Search is on from Britain’s Next Top Knitwear Designer

British knitting company LoveKnitting is one of the sponsors behind a knitting competition looking for new design talent. Would-be designers are asked to design a garment for men or women and send the pattern, along with at least two pictures, to the company by April 30.

Patterns will be judged by a team of six experts, including designer Debbie Bliss and Kate Carter, editor of Life & Style at the Guardian.

The winner will receive £1,000, mentoring from Debbie Bliss, an internship with designer Emilio de la Morena and the pattern will be sold by LoveKnitting as a downloadable leaflet, with all pattern sales proceeds going to the designer.

Only one entry per person will be accepted, and participants must be 16 or older and residents of the UK.

[Photo via LoveKnitting.]

Next Pattern:

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

Next Pattern:

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