When life tilted, Diana Feroze picked up her knitting needles at her mother’s bedside and began knitting simple squares together. It was an intimate act that quietly re-ignited a lifelong love of making.
Hungry to stretch herself, she enrolled on our City & Guilds Knitting Skill Stage 3 course for the challenge and the freedom to learn on her own terms. The distance learning format meant she could travel and study, while regular contact from the team and thoughtful guidance from her tutor, Sally, kept her motivated and supported. What followed was transformative: beyond stitches and swatches, Diana learned to design, dye, draw and, crucially, to slow down. Now, she researches, plans and views each piece through a designer’s lens. A shift that unlocked fresh confidence and professionalism. She now prices and markets her work, has built a website, begun selling via local and online routes, and sees her knitting not just as craft, but as art. She also has our Knitting Skill Stage 4 course firmly in her sights.
Dive into Diana’s #MyStitchJourney to explore the ideas, colour studies and beautifully resolved projects that grew from that first bedside square.
Diana Feroze
“But the most important thing was the thinking and planning of projects. Instead of grabbing needles and zooming away, I have learnt to stop, think, research, revise and look at the project from many angles before even starting to buy the wool.”
Like so many, I learnt to knit with my mother when I was young and then forgot all about it until the world tilted and I was back at her bedside in her Care Home fifty years later. To pass the time I bought her knitting needles and wool and together we knitted squares. I moved on to dresses for my great nieces, blankets for the family, jumpers, hats, scarves…
My mother is no longer alive, but I often think of her as I knit.
Motivation for Studying
I enrolled on the City and Guilds Hand Knitting Stage 3 course with the School of Stitched Studies as I wanted to be more challenged by my knitting, and the course certainly did that! What really attracted me to the course was that it was fully online. I could travel and knit as long as I had my computer with me and was not tied in any way to how and when I studied.
This flexibility was very important to me, although I missed meeting my fellow students. The school does run Facebook groups, though, and I did have a strong sense of belonging to a living organisation. The administration team kept in touch throughout and I felt very supported by Sally, my tutor. I was encouraged by her input, her engagement with my work and her positive attitude.
Developing a Designer’s Eye
Aside from knitting I learnt about designing patterns, dyeing, drawing, and working from photographs to name but a few. But the most important thing was the thinking and planning of projects. Instead of grabbing needles and zooming away, I have learnt to stop, think, research, revise and look at the project from many angles before even starting to buy the wool.
I now have more confidence to face the world with my products, rather than to say ‘it’s just a pastime, it’s not very good really’ etc. I feel that I can behave in a more professional manner without seeming hesitant. I have also learnt about my strengths and weaknesses and now I know that I can deal with major projects skilfully but I will need to devote more time to developing my drawing skills.
Future Plans
I am keen to continue challenging myself and expanding my knitting skills as well as keeping a design eye out for colour and form as I look at the world.
The course has also taught me how to cost my work in hours and materials and how to market the finished product effectively. All of which has meant that I can start to sell in a small way. As a by-product I learnt how to build a website to showcase my work, something I would never have dreamt of doing two years ago.
Initially I intend to sell my work through an Etsy shop and a local Craft community. When I have seen how this pans out, I intend to enrol on the Level 4 course, which looks very exciting.
I would heartily recommend this course to anyone who loves knitting, and feels that they need a huge nudge to grow and develop their skills and confidence. For me it has been an opportunity to see knitting not just as a craft, but as an art form.
My advice to everyone starting out would be to take notes. One really does forget, and they become a massive resource for later projects. Make sure you really enjoy it, challenge yourself, there is no wrong answer and even learning from mistakes is still learning!
