The Campaign for Wool has announced the winners of its first student hand knitting competition.
The students were asked to design a series of garments hand knitted in yarns that were all at least 51% wool that had sculptural elements using cabling and 3D techniques. The design brief set by Marie Wallin, a knitwear designer renowned for her intricate Fair Isle hand knitting, also asked the students to use a colour palette based on British autumn. Participants were also encouraged to uses other crafting techniques including crochet and felting.
Each entry included a sketch book, knitted swatches and six finished illustrated designs. The students then selected one of the designs to make up as their final submission.
Sixteen final entries were judged during Wool Week by Marie Wallin, Bridgette Kelly of The Campaign for Wool, Wendy Barker of Kingston University and Polly Leonard, founder and editor of Selvedge Magazine who awarded a special prize to her overall preferred entry.
"I was very impressed by the standard of design work submitted,” said Marie Wallin. “The students truly excelled themselves with designs that not only promoted the craft of handknit and crochet but showed how wool can be a creative and versatile fibre.”
The entries were displayed at the Artworkers Guild Hall in London during Wool Week for judging and the winners will be shown again in Yorkshire at Wool House, the British Wool Marketing Board’s head office during November.
The winners
The first prize winner of £500 was Rachel Graham of Brighton University. This very talented designer was only in her first year of her undergraduate knitwear design course when she submitted work for selection. Her winning design was a beautiful fitted tunic dominated by a mass of knitted loops creating a dramatic and tactile effect.
The second prize of £300 was awarded to Jessye Boulton from Winchester School of Art, another first year undergraduate student. Jessye’s design was a wonderful blend of multi coloured yarns knitted into a collection bullion knots, creating a dramatic and eye-catching, almost carpet-like in its structure and very impressive as a garment.
The third prize of £200 was awarded to Catriona Pringle from the Royal College of Art. This highly creative design was a mix of cut felted wool with twisted knitted strips woven in and out of the felted cut sections.
A special award of 3 year subscription to Selvedge Magazine was given to Zoe Lyne of Winchester School of Art. Polly Leonard, the editor of Selvedge Magazine was instantly drawn to this dramatic design of a mass of crochet tubes worked into a very imaginative wearable neck piece or collar.”