Fabrications was proud to present the work of 4 individuals and 1 group at the cutting edge of today’s UK knitting scene! The Cast Off Knitting Club, Clare Murphy, Bidyut Das, Donna Wilson and Freddie Robins.

From the press release:
"Come and knit fruit, vegetables and flowers with Cast Off Knitters. Knit them big or knit them small, on broomsticks, toothpicks and hosepipes. Get spinning with real fibres from real sheep and real cotton grasses. There will also be a range of Cast Off Kits, organic yarns, handmade knitting needles and hand knitted wonders by the club on sale.


Clare Murphy will be presenting wall hung hand knitted tabloid scenes including the fire at E- Gibbons (Hackney) and Camp X Ray along with space invader purses and bags.

View, feel and purchase Dasmarca’s extraordinary Borrowers style Autumn / Winter 2004 / 05 collection of chunky scarfes, wraps and capes.

Donna Wilson’s knitted friendly creatures will be coming out to play. Come and meet Terry and Tina, Angry Ginger, Cannibdoll and their friends.

Freddie Robbin’s ‘Comfort Creatures’ also want to join the gang! These are a personification of wool, an expression of Freddie’s feelings about wool.
'When I was a child my transitional object was a rag doll called 'Janie'. She had orange wool hair which I used to tickle my nose with (actually I used to stick it up my nose) as I sucked my thumb. This was a great source of comfort to me and I have been in love with wool (and orange hair) ever since.'

Cast Off is a knitting club for boys and girls that promotes knitting as a fashionable and constructive pass time. Cast Off has knitted in over 50 venues across the UK and the largest gathering being 2,700 people at the V&A this year.

Clare Murphy studied at London college of fashion and currently works at Central Saint Martins. She is interested in creating hand knitted pictures depicting dramatic scenes and men in uniform. Her depiction of the ‘Hackney Siege’ (2003) was very well received at Fabrications during ‘Hidden Art’ last year. She is also producing a spin off range of bags and accessories, in machine knit and vintage fabrics. Earlier this year Clare was a human knitting needle with the Cast off Knitting Club at the V&A!

Bidyut Das was born in India in 1977 in a small village in the north-eastern state of Tripura, came to London in 1990 where he has chosen to set up his company Dasmarca.
After coming to London, he studied Textile Design at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and later Womenswear Knitwear at the Royal College of Art
His collaboration collection with Russell Sage for the A/W 2002/03 with a remarkable use of chunky knitting drew a lot of attention from the media.
He has spent the last few years exploring knitwear using wool tops to create a line which is beyond the realm of conventional knitted textiles while at the same time maintaining the unique natural properties and qualities of wool. Experiments with forms and shapes crafted from knitting needles as big as broom sticks and wool as thick as rope, later took shape into some of the most luxurious and unique scarves one could ever have!

Donna Wilson graduated from Royal College of Art London in July 2003. During her time there she produced a range of work that included the knitted friendly creatures, the Doily rug, wrapped cacti, the Caterpillow and the hands on rug (a collaboration with Carmel McElroy).
Her work is playful, tactile and bright, inspired by the everyday oddities and deformities of life. She likes to think of each of her creations as a character in her very own wonderland, where scale and perception are toyed with. Recent shows include New Designers (2003), 100% Design London (2003), Designersblock (2003), Step Two at Aram (2003) and RGT Crafts Awards Dublin (2003)Design London, Milan 2004.

Freddie Robins is an artist working with knitted textiles often with a bizarre or issue raising twist in the subject matter. She has work in the collections of Nottingham Castle Museum, Aberdeen Museum & Art Gallery, the Crafts Council and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Last year she had her first major solo show, ‘Cosy’ at Firstsite at the Minories Art Gallery in Colchester. She was also shortlisted for the Jerwood Applied Arts Prize 2003: Textiles. She is currently exhibiting as part of the international touring exhibition ‘Flexible 4’, ‘Identities’, She is tutor for Mixed Media in the Textiles Department at the Royal College of Art.