Yes there is snow outside, but I cannot help and dream of long summer days to come. Later on I will be trying to recreate the feeling of summer at Bikram yoga, wearing simply a top and shorts for the practice in a 40 degree heated room, phew.
Speaking of hot places the designer Helen Rodel comes from the tropical climate of Brazil. I came upon her work with a wondrous surprise; to me it signifies the natural beauty that comes from creating knitwear by hand. The precision, patience and time which you need for this practice is truly commendable. Hand knitting techniques are definitely not for the faint hearted and if you are doing a knitwear course and have decided to use hand knitting in your collection I would strongly advise that you find someone else to do it for you.
The value of handmade knitwear is becoming increasingly more precious, as a lot of designers prefer to use machine knitting in their collections, which is really fair enough because it can be tough to try and make a profit out of creativity. Although a lot use manual machines, myself included which is faster than hand knitting but still requires gallons of patience, precision and time.
The word I would use to describe Helen Rodels designs is ‘Haute Knitouture’ (knit + haute couture), these kind of pieces are more like art works in themselves. She has a small team of artisans who help her knit and crochet the collections. Her vision is like that of giving life and meaning to something new, whilst clothing and ornamenting the body. The techniques used in the collection are a mix of crochet and knit and the colours are bright and sweet like popsicles, makes me smile just looking at them.
I have also added a wonderful video about her craft. An inspiration for the hot summer days.
[Both film and images are from Helen Rodel website.]
House of Knit 