Francoise Danoy of Aroha Knits is a knitting designer that I’ve long admired. I first heard about her on the Power Purls podcast, and I’ve been following her rise into knitting stardom ever since. She’s an impressive business woman in addition to creating beautiful designs. She has so much to teach, and I love to learn!
Please enjoy her interview and get to know her better, check out her beautiful pi shawl, and find out her mom’s advice on knitting.
Has knitting got you through a difficult time in your life? If so, how did it help?
On April 15th, 2016, the area I was living in in Japan was struck by a 7.1 earthquake. It was a rather traumatic experience for me – being jostled awake suddenly at 1:30 in the morning along with facing the real sense of your own morality is probably what did that! But knitting helped me calm down during the night (during the day I was fine but when it started getting dark, that’s when I started to break out in cold sweats) by taking my mind off of things and instilling a sense of peace in me.
What keeps you obsessed?
Examining my why. Every quarter I sit down with myself and dig deep into why I love to knit and design.
What’s your favorite project that you’re working on right now?
At the moment I’m not working on any projects as I finished a Pi-Shawl last month which took everything out of me! So my favourite project right now is resting <3
Click the image for a link to her fabulous pattern!
What project or design are you most proud of? Why?
Tough question! I just finished launching my most recent quarterly pattern collection, the Fibre Muse Quarterly. This has been a year long project and one that I’m immensely proud of.
What’s the best knitting or crochet advice you have received?
“Don’t knit so tightly” – my mother, because my gauge is quite tight at times, haha!
Does pop culture ever influence your knitting?
No, pop culture doesn’t play an influence in my designs nor my knitting. Sometimes I’ll reference pop culture on social media but as a direct (or even indirect) influence, no. That said, culture itself does play a big role in my design aesthetic, specifically my cultural heritages. Many of my colorwork designs draw direct influence from Maori taniko (geometric colorwork) as a form of self-discovery and expression.
Who are some of your favorite indie dyers?
Who don’t I like? I love We Love Knitting as I know the person behind the brand, Claire, very well and she is such a sweetheart! I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with so many wonderful indie brands. They all bring something different to the table that everyone will find something for them to enjoy.
What inspired you to become a full time knitwear designer?
It started when I cast on my first stitch. As I was knitting up my first project, I fell in love with knitting and immediately started thinking of all the ways I could create some designs of my own for fun, especially drawing from Maori taniko motifs. Learning how to knit and learning how to design came around pretty much at the same time.
Follow Francoise on Instagram here and check out her website, Aroha Knits here.
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Click on the image below to pin for later! Sweater pattern: Grace.
2 Comments
That shawl is out of this WORLD!!! It looks very complex. If only I could make into a cowl or something smaller! It’s enchanting!
You can always start and just finish once you’ve made a smaller version! Check out her instagram with an adorable beginning of a pi shawl!