Winner of five of the six sections she entered in this year’s WoolOn fashion event, Daphne Randle, said her knitting style was developed from necessity.
Traditional knitting along rows caused her significant back pain and she realised if she worked in short rows, constantly turning them, it put less strain on her shoulders and back.
These were pre-internet days and Mrs Randle later discovered similar, though not identical, methods were being used. It occurred to her New Zealand did not have a distinctive style of knitting unlike many other countries.
"Scotland has fair isle, Ireland Aran patterns and France entrelac but New Zealand has nothing."
Her technique is reminiscent of Tāniko weaving with its patterns and the way the design turned, making it a specifically New Zealand-style, she said.
Growing up on a farm near an aunt who loved to craft meant Mrs Randle could not remember not being able to knit.
Dolls’ clothes were some of her first creations and when she and husband Stan had six children in seven and a-half years there was always someone to knit for, she said.
Family knitting was done from traditional patterns but back pain meant she could not continue and for eight or nine months she could not knit at all.
However, drawing on her background as an occupational therapist, Mrs Randle developed her own style based on mitred squares.
"Problem-solving is what occupational therapists do. I tried entrelac but it was still long rows. I developed a mitre square method which had been around but I didn’t know that."
Working on short rows and constantly turning them meant she could knit without pain. From there she developed her own patterns using a school exercise book with graph pages.
"I love colour and texture and experimented with that. You are only limited by your imagination."
Over the years she has filled many books as she plotted her designs.
"It’s like you draw yourself a map and work off that. I take notes but only I can understand them."
Along the way she developed a way of shaping garments and eliminating every knitter’s most-loathed task — sewing up.
Mrs Randle took her garments to markets in Queenstown for some years, marketing them as Fernzwear. Health problems brought that to a stop but not her output.
She knits as much as ever and gives garments away.
"The people I care about come and help themselves. My granddaughter [was] here this morning and took one away."
Her entries for WoolOn were all made in four months, starting as soon as it was announced the show would be in Alexandra after being out of town for some years.
"My husband was very good and prepared all the meals."
In four months she produced six complete outfits, including a man’s three-piece outfit and hat, an evening gown, a day dress with a poem knitted into it around the body and a collection of jerseys, jackets and hats.
Collecting yarn while she travelled, often to play bridge, had given Mrs Randle a huge store of yarn to chose from but she was not immune to new purchases.
The man’s outfit, which won three awards, was crafted from a new yarn "I fell in love with".
Next year’s WoolOn would have more examples of Mrs Randle’s work as long it was held in Alexandra.
"I won’t follow it."
