Emma Hasselblad is a knitwear designer currently based in Malmö (Sweden), she was educated at ESMOD Berlin, International School of Art for Fashion (2015).
She creates knitted fashion that can be seen both on the runway and the streets.
When did you start knitting?
I learned how to knit as a kid in school, but it was first when I was around 19 (in 2010) that I became obsessed. I worked at a job where I started really early in the morning, so I had a lot of free hours in the afternoon when all of my friends were working.
I started to spend a lot of time in second-hand stores, and every time I found a bag of yarn I bought it for some reason. And that’s how it started 🙂
Where did you learn to knit? Who taught you?
At first it was in school but since thenI’ve been watching a lot of YouTube tutorials. I’ve also been spending a lot of time just knitting and experimenting.
In the beginning I had no plan, no stress, I just knitted and learned along the way. Then it turned out to be something I couldn’t get enough of.
Describe knitting to you in 3 words.
The best handicraft!!
Do you prefer to knit for yourself or for others?
I’ve always been a fan of colours and shapes, and being creative has always been important to me. I knit because it fulfills some of my need to be creative.
When I start a project, I have an idea of what it is that I want to do. Sometimes I make a sketch that I follow, and sometimes I just have a picture in my head and then I knit “free hand”.
So it’s more about being creative then to have a plan of who I will knit for; it’s the process I prefer. 🙂
Your favorite stitch?
That’s a hard one. I really like to knit different cable stitches and to experiment with them. When I knit, I usually mix a lot of different techniques, but it is fun with the cable stitch because you can do so much with that one.
What is your preferred kit from We Are Knitters?
Ahh the steam coat!! <3
I would like to knit it in a colour fade, like white-salmon-yellow-pink- aquamarine for example. It would turn out to be a colour bomb.
The wool, petite wool, cotton, fabric yarn, or baby alpaca?
At the moment, I think I have a romance with The Wool. I love the chunky surface and the softness that comes with The Wool. I used The Wool a lot in my graduate collection, it is sooo nice to work with. And it also makes it easier to create the sculptural shapes that I like to work with.
What is your favorite time to knit? Your favorite place to knit?
This last year I’ve been spending all my days knitting and its been the best time.
And one of the good things with knitting is that you can do it everywhere! It is so easy to take your current project with you and you can knit at home, in bed, on the train, in the park, on your balcony, at a cafe, etc forever.
Any advice for someone starting to knit?
Start with something easy but think big. If you are a total beginner, first learn how to do stitches, using a thick yarn like The Wool and then you can learn how to do knit stitches. After that you will be able to make a scarf or a blanket, for example.
I think that the best beginner advice is to knit something that becomes a real thing that you can use. I think that’s what makes people continue with the interest and inspiration – when you have an actual thing that you made yourself by hand.
Then in the next project you can learn new techniques and after a while you are a knitting-pro!! Promise.
