Brandon Mably is crazy about color and design. He remembers being mes­merized by the yarns displayed in-of all places-the local candy shop while growing up in a small seaside town in south Wales. "Next to the glass jars filled with candies were shelves and cabinets bulging with vivid knitting yarns, all arranged by color," Brandon recalls. "That's what always caught my attention."

  While pursuing a career in the food industry in London in the early 1980s, Brandon had a chance meeting with Kaffe Fassett and made a radical shift, turning in his pots and pans for knitting needles. "I walked into Kaffe's studio-which was overflowing with baskets of yarn, Turkish carpets, Chinese ceramics and needlework cushions-and knew in an instant that I wanted to be part of that world."
 

Play up the bands in Brandon Mably's colorful drop-shoulder turtleneck. The two-toned ribbing on the turtleneck contrasts handsomely with the stripes. Works up quickly in Tweed" and "Felted Tweed,"  both from Rowan Yarn

  Brandon became Kaffe's studio manager and Kaffe became Brandon's mentor, encouraging him to create his own designs. Eventually, Brandon started teaching the Kaffe Fassett knitting workshops, which led to the discovery that he enjoyed helping people connect with their innate sense of color and design.

  Ironically, Brandon says that he doesn't consider himself a teacher. "My job is to encourage knitters to let go of their fears. I want them to learn to play, to be children again, to make mistakes." One of the first things he urges knitters to do is to experiment with combinations of dark and light hues and observe what they can do to one another. "Light shades can just kiss dark ones, and that's often what gives a garment dimension."
 

Anyone who attends a Kaffe Fassett workshop must know how to knit, since Brandon rarely focuses on technique. "Sooner or later, beginning knitters will get tired of making a mess and will learn to clean up their technique. I want to focus on helping knitters open up the gates, not bog them down with worry."   Conducting the workshops requires constant travel, and Brandon says it is a continuous source of his inspiration. "I'm exposed to new and exciting happenings all the time, and I soak it up like a sponge." He thrives on visual stimulation and asks his students to look at the patterns in things around them for inspiration: °A border on a carpet or a design on a porcelain vase can trigger an idea." The sport of rugby inspired his design for this issue. "I knit it in a lightweight yarn, and instead of using black or gray; those safe colors men usually go for - I gave it lots of color."   Admitting that his approach to technique is "quite basic," Brandon describes his style as simple, strong and clean. "I have a very practical mind, and I try to strip out complexity so that things are not too fussy. It's a look that's pure and contemporary but also nostalgic."

BRANDON ON DESIGN: • When working with color, it's important to focus on what you're doing. Watch what happens as you knit and connect with what you are creating. Let the colors take control and enjoy the idea that the fin­ished product can end up looking very dif­ferent from what it was in the beginning. • Pin up your knitting, step back and look at it as you're going along-just like a painter does. You'll be amazed at how putting your work in a different per­spective can affect what you see and influence your choices.

  As an example, he cites a sweater he designed for the last issue of VK "I called it 'Nantucket,' my inspiration. I started with color, seaside colors, weathered cottages, white laundry hanging on a line." He distilled the images into an abstract design featuring a series of vertical lines and chevron shapes that represent sea gulls. "It was like a domino effect, with one thing leading to another. Any devoted knitter can do it, just by letting his imagination run wild."

 

In the process of learning to knit, Brandon found that cables, fancy stitches and intricate shapes distracted from the impact he wanted to make.  "I don't really know how to knit cables," he confesses. "I prefer to stick to a simple stocking stitch and basic shapes that can be sized easily, and that's what we do in the workshops."

  When knitting designs that use many colors, he offers knitters the following tip for speed-and for preserving their sanity: "The different colored yarns invariably get tangled at the back of the work, so I rarely have balls or bobbins attached," he says. "Instead, I break off short lengths of 2 to 3 feet (60 to 100cm) depending on the area to be covered. As they get tangled, it's easy just to pull through the color you want." When more color is needed, "You simply tie on another length, knitting in the ends as you work," he adds.

  Brandon is fascinated by the varied backgrounds of the people who attend the workshops. "Last fall, Kaffe and I did a book tour and I taught workshops in twenty-one cities around the world. It was challenging to work with people from so many different places and cultures. One thing I've discovered is that people don't knit out of necessity but rather as a form of meditation. Professional people knit to give time back to themselves."

  While he enjoys knitting gifts for others, his busy schedule prevents him from knitting for himself. "My work is my life, and I love it," he adds. "Since September 11, I've been thinking a lot about how fragile life is. And if you have a God-given talent, you shouldn't waste it. You should express it."

 

 

This article was reprinted with permission from Vouge Knitting International.  They can be reached at:  http://www.vogueknitting.com