Make Good Fashion: A Fashion Business Podcast · Jasmine Rennie

How to Create a Knitwear Collection with Kate Knight

·49 min·3 clips

Knitwear starts with yarn, not fabric, because the garment and fabric are created together.

Fall is knitwear season, and Jasmine Rennie brings in freelance knitwear designer Kate Knight to make the category less fussy and more workable. Kate starts where the product starts: fiber. Wool, cashmere, cotton, and recycled options each come with their own feel and sustainability questions, so the material choice cannot stay theoretical for long. Gauge comes next. A sample reference might point toward twelve gauge or fourteen gauge, and that choice starts narrowing the yarns and machines that make sense. The factory side gets refreshingly practical. Kate explains why a good knitwear factory should know the category, then help a founder sort through yarn fit, minimums, and color cards. Sourcing feels less like a closed door and more like a set of questions to bring to the right people. Pilling gets the clearest breakdown. Tiny fibers grab onto each other and form balls; longer fibers, tighter twisting, and tighter knitting can help. Softness is still a bargain with consequences. The sweet spot is soft enough to wear, but firm enough to behave. Jasmine also asks where tech pack details belong, and Kate separates what happens at the yarn stage from what needs testing through machine settings and swatches. The tone stays friendly without pretending knitwear is simple. By the end, the factory language has turned into a working checklist. Jasmine closes by pointing listeners to Make Good Fashion Academy, expert lessons, and Kate's free consultation offer.

As heard by us

A practical guide to knitwear design, sourcing, and factory collaboration.

This episode treats knitwear as a working process, not a mood board. The conversation stays on sustainable fibers, building knitwear collections, sourcing materials, and working with factories.

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Why you'd press play

See how a sweater idea becomes a real collection.

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