Recap of Ysolda Teague’s Presentation to the Guild.
Continuing with the Guild’s international speakers tour, on March 2nd, we were treated to a visit by Ysolda Teague from Edinburgh, Scotland, via Zoom.
Ysolda is a designer of garments, accessories, children’s wear and toys. She comes from a long line of knitters in Scotland, including her own grandfather. At a young age, Ysolda didn’t really like knitting, mainly because she wanted to knit lace but was told that it was too difficult for a 6-year-old. As a teenager, she loved vintage clothing and found her granny’s stash in the attic. Among her finds were old knitting books filled with different stitch patterns and ideas that she would soon master as she started designing her own garments.
In 2005, Ysolda discovered Knitty, a grassroots web magazine that welcomed submissions from readers who wanted to publish their own patterns. Much to Ysolda’s surprise, her design was placed on the cover of the magazine. Today, Ysolda has over 190 patterns on Ravelry and her website and has published over 10 knitting books.
Noticing that published garment designs usually only came in three sizes and that the models were usually of a “perfect” size, Ysolda persuaded her friend Amy Singer, editor and founder of Knitty, to model her Liesl sweater pattern. The knitting world loved this.
In her thoughtful, inclusive design process, Ysolda considers all aspects. Patterns are sized from XS to 6XL, and the models used in photo shoots include diverse body types, people of color, gender neutrality, all of which are considerations she includes in her designs. She encourages us to look at other inclusive designers such as Jacqueline Cieslak, Bayron Handmade and Renee Van Hoy. More about Ysolda can be found on her website, ysolda.com.
– Mary Woo, Programs
Screen Shots from the Meeting.
