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Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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2022 Mood Board / What is a mood board in knitting?

February 23, 2022 5 Comments

Hands Occupied's 2022 knitting mood board. | A collage of inspiration for modern knitting, with text reading, "Mood Board Knitting / 2022"
images via sources below

One of the coolest things about being a pattern designer, whether in the knitting & crochet world or otherwise, is gathering inspiration. I personally am a huge fan of following blogs and using Pinterest to catalog things I find inspiring (private boards are especially useful for working on secret design projects). Gathering inspiration together like this helps me to zoom out of my anxious everyday brain and find what’s consistently inspiring me. It helps me see the forest instead of the trees… squirrels… leaves…. haunted witchy cottage… you see what I mean.

taco sweater: Joseph at London Fashion Week Fall 2016
taco sweater: Joseph at London Fashion Week Fall 2016
Cloud sweater from a handbag marketing campaign, found via pinterest
cloud sweater from a handbag marketing campaign
puff sleeve sweater: alice & olivia
puff sleeve sweater: alice & olivia

Mood boards & how they’re used in the knit design world

When a designer submits to a design call for a book or magazine, we are often given two pieces of guidance: a short design brief describing the goals for the pattern collection, and a mood board. Mood boards sound kind of fancy-schmance, but they’re really just a collage of inspiring images, pattern silhouettes, color palettes, etc. These are often either photoshopped together in a PDF or gathered into a sometimes-private Pinterest board you must request to see. The goal? Inspire a bunch of designers (often folks who will never meet, which is so weird!) to design patterns that “go” together in an intentional way.

Since I’m used to drawing inspiration so often from mood boards, I thought it might be helpful to apply that approach to my work for the year. For a few months, I’ve been saving inspiring images, and now that I’ve been able to take a step back, the images in this post should help give you idea of the vibe for Hands Occupied’s 2022 knitting designs. 😊 Let me know which of these cute garments is your favorite!

inside out nordic star sweater: Isabel Marant Fall 2018 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show Collection
inside out nordic star sweater: Isabel Marant Fall 2018 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show Collection
alphabet sweater: misha & puff
alphabet sweater: misha & puff
yellow ruffle knit vest: cider
yellow ruffle knit vest: cider

Sources
taco sweater: Joseph at London Fashion Week Fall 2016 / cloud sweater / puff sleeve sweater: alice & olivia / inside out nordic star sweater: Isabel Marant Fall 2018 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show Collection / alphabet sweater: misha & puff / yellow ruffle knit vest: cider / heart pullover: madewell / wallace tartan pullover: free vintage knitting pattern / knit swimsuit: Swimsuit, 1928 by Ukrainian-born French artist and designer Sonia Delaunay

heart pullover sweater by madewell
heart pullover: madewell
wallace tartan pullover: free vintage knitting pattern
wallace tartan pullover: free vintage knitting pattern
knit swimsuit: Swimsuit, 1928 by Ukrainian-born French artist and designer Sonia Delaunay
knit swimsuit: Swimsuit, 1928 by Ukrainian-born French artist and designer Sonia Delaunay

Filed Under: Inspiration, Knitting Tagged With: knit design, knitting inspiration, knitting mood board, mood board

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. Choc

    February 23, 2022 at 11:30 pm

    Heart pullover

    Reply
  2. Choc

    February 23, 2022 at 11:31 pm

    Choosing only one was hard.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      February 24, 2022 at 1:19 pm

      I love the 2-color situation on that one!

      Reply
  3. Laura

    February 24, 2022 at 12:25 pm

    The ruffled vest is screaming “knit me!”

    Reply
    • Heidi

      February 24, 2022 at 1:21 pm

      That’s good to hear! Puffs and ruffs keep calling my name this year.

      Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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Craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé
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Weekend knitting design aftermath. Remember kids, Weekend knitting design aftermath. Remember kids, it’s always good to stop, swatch and block it. 🧶
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#stopswatchandblockit #handsoccupied
Learn how to do the magic loop method for knitting Learn how to do the magic loop method for knitting in the round in 90 seconds. / Using the magic loop allows knitters to work in the round with a single, long circular needle at a range of circumferences. 
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For a longer, full-width & more detailed overview of magic loop knitting, check out my u2be & b1og, the 🔗🔗 are where you’d think. 🧶
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#handsoccupied #magicloop #knitting #howtoknit #learntoknit #knitter #knittinginspiration #knittinginstagram #knittingintheround
Since it won’t be clean for long, swipe to see w Since it won’t be clean for long, swipe to see what my home studio looks like these days. Nothing will ever quite be like the old Hands Occupied Studio, but I’m pretty pleased with how I shoehorned everything in this space. Function over form + a layer of yarn cuteness-meets-chaos is how I’d describe my creative space needs. 😆 When I was still renting the studio, those needs included “doesn’t rain suspicious brown water from a crack in the ceiling for a year,” so this is an improvement! 😆
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For a time lapse of the studio organizing and tszuj-ing process, scroll down a couple posts on my feed. (There’s also a video or two featuring the old studio if you’re curious.) Happy June, friends! 
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#handsoccupied #handsoccupiedstudio #knitdesigner #craftdesign #yarncrafts #latchhook #makerlife #heidigustad #chicagocrafter
Who doesn’t love magic loop knitting? Who doesn’t know what it is? How about when circular needles were invented?
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In todays new bl0g post + video tutorial, you’ll learn about the magic loop method for knitting in the round, how to do it and why to use it, and when it came to be. The 🔗 is in my b1o. 🧶 
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#handsoccupied #magicloop #knitting #howtoknit #knittinginspiration #knittingintheround
Finally organizing & putting the finishing touches Finally organizing & putting the finishing touches on my home studio. After losing my studio space last fall, it’s feels really great to *occupy* this new space all the way. 😉
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I started by removing general clutter & returning straggler supplies from various WIPs, videos & design deadlines to their homes. Next, I hung a third peg board in the space - this one is mostly for display and less for organizing tools or projects. For the first time ever, I’m displaying projects from my book, plus a couple other faves. (The best thing about designing more yarn crafts besides knit & crochet is that I have some really fun -and delightfully pettable 😆- samples around.) I finished by adding a square dowel to my small supply storage tower to keep it from tipping over, plus re-arranging and de-cluttering the closet. 
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This cleaner space already has me feeling so much more creative and less overwhelmed. Now to find a safe spot in the basement for the tower of project samples in Rubbermaid tubs I liberated from my WIPs closet. Also why are there five?! 
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Here’s to keeping it clean for a few weeks! 🧶 
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#handsocupied #handsoccupiedstudio #craftroom #craftroomorganization #craftroomstorage #yarncraft #knitter #crocheter #latchhook #latchhookbook
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