Knitwear and crochet designer Katie Jones has created a free blanket pattern, released weekly in parts, to keep makers connected during the lockdown. The Quarantine CAL (crochet-a-long) is based on a Miami Memphis pattern that Katie made with Knitcraft two years ago. It’s a flexible pattern that can be used to make a blanket or cushion and Katie will be working the motifs into a jumper. Katie’s website includes video instructions for each section and she is offering support with a Q&A on Instagram Live every week.
Katie's self-named brand was launched by the British Fashion Council's Estethica program after finishing her MA at Central Saint Martins and she won Selfridges’ Bright New Things Award in 2016. It has been stocked in luxury stores worldwide and featured on the pages of global fashion and craft publications such as Vogue, Dazed and Confused and indeed Selvedge.
Katie recently launched her Make-It-Yourself Collection, a change to her label to help people to create their own clothes. Talking about this process, Katie said: “I felt alienated from my pieces, the desire to keep all my making UK based to control my supply chain made prices extremely high, this teamed with wholesale mark-up made a single piece become a small fortune. I wanted to keep the making local so I thought what was more local than homemade… that’s where the idea to turn the brand into a MIY label came from.”
The brand has always focused on sustainable practice embracing Katie’s Granny's vision of making something beautiful from nothing and consciously addressing issues of over-consumerism. It creates wearable, artisanal collections that are big on colour and texture. But more than just creating beautiful garments, the brand creates playful experiences that encourage and champion social and environmental change. By running and participating in a wide range of workshops and events Katie wants people to interact and engage with the brand, sharing her skills and knowledge on textile crafts and sustainable Fashion.
Join Katie’s CAL here www.katiejonesknit.co.uk