About

The Story Behind Emmaknitty

Hi, I’m Emma, a British knitting and crochet designer based in Spain. Within the yarn community, you may know me as Emmaknitty – thanks so much for visiting my blog and supporting me!

Although I have always been a creative person – as a kid I was always drawing and making things – my journey into knitting and crochet design started way back in 2007 when I decided to try and learn how to knit. After seeing so many celebrities in gossip magazines doing it and thinking it looked like fun, I bought some cheap needles and horribly itchy yarn and decided to have a go at it myself. After many false starts (and frustrated rages) I finally got the hang of it, started playing around with yarn and considered making my own designs. I took a few years away from knitting due to work and travel commitments, but when I had my daughter in 2014 I picked up my craft stuff again and knitting (and later, crochet) kept me occupied during maternity leave. Knitting allowed me to make my own bespoke baby items and – most of all – the healing power of crafts helped me deal with the pain of with Postnatal Depression and relieve stress – something truly wonderful.

Soon, what started as curiosity and relaxing hobby quickly became a passion (and obsession), and I began designing my own patterns almost immediately. I discovered a deep appreciation for the calm, creativity, and sense of accomplishment that crafting brings, and started building and curating a ridiculous collection of hooks, needles and – obviously – yarn of all types. Soon after I started designing I was lucky enough to be asked to design a pair of mittens for the prestigious magazine Mollie Makes and the rest, as they say, is history!

So, what is Emmaknitty and what does the brand represent? Well, my ethos is pretty straightforward: to create thoughtfully designed, modern and useable patterns for homeware, accessories, and toys, with a focus on creating pieces that are both beautiful and practical. I love simplicity, simple shapes, satisfying textures and timeless items, and I hope that the items you make using my patterns inspire you and that you enjoy every moment you spend making them.

As someone who has often been on the receiving end of fiddly, badly-written patterns I know how important it is for crafters to have clean, motivating guides and tutorials to work from, and for patterns to be enjoyable for both beginner and advanced knitters alike. I love making quick projects that use up scraps, minimise waste and that are approachable and fun. I believe in spreading joy through crafting, and telling everyone just how fantastic knitting and crochet – and our yarn community – is!

Behind The Scenes…

My studio is located in the green countryside of Asturias in Northern Spain, where I work my day job and design patterns in my sunny attic space. I am a language teacher during the day, and I am lucky enough to teach surrounded by my yarn stash, using every spare minute I have between classes top sketch out ideas, dream up new patterns, fiddle with SEO (iykyk) and live my best creative life!

I live with my beloved husband/best friend and our wonderful daughter, along with our trio of ageing chickens (Patsy, Rachel and Marina) and two large, friendly dogs (Bobby and Squid). When I’m not designing, you’ll find me cooking, collecting notebooks, gardening, watching true crime documentaries (I am addicted) PC gaming, or – of course – adding to my ever-growing yarn collection! My favourite PC games are The Sims (all of them), Cities: Skylines, Stardew Valley and Star Stable, amongst others. My favourite PC ever is Monkey Island 2, although I’m partial to all of them!

Selected Brand Collaborations & Features:

I work as a yarn ambassador for a few selected brands (Hobbii, Selected Yarns, Lovecrafts…) and have had my patterns published in magazines such as Mollie Makes, Your Knit & Crochet Magazine and Let’s Knit Together, as well as having my finished work featured on the TV on Ideal World and Create and Craft.

Thank you for reading, for your support and interest and for visiting my blog!

Happy and warm crafting,

Emma ♡