Meet Debbie Bliss, the knitting designer...

Debbie Bliss, 56, designer of her own much-loved line of yarns, and the author of over 30 knitting books collecting her highly wearable patterns, tells us why she adores her work.

How did you become a knitting designer?

'I grew up in Ampthill, a small town in Bedfordshire, and learnt to knit when I was young - I was always interested in the creative arts. After I did a Foundation Course at Hornsey College of Art and then a diploma in Fashion and Textiles at North East London Poly, I developed the idea of knitting plants, from small cacti and pansies to big cheese plants. I sold them to shops like Liberty, who had a ‘One Off' gallery. Through the publicity I had for the plants, I started to be commissioned to design hand knits for magazines, and 10 years ago, after working for many years as a designer and having a shop for three years, I was given the opportunity to launch my own line of Debbie Bliss yarns, by a then newly formed company in the UK called Designer Yarns.'

Tell us about your family and home life - is it ever hard to find time to knit or design?

'I'm married to Barry, a filmmaker, and we have two children: Nell, 19, who's going to university this year, and Billy, 24, an actor. Nell's interested in the fashion side of knitting, and did an internship at Vogue Knitting in New York last year. We live in Walthamstow, in northeast London, and I have a studio at home, but yarn follows me all around the house! In the past, I integrated work and home badly as I found it so difficult to juggle it all - as a freelancer, I was worried about turning work down. As my business expands, I find it difficult not to get bogged down in ‘stuff' - emails, queries and so on. So I make a determined effort now not to turn the computer on in the evening and to make that my swatching time - when I make small knitted samples of stitch patterns.'

What's it like to be a famous knitting icon? Do you feel blessed to be able to make a successful career from doing what you love creatively?

'I don't feel like an icon at all! I've been incredibly lucky - I know so many talented designers who haven't had the opportunities that I have. For many years before my design career took off, I had jobs I was very unhappy in - working in a factory, as a hospital cleaner and as a PR - so I appreciate my life now even more.'

Do you get contacted by knitters around the world?

'Mostly the emails are from the US or UK, and tend to be pattern queries.'

How do you go about creating your yarns?

'I go to the Pitti Immagine Filati yarn show in Florence twice a year, where I see the new yarns that the Italian manufacturers have been working on, and look at the colour predictions for upcoming seasons. I choose a colour palette for my yarns depending on colour predictions for the season and also the type of yarn - for instance, a silk may be in vibrant brights, or a soft cotton in sorbet shades. I send my palette of colours, in the form of tapestry or embroidery yarn, or yarn samples in the shades that I want matched, to my manufacturers, and then they send me dye lots so I can check the accuracy of their dying. I rarely choose a yarn that I have seen without making some tweaks and adjustments to it, and work with the manufacturer until I get the perfect yarn.'

How do you get inspiration for your patterns and books?

'I am inspired by many things - from walking down the road and seeing the clashing colours in a sari shop to visiting an exhibition. The shades and feel of the yarn will also inspire a theme. I either sketch ideas or swatch samples of different stitch patterns, and then work on measurements, shape and so on to create a ‘spec' to send to the pattern compiler, who puts it into a more formal knitting pattern for the knitter. The way my books are inspired depends on the yarn. With Eco, my organic, fair trade cotton, I went with an exotic theme to reflect the areas that the cotton was produced in, and shot the collection in Marrakech to get wonderful light and textures. With the Big Easy, a collection using my thicker yarns, Como, alpaca silk and Luxury Donegal Tweed, I went for generous, weekend knits shot in a cosy cottage under a big Suffolk sky.'

What kind of knitting do you enjoy doing most personally?

'I prefer to knit simple baby knits or accessories because I have so little time to knit for my family or myself. I love cables, arans and fair isles, plus simple stitches like moss stitch, which just about covers everything actually! But I see myself first and foremost as a designer - I love doodling and sketching when I'm thinking of ideas. I'm not a member of a knitting group - my work takes up such a big part of my life that I need to have break from it in order to keep my ideas fresh.'

What are your favourite things to do outside the world of knitting?

'I love the way that reading a book can take you out of yourself - when I am designing, it is very ‘me' related and I need the break from myself! I'm in a book club where we tend to read the classics, but I love American and Canadian novels, particularly detective stories. I am very interested in the First World War and recently read a book called 'The Three Day Path' which combined the war story with that of two North American Indians. My favourite film is 'The Godfather' - and I love walking with Monty, our beagle puppy.'

Which other knitting designers do you respect the most?

'I love the work of Melody Griffiths particularly - her designs are all about the knitted stitch, and she knows exactly what will work and what won't, while still designing wonderful, contemporary designs with a real fashion feel. Erika Knight's books are also beautiful.'

Your patterns always get a brilliant response here on Allaboutyou.com. Why is knitting and craft in general having a surge in popularity, in your view?

'I think that in a time of mass production, people want to get back to making things, and the social aspect of the craft has encouraged the surge in popularity.'

Do you have any tips for readers on developing a passion for knitting?

'Go into your local wool shop and ask if there are any lessons available. It's a good way to meet other crafters - and if your enthusiasm flags, there will always be someone to cheer you on.'

Which of your books and yarns are your favourites?

'I don't really have a favourite of my own books. At the moment one of my favourite of my own yarns is Fez, a camel/extra-fine merino mix which was launched this year.'

Do you find it a happy coincidence that your name is 'Bliss' - given the blissful nature of knitting?

'It is the reason I married my husband!'

Debbie's latest book, 'Tips for Knitters', has just been published in paperback (Ebury; £7.99).