Interview: Jody Long
British knitwear and toy designer Jody Long on his process and publications.
A new book from the popular and prolific designer Jody Long has just hit the store! This Dover original, Knitted Toys: 20 cute and colorful projects has instructions for wonderful creations, including a knitted airplane and a knitted truck. You can find Jody on Twitter @JodyLongKnits, and of course he’s also on every knitter’s favorite spot, Ravelry. For over twelve years he has designed for all the major UK and US knitting magazines, as well as for knitting mills around the globe. Be on the lookout for Adorable Baby Knits, coming out very soon from Dover.
Dover Books: How did you learn to knit & why?
Jody Long: When I was five years old I stayed over my grandmother’s house on her farm time to time. In the evenings I remember this huge wicker basket came out with brightly colored yarns and needles sticking out with half-finished projects. It fascinated me with all the colors and projects she made, so, one day I said can you show me how to knit.
DB: What was your first finished project?
JL: Oh no, I remember it to this day. It was a very badly knitted picture sweater in pink and cream with two little rabbits on the front. It was a disaster as I never knew about tension and needle sizes. The cream was aran and the pink was chunky, so you can only image.
DB: How did you start designing?
JL: I started designing from the age of twelve, designing clothes for my sisters’ dolls. When I was fourteen I designed a teacher teddy with a little knitted book and mortarboard and sent it to a magazine to be turned down due to my age.
DB: Who have you designed for?
JL: I have designed for many magazines and yarn mills around the world, including celebrity clients, and a few designer labels like Gucci, Prada and Next.
DB: When did you become an author?
JL: I always wanted to write about knitting from an early age, so when I was approached by Dover Publications back in early 2015 I jumped at the chance. Since then I have written three books.
DB: What do you like knitting best?
JL: This is a difficult question, because I love knitting everything from socks, hats, toys to garments. I guess I prefer to design and knit toys and baby garments.
DB: What else would you like to tell us about your work?
JL: My designs have been featured in multiple publications, including Vogue Knitting, Knit Today, and Simply Knitting. I was made a knitting superstar for a week on a crafting website called Cut Out & Keep. It was extremely popular and they have asked me to continue with new designs each month. Early in 2016 I was invited by The Craft Channel based in the UK to run regular knitting shows live on TV.
Biography
British knitwear designer & author Jody Long (1984) was born in Portsmouth UK, grew up in Waterlooville, Hampshire and moved to Málaga Spain in 2014. For over twelve years he has designed for all the major UK and US knitting magazines, then moved on to design for knitting mills around the globe. Jody has also designed for celebrity clients. In 2015 Jody became a best-selling author to three knitting books with Dover Publishing in NYC, Toy Knits, Baby Knits and Cable Knits. Jody has continued to excel within the hand knitwear market having over 5 shops sell his ready to wear garments.
