essentially!”
Can you remember the first original piece of knitwear you ever created?
“The first stand-out pieces were gifts for my two best friends, a scarf each. This was all acrylic of course, it was years and years before I knew about wool! I held double a black yarn with an eye-watering neon, and made one pink and black scarf, and one yellow and black scarf. One in a basket stitch, and the other in two-by-two rib. They were so cool.”
When and how did your career as a knitwear designer begin?
“At the beginning of 2016 I moved back out of Devon to London (me and my now husband had been long-distance for two years!). People had been telling me to publish patterns of the jumpers and shawls I had been creating from my imagination - I’ve never been very good at following patterns, ha! So my first published design came out in February 2016. I studied Knitwear for Fashion at university, but knew I wanted to be in the more grassroots/crafty end of the industry (unless I get asked to make any couture pieces for a runway, of course).
“I started to submit ideas to magazines and yarn creators, and had to really throw myself in head-first. I never in a million years thought I would have any success with the first few submissions I’d done. I still get very nervous when I submit design ideas, and I can’t say rejection ever gets any easier.”
Do you have a favourite design from your portfolio?
“I would say I have a few favourites which have a special meaning to me, like my first cover garment, or my first design.
But my current number one has to be the ‘Palomar’ cardigan, which is in the London yarn shop Knit With Attitude’s 10-year celebratory book. It combines all my fave things: a challenging lace pattern, texture, fishnet tights, and Devonia Yarn - a pure Devon wool yarn, which I help to make as part of my day job! The Palomar knot is known as the strongest knot, and I love how that name ties all the things together.”
Where do you find inspiration for your designs, and who are your design heroes?
“Ah, I seem to see inspiration in everything around me. I love organic shapes and structures, and nature’s colour palette, but I also love random things - like years’ worth of paint peel, exposing some very exciting colour combos you would never think of putting together. Living right on the coast in North Devon has made all my designs of late a bit ‘country vibes’, and perhaps a little more functional rather than show pieces, but maybe that’s because we have been in and out of lockdowns for a year now and haven’t had anywhere to wear couture pieces! It’s very interesting to acknowledge how life influences one’s creativity.
“As for design heroes, I adore anything my dear friend Emily Foden of Viola Yarns creates. Her very wearable patterns are fab, and I wear my ‘Barn’ jumper all the time.
“I have so many designers that I look up to, and am amazed by what they do. It’s incredible that people are constantly creating such imaginative, original and beautiful work. I think there is room for everyone: I admire the designers who create simple, easy patterns, which are meticulously executed, and very knitterfriendly; and I admire the designers who make super-challenging stand-out pieces.
“I also think there is a lot to be said for you knitters who make the patterns your own. Dramatically swapping out colours, changing the shape of the garment to fit your body, and using what yarn you have - I love seeing it in your projects.”
Can you tell us a little bit about your ‘day job’ at John Arbon Textiles?
“Ooooo, my day job. I spend most of my time working machines. I can run almost every machine in the mill, bar the big old carding machine and the comb - too many sharp teeth for me! It’s very loud, very oily, physical but great fun.
“Where I am working on a single day will depend on which part of the wool spinning process I will be doing. Sometimes you can find me under a
Gill Box making tops for hand spinners, sometimes testing ‘singles’ to make sure they come up at the right count, and changing gears to correct that. So much maths! My fave part has to be finishing off the yarn, the folding of the singles and then skeining the yarns off the bobbins - ready to be labelled, packed and sent off to their new homes with you. I also get to dip my hand into creating yarns, and coming up
with colours for yarn ranges along with my colleagues in the mill.
“Covid-19 has changed a few things for me in my day-to-day role, but hopefully when we get to go back to yarn shows you will find me on a vendor stall once again, helping people with colour combinations, and matching yarns to patterns. So much joy! We have enjoyed doing virtual shows to keep us connected at the mill though, and I have been joining Sonja on the
John Arbon Textiles Vlog!”
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received from another knitter, designer or member of the yarn community?
“Just to keep doing what you’re passionate about. It’s easy to fall into thinking you need to do what’s popular to be noticed or accepted or to sell any patterns, to be honest! But you should do you - not everyone needs to like your style, but when you find your little niche and your people, it’s lovely.
“And another simple piece of advice: do something more than jumpers, ha! I was a bit jumper-centric for a while back there.”
Do you have the chance to knit much for yourself, and if so, what do you have on your needles today?
“Not ‘knitting for myself’ as such, but I do get to choose what samples I want to keep when I’m designing, and actually, I really like the process of knitting anything, so I consider that a win - you learn lots with every new project, right?
“At the moment I have a few projects lined up - I have broken my normal monogamy rule. Having a couple of new yarns to work with has made me cast on a number of things at once - now I just don’t know which one to work on first! I have a complicated lace pattern, a sock, and some simple stocking stitch, which means I can choose what to knit with my mood or concentration capacity! Watch this space. I would like to do more gift knitting, though, and I have plenty of nieces and nephews who would look super cute in some mini versions of my patterns!”
Do you have a favourite yarn or fibre to work with?
“All the fibres and all the yarns! One of my ongoing favourites is Wensleydale or any kind of longwool lustre blend. Especially in DK-weight at the moment, as they are so rustic and hard-wearing.
“Having said that, I am obsessed with knitting lace, so fine yarns are amazing too. Just last weekend I spent two hours untangling some lace yarn which I refused to break - a great practice in patience.
“I just love all the different things about different yarn - how it’s spun, the weight, the fibre content, how it’s dyed, blended… everything has its place.”
Are there any techniques or styles of knitting you’d like to explore further?
“Having found I spend most of my time working with texture and/or colour within the fabric of the garment, in my future projects I would love to start experimenting with some shaping, or with different construction techniques, and see where that takes me.
“A good portion of my designs are also quite complicated, making sure the stitch patterns fall correctly in the shape, and making the design look the same over the whole range of sizes, so I would quite like to explore some simpler work, too - and my Tech Editor would probably thank me for that too!
“I had always thought I would like to start making up my own stitch patterns, too - there’s so much to explore!”
Where can we find you on Social Media?
“You can find me on Instagram @francescahughesknitwear, on Facebook at Francesca Hughes Knitwear, and on LoveCrafts.com and Ravelry.com at FrancescaHughes. I am always looking to expand my test knitting pool as well, so please get in touch if that’s something you fancy doing!”
- www.ravelry.com/designers/francesca
hughes
- www.jarbon.com