How did an architect become one of the most popular knitwear designers in Spain
DESIGNER OF THE MONTH
Part 1.
Lucía Ruiz de Aguirre
Lucía Ruiz de Aguirre is one of the most known knitwear designers in Spain. Her designs have been published in for example, Laine Magazine and Koel, as well as in the publications of the brands of the crafts industry, such as LITLG, Schachenmayr and Rowan. The designer is also a popular instructor, and she has participated to many popular knitting festivals, like Barcelona Knits Festival and Sevilla Teje.
Lucía’s path to becoming a knitwear designer was not straightforward. Initially, she was an architect, but during the recession years, high unemployment in the construction industry forced her to find a new way to get by. With only limited knowledge of pattern-making and sewing combined with immense enthusiasm, Lucía founded her clothing brand, Peka’s World, in 2009. During the next few years, she won the best independent designer’s award in Pop-Eye festival.
In 2012, Lucía fell in love with knitting among her sewing work. She predicted that hand-knitted garments could become popular in the future, and after 10 years, her innovative vision was proved right. Along with knitwear designing and production, Lucía founded Galicia’s first DIY store and workshop with the focus on sewing and crocheting, where she started teaching. Cómo molo (How Cool) was ahead of its time and although today her workshops are popular, during that time they did not gain much interest. Nevertheless, hosting her workshops gave Lucía valuable experience about teaching that has benefitted her later on.
After a trial period of a couple of years, Lucía closed her workshop and moved to work from home. Knitting became her passion and she took courses, learnt to make patterns and began to publish her own designs. Her first published design, Chal Ola (The Wave Scarf) is still really popular.
This time, she did everything at the right time: she knitted in a continental style (the yearn on your left hand) with circular needles, which was a lesser-known technique in Spain during the mid 2010’s. She began to teach others, and since then, over 1,000 craft enthusiasts have joined to her courses – in real life and online.
In 2018, Lucía published her first book “Punto y aparte”(Point and aside) which marked as the turning point in her career. Ever since, she has published several other books in Spain, Portugal and Chile. Many books have been translated to English and are available as e-books.
Lucía has become a widely recognised knitwear designer and requested lecturer in fairs and events. Her designs have been published in publications by yarn producers’ and publishers focused on knitwear books. In her online store, she sells patterns, DIY packets and also pre-knitted clothes.
Today, she works and lives in a northern Spanish city, Coruña, overlooking the Atlantic. Along with knitwear design, Lucía works as a consult for the companies of the industry. Her work includes assisting in the implementing and consolidating products and creating colour charts for fabric qualities. She also collaborates in marketing and communications projects.
The world of textiles is not only a career for Lucía, it is a lifestyle. She has claimed that she could never imagine a day without knitting or a house without balls of yarn all around. Her days begin with long walks, and are followed by knitting and designing. Although she works independently from her home office, her network is filled with skilled crafts professionals. Together, they manufacture her designs with care and skill. Resulting in high-quality knitwear with carefully selected materials: only the best yarn, with emphasis on alpaca, mohair, cashmere and merino wool due to their quality, soft texture and durability – and without forgetting to keep environmental sustainability in mind!
Designs by Lucía Ruiz de Aguirre can be found from her
Instagram
(This article used Lucía’s website as a source)