Laerke Ulrikke Elgarrd Bagger’s a knitwear designer living and working in Copenhagen.
How did you get into knitwear?
My mum was a great inspiration to me. She made giant embroidered medieval tapestries that would take her at least a year to finish. Seeing her love for the craft and the patience that went into producing each piece was incredible. She taught me to knit when I was 8 years old and I’ve been knitting ever since. I was a very creative and crafty child. I preferred to draw, embroider, crochet and of course knit. My favourite thing would be to spend an entire day just doing the perfect collage or knitting the perfect scarf. I was in my own little world.
What other kinds of textiles do you work with?
All sorts of fiber and thread related things. Macrame, crochet, embroidery, printing, dying etc. Everything really, but mostly knitting.
What other kinds of textiles would you like to explore?
I would love to work more with the art of shibori, combined with knit. I did my masters degree exploring the relationship between shibori and knit, but there just isn’t enough hours in the day to do everything.
Have you been to any interesting countries that have inspired your creativity?
I’ve always been in love with Morocco. The colours the patterns and mosaics are just amazing. The way they use ornamentation everywhere is really inspiring and so different from the western aesthetic.
Where do you buy your materials from?
Everywhere! In yarn shops, flea markets and thrift stores. In supermarkets. In my parent’s basement.
What kinds of clothing do you like making?
Jumpers, jumpers, jumpers. I like creating easy to make knitwear with eye catching details in bright colours.
What do you do when you’re feeling uninspired?
I do something. The short answer is just to do something. It doesn’t matter what it is. Sometimes I read art books, sometimes I take a walk, sometimes I flick through fashion magazines. Sometimes I take a blank piece of paper and draw a line. Just do something to get your creativity flowing. I need a starting point to go from, it doesn’t really matter what it is.
What do you love about being a knitwear designer?
Knitwear is so many different things and I love that you can “art it up” or “art it down”. I have worked both conceptually and commercially and I find that both genres contain interesting aspects in regards to how you develop and target your design or product. The creative freedom of conceptual design helps you to determine your own personal style and identity as a designer and the constraints and limitations of commercial design provides the opportunity to work with a target based design that sometimes require you to compromise on your own personal aesthetics. In my opinion both genres are essential to becoming a good designer. My greatest inspiration has always been the tradition and history surrounding the craft. I feel very privileged to have this great inexhaustible source of knowledge to lean on. I wouldn’t get much work done if I didn’t have these resources already at hand.
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Do you have your beads on the thread or do you put them on individual I use the thread it keeps all the beads contained
Hi Faye, I put them on individually.