Interview With Carmen Jorissen Of Colorwork Knitting from Head to Toe!
Are you ready to knit outside the box whilst adventuring within the colourwheel? Colorwork Knitting from Head to Toe offers 20 incredible patterns to help you make hats, cowls, mittens and socks that will leave you with a wonderfully warm, cohesive colourwork wardrobe.
To dive deeper into the behind-the-scenes of the recent release, we had a chat with designer Carmen Jorissen of New Leaf Designs to hear about the heritage behind her motifs and upcoming trends in the world of knitwear.
Tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hello! My name is Carmen, and I’m a knitwear designer originally from the Netherlands, now living in Scotland. Knitting has been my passion since 2012, and I love to infuse my patterns with as much colour as possible!
Tell us a bit about Colorwork Knitting from Head to Toe?
It was so exciting to work on this book – my first ever knitting book!
It contains 20 colourwork knitting patterns, with some simpler and some more intricate motifs. It is aimed at intermediate knitters, and it’s totally fine if you’ve never attempted colourwork before. There are QR codes included that guide you to tutorial videos, so I’ll be there with you every step (or stitch!) of the way.
What was the creative process like as you developed this book?
From the start I knew that I wanted to create a cohesive collection, other than the standalone patterns I had been designing until then. The first couple of weeks were spent fully on creating the colour combinations as I wanted to create sets you can mix and match. So the colours not only need to work well within a set, but also with the other pieces of the collection. It was a lot of fun though! Imagine tons of moodboards, dozens of swatches, and so much yarn!
What was your main inspiration when developing the stunning designs in this book?
That’s actually a tricky one, because the whole process is often so fluid, that it’s difficult to pinpoint where exactly the spark came from. I always take inspiration from nature, whether in the colourwork motifs or in the colour palettes, and of course my brand name is New Leaf Designs so I knew I needed at least 1 leaf motif in there! I was already in love with Scotland so I also knew I wanted a tartan motif – which became the Haelen motif. All of the motifs are named after cities in the Netherlands where I’ve lived. The Leiden motif kind of looks like diamonds, and I remember getting this idea from a neighbourhood walk, when I spotted some interesting tiles or brickwork.
The Wessem motif is a nod to my roots, as Wessem is a beautiful harbour town where both sets of my grandparents lived. My granddad was a river merchant, so I thought a wave motif would be very fitting.
How do you envision your book helping knitters?
I’ve always been very fond of creating tutorial videos because there is just so much more that can be conveyed in a video as opposed to just photos and text. I’m so glad that we live in this day and age where we can include videos in books through QR codes! In the book, you’ll not only find videos for the stranded colourwork techniques, but also for all cast on and cast off techniques that I use, increases, decreases and more!
What is something special about your book that readers can’t find anywhere else?
It’s funny because, what I find most special about the book is not about the knitting patterns at all! Colorwork Knitting from Head to Toe has become such a personal book, not only because all of the designs are modelled by my family members and friends, but every bit of it is steeped in my heritage. Some of the photos are taken in my grandparents house; you’ll see some trinkets from my grandma’s sewing box here and there. My grandpa had an apple orchard, and throughout the book we’ve included apples in the photography as a nod to him. We had so much fun during the photoshoots, that there were actually some photos we couldn’t include because your eyes would be drawn to the laughing faces instead of the knitwear. The book has captured the sense of connection and joy that knitting brings into our lives.
What is your favourite project/pattern featured in the book?
My favourite is definitely the Haelen socks. The motif is so easy to memorize and it’s such a versatile canvas for any colour combination you can imagine.
What was your route into knitting?
Ha, I actually got into knitting because I joined a record breaking attempt at ‘most people knitting at the same time’. The night before, I asked my mum “Quick, show me how to do this knitting thing.” And I loved it so much, I never put the needles down again!
What is the most challenging thing about being a knitter?
What I personally find most challenging is sticking with a project until I finish it, before I get distracted by other yarns or patterns!
What makes up for the challenges?
There is so much power in creating your own wardrobe, we all love to say ‘thanks, I made it!’ when someone compliments our outfit. There’s no better feeling.
What do you think the “Next Big Thing” in knitting will be?
I think – or I hope – that the world will collectively realize that wool is such a wonderful material. Not only would there be more items made out of wool and less items from plastics, but the farmers would also be compensated more fairly.
Who (dead or alive) would you invite to the perfect knitting retreat?
Ooh you know what, Vincent van Gogh would have been an amazing retreat guest. Did you know he planned out his colour palettes with strands of yarn, so that he didn’t have to waste paint with his swatches? Such a brilliant and creative mind, I think we could learn a lot from him.
What advice would you give to your beginner self?
Dare to create ‘bad’ art! It doesn’t have to be good on the first try. See where it leads you.
In one word, how would you describe Colorwork Knitting from Head to Toe?
Joyful!
Get ready to say 'thanks, I made it!' and start your colourwork knitting journey today by ordering Colorwork Knitting from Head to Toe at the link here!