Stripes, squares, spots and motifs in a rainbow of colours decorate the fabulous knitwear designs of Emilia Jensen
EMILIA JENSEN is a knitwear designer who loves to work with colour, as her ‘Jane’ sweater on page 38 demonstrates. Based in Sweden, Emilia has a portfolio of joyful knits using multi-coloured stripes, spots and graphic motifs, and she has also contributed designs to Swedish yarn brand Svarta Fåret. We chatted with Emilia about her design career and love of colour.
Who taught you to knit? “I actually don’t remember if I was taught by my mother or in school. But I remember that when we had to knit at school, I didn’t like it - maybe that was because as girls, we were made to knit a baby cardigan at the age of 12. I wish we got to knit a pair of mittens instead, that would have been much more inspiring!
“Growing up, I was surrounded by my family who did all kinds of crafts like woodwork, knit, crochet and sewing. I was taught that you can make things yourself and be creative. My grandmother knitted my whole childhood, although I never saw her knitting - she knitted on her own in the evenings. Looking back, I wish that she had shown me all her knitting and skills before she passed away.
“I took up hand knitting a little over 10 years ago because I was so inspired by a dear friend who knitted all the time and it looked so relaxing. And once I started, I could not stop! Now I do the opposite to my grandmother: I knit everywhere possible and often in the company of a good friend. For me, knitting is something fantastic and it does not have a certain place or time, you can knit everywhere and always.”
Can you remember the first original piece of knitwear you ever created? “Almost all of my knits are my original work so it is difficult to remember which was my first, but I think a cardigan that I knitted in colourwork was the first piece that really triggered something in me about knitting. I just had to make one more and another and another - trying different colour combinations, yarns and patterns.”
What is your background in design? “I have a degree in textile design, so my background is in designing fabrics and patterns. Knitting was a relaxing hobby for me, but was also a way to use my creativity. In the beginning I had no plans to become a knitwear designer; partly because I had no idea how to write a knitting pattern, since I almost
