On Friday I hit the road with
Kate Wilson in search of woollen words of wisdom....
Following two successful seasons of making knitwear in Ulverston, Kate wonders how her brands story will unfold in 2015. I suggest we go visit Sophie of Dent who has been designing and making her Wild Woollens in the Dale for the last 33 years..
In 1982 Sophie, with no prior experience of wool
or knitting, set out to continue the tradition of
The Terrible Knitters of Dent,
a reputation held by the 18th century townsfolk who knitted with
amazing dexterity and speed.
In the tradition of their village ancestors, Sophie and her team of knitters today,
create exceedingly good knitwear that is exported all over the world, from The Shop on the Green...
Sophie's workshop is a haven of colour on a grim January day with oodles of things to look at
From amazing knitted textures...
to socks
to bikes
Like Kate, Sophie started out knitting all day, sewing
and washing all night, until she reached a point after several years where she
could take on other knitters. Now she employs between 8 and 10 local women who knit from their own homes. Garments are then hand finished in Sophie's studio.
Kate has a tonne of questions..
and Sophie and Sid answer them all as best they can..
Two hours have vanished before we know it and we head back out into the January gale armed with wild woollen images and stories to inspire us.
You can read the full story which will follow in the February issue of
(online or hard copy available at Two by Two)
in Dent is well worth a visit where the tradition of knitting
in Dent continues.
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