I got to interview Natalie Servant, NatalieServant on Ravelry
What is your design process?
My design process varies. Sometimes I have sketches and ideas in search of a technique, sometimes I have yarn in search of a project. Sometimes I like to design complex projects that require planning, but then I also like to design simpler projects where I can just make a few notes and knit.
When I’m deliberately working from a sketch I tackle the hardest bit or the main motif first. I’ll chart out what I think will work, adjust it on the fly, iterate until I’m happy, and then try to make enough notes to things that I have a pattern that works in the end.
Sometimes I have an idea that sits for a while waiting for me to come up with the right improvement or technical idea to make it work. It can take months or years, but it eventually the right idea comes along.
What influences your style?
One of the things that has been so much fun for me as a designer is figuring out what it is that I like and why I like it. I’m particularly drawn to Art Deco influences, but that’s not my sole inspiration.
I am always looking to knit something that I find interesting and beautiful, and luckily for me that covers a wide range of things.
What about designing and producing patterns are you most adept at, what parts are you most fond of, and what parts are challenging? (Pattern Grading, the last week of editing, coming up with a name for a project, self promotion?)
I do love coming up with new ideas to knit and I have more ideas than time. That’s making me more selective in what I choose to make and I find that I have less false starts.
Some of the most challenging things for me when designing are:
- knowing when to stop making improvements and chasing the “but what if I did..” ideas
- naming patterns – it’s either there when I start or it’s very difficult
- finishing the first page of the pattern with all of the correct details (yardage, gauge, needles, notions)
You as a Giftalong designer:
What have you learned from the promotion?
What I love about the week-long sale part of the Giftalong promotion is giving myself time to browse through the thousands of patterns and finding new patterns that I want to share with the world and ones that I’m going to knit for fun when I make time! The rest of the Giftalong is a wonderful party atmosphere of games and knitting that I look forward to each year.
What do you find most important in photography?
When I photograph my patterns I try to answer the questions that I have when looking at projects online. I try to show the important details, the overall shape, and how something can be worn. While doing all that, I also want to make the photos as beautiful as I can. It’s certainly a challenge!
You as someone who likes to make things questions:
What is your usual process on a fiber project, for instance, do you start with a yarn, a cute pattern, a need you’ve noticed, something exciting you saw in a movie you want to copy, or a technique you want to learn – then what do you do next and then what?
I love to make things and that usually expresses itself in knitting. Frequently I’ll take pictures that spark a knitting idea. It can be in a store, on tv, or when I’m out and about in nature or the city. It can be about a colour combination or a texture or a shape or a garment I’d like to imitate. The really good ideas are the ones that I still understand when I go through the pictures later on!
Does anything intimidate you in knitting or crochet?
I consider myself to be relatively inexperienced at making full garments for myself, so I’m trying to do more of it to see what works.
I didn’t used to be able to crochet but I took a local class from a great friend and it doesn’t scare me now. I’m still new and I can’t just look at crochet and understand how it’s built, but I’m learning.
When you want to learn something, do you look it up in a book, on U-tube, or seek a real person to teach you?
I’ve done all of those things to learn. One thing I’ve found very valuable is taking classes from experts in their field, whether in person or online. I always learn something from that, even if I know the subject fairly well.
Any repetitive motion disorders due to knitting or crochet? How do you deal with them?
When I started knitting, I was a tight knitter and it hurt my fingers. I adjusted my style and now I’m quite a loose knitter. I did this all in isolation, learning from a book, but it’s been going quite well for more than 20 years now!
What makes you buy a pattern (lovely photo, the story of the project, it looks do-able, it looks slightly challenging…)
I’ll buy patterns for things that I want to make. It might be something that I’ve always wanted to make and I sought out the pattern, but often it’s something I didn’t know I wanted to make until I saw the photo. Stories & techniques do pique my interest, and then what’ll put it over the edge is if I already have the right yarn in the stash. It’s nice to have someone else do the math and design and for me to follow along for a change.
