I’ve written about my motif design process, read about Naomi Parkhurt’s process, wished I knew Barbara G Walker’s, and wanted to get back to my owl. I’m recovering well since my surgery in December, but stepping out of resting land makes me nervous. I thought that if I interviewed some designers from my favorites on Ravelry, I’d get inspired to blog more consistently, and you would see more intricate motifs. If you meet your new favorite designer, let me know in the comments.
Sara Huntington Burch, DinosaraKnits on Ravelry has a new pattern this week, Blue Rhapsody. I was intrigued with her work, because she makes motifs in several different techniques. I sent her questions thought the e-mail, and she replied with her answers and photos.
What is your process like?
I typically find a motif and try to chart it out, then swatch a couple of times until I smooth it out. It’s getting a bit smoother with less trial and error as I know how certain patterns stitches work out from previous designs. I tend to jump into my actual piece fairly early, but that also sometimes means a bunch of frogging before I figure it out totally. Luckily they’re usually just hats!
Did you find the development process similar for stranded pieces like Charadriiformes and also for cabled, lace and slipped stitch cables?
I find it much easier and straightforward to do straight stranded knitting. Usually those motifs don’t require much editing for me. Traditional cables are also a bit easier, but sometimes they don’t flow exactly how you think they’re going to. My stranded cable pieces and slip-stitch cable pieces are the trickiest because when you pull stitches around you end up with colors where you didn’t expect it. I don’t do a lot with making my own lace motifs—it’s my kryptonite!
How do you pair methods and motifs?
It depends a bit on the motif in question and what kind of piece it’s going to be. I like stranded cables for hats, but I like slip-stitch cables for shawls because I can do them on a garter stitch ground and it lays flatter. If a motif is going to require long periods of “blank space” in between them I’ll go for slip-stitch cables to avoid crazy long floats. Certain bold, graphic motifs really demand stranded cables for their clean lines.
Do you collect Art Deco and Art Nouveau inspiration in person in museums and architecture, in print or online?
All of the above! If I’m out and see some motif I think could make a good knitting motif I’ll snap a photo for later reference. I also do a lot of online searching when I’m looking for inspiration. Google image searches are my friend.
How do you choose what finished objects to pair with your motifs?
Most of the time I’ll decide to make a hat or a shawl first, and then decide on the motif for it later. If I’m working with a particular yarn sometimes I’ll let the colors inspire me for motif design. When I designed the motifs for Soleil Nouveau I knew I wanted to play on the “sunset” gradient with a sun-based art nouveau design.