Join us for this special edition of YKWU in collaboration with the New Composites project. This session will be led by knitwear designer and innovator Nicci James.
In this months’ knitting club, we will be knitting with next gen materials, including yarn from pineapple leaves or waste hemp, polyester from corn, recycled cotton and wool. We will spend some time discussing each materials unique properties before knitting swatches with our favourites.
This is a perfect workshop for anyone that is working in or curious about circular and sustainable design, to participate in an opportunity to play around with new materials that are recyclable and compostable.
You will be asked to donate one of the samples produced in this workshop, to be shown in the project’s final exhibition at Chelsea College of Arts.
about YKWU
You Can Knit With Us (YKWU) is Colèchi’s very own knitting club that started as a way to encourage people take part in the art of producing fashion through knitting; and to change generic preconceived ideas of who knits. YKWU collaborates with knitwear designers, yarn producers and educators to allow an explorative reconnection with traditional clothes making.
about new composites
New Composites is a one-year research project led by Laetitia Forst at the University of the Arts London. It aims to increase understanding of the circularity potential of new biobased and recycled fibres to encourage fibre diversity in fashion and interiors. To move away from the ubiquitous and polluting use of cotton and polyester, alternative ‘next gen’ materials must be understood and integrated to textile design. The project addresses the lack of information on composition, production processes and recyclability criteria for alternative fibres and yarns and will provide recommendations for their use in circular systems.
about Nicci James
Leading the workshop is Nicci James, a knitwear designer on a mission to reduce the need for synthetics in fashion and textiles by harnessing wool’s natural ability to felt. Following an MA in Fashion at the Royal College of Art, Nicci has continued to refine her process with funding from Innovate UK- forming The UNUSUWUL Studio in 2023.
Heavily inspired by marrying tradition, innovation and tactility, Nicci’s creations have won awards for Circular Design from Fashion District and been showcased by the Crafts Council.
