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Senior Lecturer in Fashion Knitwear Design publishes indispensable guide for knitwear designers

The new, second edition of Knitwear provides an invaluable introduction to the use of knitwear in fashion design, and an insider’s perspective into the knitwear industry.

    Juliana Sissons with new Knitwear book
    Juliana Sissons with her new book, Knitwear

    The book delves into the characteristics and behaviour of many varieties of yarn and fibre, from traditional to contemporary, providing easy-to-follow diagrams, practical examples, and rich illustrations.

    Practising designer Juliana Sissons, who teaches on Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) BA (Hons) Fashion Knitwear Design and Knitted Textiles course, told us: “The book offers the reader a number of design briefs, with instructions for achieving the basic knit stitches needed to develop knitted textiles.”

    “Readers have the opportunity to develop new techniques into their own personal work, and are guided to consider research, concepts and themes, design development, and how these translate into knitted swatches, fashion design and garment making.”

    Knitwear book
    Knitwear book

    She continued: “I’ve written a new chapter on menswear for this second edition, exploring case studies of practitioners in context, sharing their unique concepts and individual design processes for creating diverse menswear collections. Interviews with designers throughout the book firmly help to put the business of knitwear on the map.”

    Sold worldwide in multiple languages, the book includes examples of innovative work from award-winning NTU students, alongside well-known international designers, and graduate designers from Parsons New School in New York, and the Royal College of Art in London, giving this edition much more of an international feel.

    Juliana added: “I think students should keep this book by the knitting machine as it could be used as a technical guide, and it’s also full of colour inspiration and design suggestions. Students who have the first edition have told me that it’s very clear and easy to use.”

    As a knitwear designer and freelance pattern cutter, Juliana's clients have included Alexander McQueen, Shelley Fox, The V&A Museum and the BBC. Her work has also been commissioned by artists including Leigh Bowery, Andrew Logan, and style icon Isabella Blow.

    Published on 3 April 2019
    • Subject area: Art and design
    • Category: Current students; Staff; School of Art & Design