MAKE with the Knit Shop is a two-year teacher development project designed to embed craft approaches in schools.
Working with six primary schools in Dundee and three textile makers: Kate Scarlet Harvey, Jolene Guthrie and Kim Norrie, the project introduces teachers and pupils in p5 and p6 to new craft-based approaches that support numeracy skills development in the classroom. As we reflect on year one of the project and look ahead to year two, we chat with Kate, Jolene and Kim about their connections to Knit Shop, the importance of learning by doing, risk-taking in the classroom and their experiences of the project so far.
Hello Kate, Jolene and Kim! Can you each introduce yourself and and tell us about what you do?
Kim: I’m a textile designer and maker and I also work in filmmaking. I specialise in constructed textiles, knitting and hand needle weaving, a giant type of embroidery I came up with while studying. It’s a very easy and therapeutic practice. Until a few years ago, I sold my work through the New Craftsmen (now called the New Craftmaker), a showroom in London. I currently split my time between filmmaking and textile projects.
Jolene: I’m a Dundee-based designer specialising in knitwear. I run my Scottish knitwear brand, Jo-AMI from my studio and work part-time as a knitwear developer at Knit Shop.
Kate: I’m a printed textile designer also based in Dundee. I work with vinyl print, screen print and digital print. I create one-off printed clothing, wall hangings, and various digitally printed accessories.
How did you get into textiles?
Kate: I have been obsessed with textiles since I learned to sew in Home Economics at school! I loved coming up with designs for cushions and aprons and learning how to pattern cut. I initially wanted to study fashion at university, but closer to the time, I realised that textile design was actually what I was interested in. It blew my mind to see what students created for their degree shows. I knew I wanted to be in that world, so I went on to study Printed Textiles at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee. I didn’t start selling my work or working in textiles until a few years after I graduated. Once I started, there was a snowball effect, and opportunities began presenting themselves to me, which has led me to where I am now.
Jolene: I also studied textiles at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, graduating in 2016, and went on to complete an MA in Knitwear – Design, Heritage and Production at Heriot-Watt University in Galashiels in 2017. I then carried out various design internships with local brands and worked in industry, down in London, before staring my own brand and freelance working.
Kim: I went to Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen to complete my undergraduate degree, where I specialised in textiles. I received a First Class Honour’s Degree and won two prizes, one for my degree show and the other at the graduate design event, New Designers in London. This gave me the confidence to apply to the Royal College of Art (RCA) where I gained a Masters Degree, also in textiles. During my time studying at the RCA I received a scholarship from Johnson’s of Elgin, who also provided me with wonderful work experience at their Mill and an opportunity to work in their Selfridge’s Christmas store, specialising in personalised embroidery. When I graduated, I worked for Donna Wilson and set up my own brand selling through the New Craftsmen.
The Knit Shop, Dundee
And you all have a connection to the Knit Shop?
Jolene: Yeah, I am the knitwear developer, working three days a week. I operate the electronic knitting machines, working through the production schedules for Donna Wilson and other clients. I also take initial design enquiries through a development and sampling process to create a final piece that is ready to be produced for the customer.
Kate: I am a seamstress and studio assistant at the Knit Shop – I sew a lot of the products for Donna Wilson and other small designer brands and I help to maintain the studio by running the knitting machines when needed, and various other cleaning, packing, and box moving activities!
Kim: I previously worked for Donna Wilson in her London studio. I was her design assistant for around a year. More recently I created a series of mending videos for her website that sit alongside her knitwear and creature repair kits. When I heard Donna was opening the Knit Shop in Dundee, the area I’m from and have since moved back to, I got in touch to ask if there was anything I could do to help to help out. Shortly after, she asked me to take part in the Make with the Knit Shop project.
Jolene working in the Knit Shop
You were commissioned by the Knit Shop to develop and deliver textile activities for p5 and p6 pupils with a focus on numeracy, working directly with teachers on the process. Over the course of the last year, has this work influenced your own practice?
Jolene: It has made me think about different knitting techniques, construction methods and working with different sustainable materials. I have developed some new Jo-AMI styles using the recycled cotton rope yarn that I used to deliver my workshops, creating a new eco product and construction method using arm knitting as the technique.
Kate: Yeah, since being part of MAKE with the Knit Shop, I have been considering what materials I use and how they can be more sustainable. Last year when we were devising the workshops, one of the main focus points we considered was sustainability and how easy it would be for the schools, going forward, to replicate the workshops and have easy access to materials.
I made full use of Dundee’s ScrapAntics – a ‘scrap store’ which sells everything you could need for craft activities in all forms. I bought a huge bag of scrap fabric and embroidery thread for the workshops, and I had so much left over that I was able to use in my own work throughout the summer – veering away from only using HTV (heat transfer vinyl) or other plastic-based products. It has also made me aware of hoarding materials I don’t use and as a result, I have donated bags and bags of stuff back to ScrapAntics, ready for someone else to discover!
