THE QUEEN OF KNITS 

Photography by Chloe Mallett
Fashion Editor: Karen Preston 

Remembering the late, great Patricia Roberts who gave fresh inspiration to generations of knitters.  

The 1960s and 1970s saw a resurgence in home knitting, led by a small number of designers determined to change its staid image. Leading the field was Patricia Roberts, who sadly passed away in 2020. Examples of Patricia’s work are in the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum and Make is pleased to feature some of her unique creations in a tribute to her life and work.  

A memorial exhibition of Patricia’s work featuring finished garments, preparatory drawings, artwork and her famous knitwear books is to be held from February 11th 2022 for three weeks at the historic Farnham Pottery in Surrey.  

Patricia had been an enthusiastic knitter since learning the craft from her grandmother and had carried on knitting through college, graduating in Fashion from Leicester College of Art and Design, but she realised that hand knitting had to raise its game to justify any longevity in the art. 

 Having moved to London she started to work for women’s magazines like Honey and Women’s Weekly composing designs and the patterns to knit them. The patterns were popular with readers but Patricia wanted to be more ambitious and was determined to raise handknits to a new level of design with novel jewel colours and textures – some inspired by traditional Scottish garments. Above all, she despised the artificial fibres that were replacing her favourite natural yarns. 

At the age of 26 Patricia, with the help of her brother Keith, started to market pattern leaflets. She also sold finished sweaters to Browns of London and Bloomingdales in New York, which gave her the confidence to open her first shop in Kinnerton Street, Knightsbridge, selling hand made finished sweaters, patterns and luxury yarns for the home knitter. A thriving mail-order business soon grew which was supported by the publication of her famous pattern books featuring top models and shot by leading photographers, raising the publications to a new level of sophistication – and now very collectable. 

In order to offer beautiful natural yarns, she introduced her own ‘Woolly Bear’ brand offering top quality wools as well as luxury yarns like angora and cashmere. Patricia had always been influenced by fine art and she soon included the vibrant colours typical of her work. Home knitters began to be challenged by complex bas-relief and bobble stitches featuring images of children’s sweets or grapes and cherries. Referring back to traditional knits she offered new takes on Aran and Shetland jerseys. 

By the 1980s Patricia was a leading light in the London Designers Group, which included other talented designers like Susan Duckworth, Paul Costello and Jamie and Jessie Seaton. In 1986 Patricia was awarded the Design Council main prize – the Duke of Edinburgh award, never before given to a clothing designer. 

The legendary fashion designer Jean Muir was moved to write: ‘She is a craftsman who has made her work commercial – she is a leader in the resurgence of artists and craftsmen who are bringing about the most exciting movement that has happened in this country for a century’ 

Famous names began to call into Patricia’s shops to buy finished garments – fans included singer Linda Ronstadt, actresses Julia Roberts, Goldie Hawn, Judy Dench and even Princess Diana who all admired and wore her sweaters. 

Patricia said of her work,  

‘My knitwear is identifiable by its sophisticated stitchcraft. I love to push the technical limits of hand knitting into new areas, but always within the context of casual, easy to wear fashion. I am inspired by the creative possibilities of hand knitting and enjoy inventing new stitches and amalgamating them with colours textures and form. 

For each collection, I think of a theme and then imagine ways of interpreting it into colour, Aran or lacework, or a combination of these. There is often something completely new about the way they are worked. The inspiration comes from anywhere and anything – holidays, nature, the sea, art exhibitions, bric-a-brac, etc. I work in natural fibres, often luxury ones, like cashmere and angora. We have also developed our own range of cotton in a myriad of colours especially for hand knitting. 

 I want people to feel comfortable and enjoy wearing my sweaters at almost any time and anywhere, from the city office to the country, the sea or the fashionable ski resort.’ 

Tragically, Patricia was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2017 and passed away in December 2020. Her daughter Amy, until recently Director of Interiors at Wallpaper magazine, has curated the exhibition of Patricia’s work with the cooperation of Guy Haines owner of the historic Farnham Pottery. The Farnham Pottery is a Grade II listed building and one of the best-preserved working examples of Victorian country pottery left in England. 

 In parallel, there will also be an exhibition of paintings of contemporary design icons by Patricia’s husband, John Heffernan, a retired industrial and automotive designer. 

 At the Farnham Pottery, Quennells Hill, Wrecclesham, Farnham, Surrey, GU10 4ND www.thefarnhampottery.co.uk 

Makeup: Sonia Deveney
Hair: Paul Percival
Model: Kitti Mudele @PRM London
Casting by Dean Goodman at The Goodman Creative