Austrian-born designer Sylvia loves to work with elegant textures to create essential knits for every wardrobe
THE ‘MIRABELL’ cardigan on page 44 was created for us by Sylvia Heidinger, an Austrian-born designer who is now based in the UK. Sylvia’s portfolio is filled with timeless, wear-with-everything knits featuring subtle, stylish design details. We chatted with Sylvia about her design career.
When did you learn to knit? “I first learnt to knit at secondary school
- it was part of our education to learn basic cooking and mending skills, including
knitting. But it never went beyond the basic knitting skills.
“My mum was an avid knitter and she was brilliant, she knitted for family and friends and made the most amazing Lungauer Trachten cardigans and socks to be worn with our traditional Austrian dirndls and lederhosen. These pieces, sometimes worked on 2mm knitting needles, were truly a labour of love as she never charged for her work.
“I wish I had paid more attention to my mother’s knitting back then, but I only really started knitting properly again when I got older. I never followed a written pattern, though - I made hats and small items for myself without patterns, because I, to this day, do not understand German patterns. They baffle me, and seem too longwinded!
“Only around five or six years did I dive into English patterns; when I found seamless and top-down designs, I fell in love with garment knitting. And when I could not find what I was looking for, I started to design things for myself and found I had a knack for it.
“I am grateful that I have learnt to knit using the European style and I am really fast - it helps when making larger pieces!”
Can you remember the first original piece of knitwear you ever created? “The first proper garment I created was a simple, seamless, top-down boyfriend cardigan with pockets. It is still one of my go-to designs for a simple aran boyfriend cardigan, and is one of my most popular designs with my customers.”
How did you come to work as a knitwear designer? “I have no training in knitwear design
-
before I moved to the UK in 2007, I was working as a draughtswoman, a very technical
job, and when I came to Britain we started an online retail business.
“However, although I have no formal background in design, I have always been creative and love all things craft-related. I enjoy crochet and have designed some crochet patterns, too, althou