Kim: It’s shown me that running a workshop with kids, much younger than I’ve had any experience with before, is a wonderful way to spend time and something I’d like to continue doing. I’ve always played with the idea of running workshops before and this experience has really shown me what it takes and what people struggle with specifically when it comes to my craft. Surprisingly it’s threading the needle, not the actual sewing, that causes most people issues.
Kim introducing Rosebank Primary School pupils to her weaving activity
Has anything surprised you about pupils’ responses to the project?
Kate: I was so surprised at how quickly the pupils took to the activity and showed real interest. I was particularly impressed with how much interest the boys showed, as craft historically has such feminine connotations – it was wonderful that it didn’t come up in conversation once as I was fully expecting, “this is for girls” type statements. They were all so keen to learn and get to grips with the project that it made teaching it a delight. I also found it interesting that most of the pupils were very hands-on learners and needed to be shown multiple times up close how to sew. I was very lucky that both teachers I worked with were crafty and had background knowledge of stitching, so they could help get the pupils started. Even things you wouldn’t think – like tying a knot – were new to some of the pupils, so having extra teaching help for that skill was so important.
Kim: Yeah, I was surprised by how much everyone enjoyed it. I expected to have at least a few kids who were not into the project, but they were all so full of enthusiasm. They were thrilled to be making something they could take home.
I was also surprised at how therapeutic they found the repetitive task of hand needle weaving. I thought they may struggle, but the only thing a couple of them found challenging was threading the needle. The absolute joy and pride on their faces when they finished a specific task was really sweet. It was so special to see this craft project give them confidence.
Jolene: I have been surprised by the resilience and creativeness of the pupils, their ability to think outside the box and create new, interesting things with skills that they have only just learnt about.
Kate showing pupils at Downfield Primary School printed wall hanging examples
Has the project influenced your mindset in thinking about how craft can aid with the teaching of numeracy and maths skills?
Kim: Absolutely, I couldn’t believe how well the kids responded to this project. I could see them counting the rows they would need in one colour and how many in another. Thinking about pattern and symmetry. Craft may not be a conventional way to aid the teaching of numeracy and maths skills, but I could see how much more confident the kids were in talking about numbers and counting when it wasn’t their primary focus. It was just something they needed to use to get the project done, which is the way designers and makers use maths in the real world. It’s a very clever way to teach kids multiple skills at once.
Jolene: The project has also highlighted and reinforced how often I use numeracy and maths skills we use in my everyday design practice. Whether I am working out the dimensions and angles of garment panels so they fit together exactly or I am calculating how much I should charge for a certain product or service, it is apparent in nearly every exercise.
Kate: What really helped me was working directly with the teachers while we were devising the project so they could match up the craft activity with a numeracy learning intention. Personally, maths was never my strong suit at school, but looking at it from the point of view of craft makes it so much more accessible. I think that attaching the maths ideas to a real-life activity makes it less scary or intimidating for many pupils.
Jolene assisting a Claypotts Castle Primary School pupil with a hand-knitting technique
A key part of our teacher development project is to explore confidence-building through skills-development, experimentation and creative risk-taking in the classroom. How important do you think this kind of professional development work is for pupils?
Kim: Personally I believe in letting kids experience as much as possible, so that they can foster some kind of passion – a hobby or interest that can lead to a fulfilling career when they are older. Without creative experimentation and risk-taking in the classroom there may not be any other scope for kids to receive these crucial experiences.
There are so many avenues one person can take when it comes to a career. Having people come in and share their knowledge in a fun and engaging way is a wonderful way for kids to learn life skills. To learn about jobs they didn’t know existed, meet people they can aspire to and use the existing skills they have in a real-world application.
Kate: I think it is important for pupils to experiment and colour ‘outside of the lines’. In my memory of being in primary school, we had to make our art as neat as possible and I always struggled with that idea, feeling like I was doing it ‘wrong’. When I was in primary six, our teacher did an art lesson with us which always stayed with me – she put out trays of paint and paper on our tables and told us to do what we wanted – make a mess, use big brushes and cardboard tubes to paint with, to just play, no rules. It was amazing to relax into it and to paint intuitively. It gave me confidence and opened my eyes to different forms of expression, and I think this is something that is needed, this idea that how you show up is okay, and there is nothing wrong with what you made, or how you painted.
I wanted to have an element of this approach in my project. Even though it has a focus on shapes, the shapes can be irregular; even though we are sewing up the edges by hand, we can use different stitches or different colours. This gives pupils confidence in their abilities and choices and produces interesting and unexpected results.
Jolene: I think this is hugely important as it comes at such an influential stage – pupils can realise their own interests and discover skills they never knew they had. This builds confidence and self-belief, which are so important in allowing pupils to reach for their dreams.
Learn more about Kate, Jolene and Kim and the aims of the project here