Crochet and knitting can be High Fashion too – but what’s deemed as a luxury in the fashion industry, Katie Jones makes accessible for all. Learn how by reading about her career and commitment to sustainability and accessibility.
Katie Jones is a UK-based fiber arts designer who made her fashion label debut at London Fashion Week 2014.
With stunning, colorful upcycled materials, Katie Jones’s crochet collections are distinguishable with their bold patterns that still hold classic and elegant elements like cables and the traditional granny square look.
About Katie Jones
Katie began her craft at a young age thanks to the encouragement and community of knitters and crocheters in her family, her mother, and her grandmother.
She went on to get her MA at Central Saint Martins in London and then launched her own brand that soon became known for her unique and bright designs that utilize upcycled materials.
Katie’s pieces have been featured in AnOther, Vogue Dazed and Confused, the Telegraph, and many other fashion and crafting publications.
Katie has a passion for keeping fashion accessible, affordable, and sustainable, and, after a few years in high fashion, she began her own Make-It-Yourself (MIY) design line that helped bring fashion and fiber art skills to the everyday creative.
Katie’s commitment to the sustainable practice of her art comes from her Granny’s vision and values of making something beautiful out of nothing. “Waste not, want not” is her motto, and Katie does just that by upcycling her yarn and making her patterns accessible to all skill levels.
Favorites From Katie Jone’s Collections
We wanted to highlight some of our favorite pieces from collections of Katie Jones. Although these date from prior to 2018, Katie truly does know how to design and capture timeless designs.
AW14 LOOKBOOK Collection
Autumn/Winter 14 brought a whole array of bright colors and straight edge shape work in designs. Katie played around with stripes, argyle, cables, and a whole lot of granny squares.
She includes classic knit designs with fun crochet accents in bright colors and creating geometric patterns.
We love this classic yet unique baby doll sweater design that is so bright and colorful while also still having elegant details. It combines knitting and crocheting and, paired with the leather skirt that has crocheted flowers in it, it’s truly a masterpiece.
Katie did not shy away from playing with stripes in this collection, offering a variety of styles and mixing vertical and horizontal stripes that create a busy and bright look.
AW15 – LET THEM EAT CAKE Collection
In the Autumn/Winter of ’15, Katie dropped her “LET THEM EAT CAKE” collection.
As the name suggests, this collection is highly influenced by the styles of Marie-Antoinette and the French Revolution with bold, bright colors, frills, bows, and lots of layers and flowing garments.
The big bows, frilly edges, and contrasting colors all scream lavish luxury while still having fun and the child-like glee that she brings to her work.
Katie continues to combine crocheting and knitting in this collection, coming in heavier with the cable work that’s featured in nearly every piece.
There is also a continuation of using leather with fiber to create mixed medium pieces that are so unique and different.
We love the way she plays with shapes and colors in this piece, topping it off with a majestic headpiece.
The way Katie’s pieces so seamlessly go together, while also each holding their own unique fit, cut, and design, is genius.
From crop tops to flowing skirts to blooming pants to big ponchos – Katie is not afraid to play around with all types of styles and shaping.
SS16 SUNDANCE KID Collection
Katie took her mixed medium approach to a whole new level with her 2016 Spring/Summer Collection, Sundance Kid.
Every look and piece has a combination of fibers and fabric while incorporating multiple types of stitchwork.
Basic shapes with contrasting colors and bold stitching are a big theme of this collection, creating pieces that are playful and fun.
Katie stays consistent with her bright colors, but we also see her using black and white neutral tones to better accent the bright colors.
Katie Jones utilizes ribbons and denim to create a carefree, celebratory look across the pieces of this collection.
The loose stitchwork and sheer layers are the perfect warm summer beach vibes we all want to rock.
AW16 HIGHLAND FLING Collection
The color pallet of Highland Fling still holds bright colors but sticks to primarily orange, pink, and purple tones.
This is a bit different from Katie’s other collections that use the whole rainbow, but it also makes this collection pop and is my personal favorite.
Katie still utilizes her iconic details like her bold stitch work but also branches out to add pom-poms and dramatic furry fringe for a touch of carefree luxury while still maintaining her playful style.
Katie plays around with new patterns as well, incorporating more triangle and diamond patterns and shapes throughout the collection, for a more straight-edge touch.
PEPPERLAND PLUS Collection
This collection is a great example of Katie’s growth and development over her career, as there are so many touches and aspects from each of her collections that have been brought together for Pepperland Plus.
Going back to the granny square roots that were so prominent in her earlier work, Katie Jones keeps the colors bold and bright, but with bigger stripes and blocks for a more relaxed and casual look.
The bold stitching, mixed crafting techniques, simple shapes, and playfulness with stripes are all put gently on display in a way that feels comforting and homey.
This is the perfect reflection of where Katie Jones was at in creating her own Make-It-Yourself label that would offer patterns and simple tutorials for home crafters around the world.
Katie Jones Bridal Collection
Katie got married in 2017 and made the majority of her wedding party attire and the wedding decorations. Their beautiful day was handcrafted with love by the designer herself, who wore her own handmade wedding dress.
Katie used the techniques and skills seen throughout her collection; crocheting, knitting, sewing, ribbons, and beautiful paper and fiber jewelry and accessories.
A truly beautiful wedding party and wedding dress!
Make-It-Yourself Shop
In 2017 Katie took a pivot with her brand and launched the MIY collection that focused on pieces that could be made by the average fiber arts crafter, making luxury fashion accessible to all consumers.
The patterns and pieces available have Katie’s brand all over them – bright color combos, fun stitchwork, and playful patterns.
Katie offers video tutorials and courses you can take online to help you create like Katie. She also has a published book and is active in online community spaces.
Getting Connected With Katie Jones
Although Katie’s brand is not creating the same high-end luxury designer collections, she is still heavily involved in the fiber arts fashion community, hosting workshops and community events online.
Katie continues to be engaged with social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and Ravelry where you can catch her current projects and collections in the works!
I adore everything about her designs, the boldness is particularly appealing. The neons and neutrals combined in for example the skull mask dress are my favourite. I hope I can achieve some wearable versions of these!!