Meet the designers for Laine Issue 23
In Laine Magazine 23, we present designs from eleven outstanding designers from around the world. Meet Pablo Aneiros, Kaori Katsurada, Liza Lewis, Hiromi Nagasawa, Sara Ottosson, Camille Romano, Macarena Silva, Lis Smith, Florence Spurling, Vibe Ulrik Søndergaard and Tess Vandekolk.
Pablo Aneiros
When designing, Pablo Aneiros aims to create a romantic impression with textures or small details in the garment's shape. Pablo is a designer living in Galicia, northern Spain. Most of his inspiration comes from a sentimental part of him — moments or feelings that he wants to capture and transform into a garment.
For this issue, Pablo designed Cora: a delicate rectangular-shaped vest.
Kaori Katsurada
Kaori Katsurada is a knitwear designer, an occasional natural dyer and the owner of an online yarn shop called Amumu. She lives in Ishikawa, Japan. Kaori is most inspired by her favourite vintage clothes, baking and the nature of the land where she lives — with its various flowers, forests, mountains and the ocean. Knitting and yarn are an integral part of her life.
Kaori’s Cinnamon Twists raglan sweater features twisted stitches and cables.
Liza Lewis
Liza Lewis is originally from Belgium but now lives in the UK. She is a designer/illustrator whose work includes many fun children’s products: books, puzzles, games, prints and fabrics. Liza started knitting colourwork sweaters during Covid-19 as a way of de-stressing and has become quite obsessed with it all. She describes her design style as “Fair Isle with a modern twist”.
The Dazzler sweater — Liza’s first-ever published pattern! — is an all-over colourwork jumper that grows quickly on the needles
Hiromi Nagasawa
Hiromi Nagasawa says her design style aims to incorporate the joy of simplicity and comfort into everyday living. She lives in Tokyo and used to work as an architect, but now she is a full-time knitwear designer. Hiromi likes to observe people and things she sees in the city and the media; her ideas often come from those moments.
For this issue, Hiromi designed the Snowfield sweater with large cables and smaller motifs on a smooth stockinette surface.
Sara Ottosson
Sara Ottosson comes from Sweden and lives in a town called Västerås. They are a part-time knitwear designer and a part-time freelance prop maker and set builder. Most of Sara’s knits spring from the question “what if?” and a curiosity to try something new. Contrasting colours, plaid patterns and intarsia are recurrent themes in their designs.
Sara’s Brick Road scarf features slipped stitches on top of a garter-stitch base.
Camille Romano
Camille Romano comes from Paris, France, but has been living in Finland since 2008. She is an independent graphic designer and art director, but these days about half of her time is dedicated to knitwear design. Camille gets ideas from visual details that catch her attention — anything from the shape of a shadow or a pattern on a facade to the colours of a landscape during a train trip.
For this issue, Camille designed Cork: a highly textured, warm cardigan that can also work as outerwear.
Photo: Henri Vogt.
Macarena Silva
Macarena Silva is a part-time designer and a teacher living in Coyhaique, Chilean Patagonia. She also works in her own organization, Pulso Austral, developing regional initiatives that intersect culture, education, science and textile arts to promote community bonds, sustainability and wellbeing. The dramatically different landscapes of her surroundings spark her creativity.
Macarena’s Pampa is an an oversized, short-sleeved cardigan featuring an all-over crossed stitch pattern.
Lis Smith
Lis Smith lives in the Pacific Northwest of North America, with a posse of mischievous cats vying for lap time. Textured stitches and cables are her favourite design elements. A love of textiles and handcrafts beyond knitting, such as quilting and embroidery, inspires and informs her process. A meandering walk through her neighbourhood or along a rocky beach is always full of inspiration.
Lis’s South Sister hat features a beautiful cable pattern and an optional pompom.
Florence Spurling
Florence Spurling is a knitwear designer who lives in London, UK. Her designs combine her passion for colour, pattern and texture. She is endlessly inspired by textiles of all types and adores detailed and decorative fabrications. Florence is always attracted to detail, and she oftens gravitate towards finer yarns because she loves the intricacy and finesse they bring to your work.
For this issue, Florence designed Vespera: a lightweight and ethereal drop-shoulder sweater.
Vibe Ulrik Søndergaard
Vibe Ulrik Søndergaard lives in the Danish countryside and has a day job as a design assistant and an in-house photographer for a children’s toy company. She describes her knits as soft, organic and “something that strives to be comfortable to wear, more than being an eye-catcher”. Vibe mostly goes for classic, soft tones of white, grey, blue, warm brown or rose.
Vibe’s Unfold sweater combines a simple surface with an unusual shape.
Tess Vandekolk
Tess Vandekolk loves combining simple stitches into an apparently complicated, yet actually rhythmical, pattern. Tess comes from Geelong, Australia. She is a full-time yarn dyer behind the brand Fluff & Nonsense and started venturing into knitwear design in 2023. Tess usually gets ideas for designs based on textures and patterns around her.
Tess’s Climbing Higher design is a pair of cabled, textured socks with an easy-to-memorise pattern repeat.