Deborah Newton: Mapping Out a Knitting Career

Veteran knitwear designer Deborah Newton is known in the yarn world for her gorgeous garments, her technical knitting skills, and her in-demand design classes. Farm & Fiber Knits contributor Karin Strom chats with Deborah about her professional knitting life, her day job, and her secrets for success. (Hint: Hard work.)

Karin Strom: Deborah, the first time I met you, I was struck by your distinctive accent.

Deborah Newton: I’m a lifelong Rhode Island resident and haven’t lost my accent! I remember presenting for the first time at a large knitting event in NYC. Being an inexperienced speaker at the time, I was terrified. After about five minutes someone raised their hand and asked, “Where are you from?” That broke the ice, and I’ve never minded speaking in public again.

Deborah in her garden with her constant companion Moxie, a black and tan cocker spaniel. Photo courtesy of Deborah Newton

KS: You’ve been speaking and teaching at knitting events for quite some time now. How did you first get into knitting and the knitting biz?

DN: I started designing in my early twenties—a long time ago! I would see sweaters in fashion magazines and think, “I could do that.” It was the Barbara G. Walker series A Treasury of Knitting Patterns that inspired me to explore the many knitting stitch possibilities. I spent a long time just knitting swatches and learning techniques. I amassed a huge pile of swatches, which I still use for teaching.

KS: Are you teaching a lot these days?

DN: Not as much as I once did, but I think it’s so important. Teaching is a way for me to pass on what I’ve learned over the years, and I encourage knitters to borrow my process and use it in their own way.

To be honest, when I first started teaching, I felt like an imposter—I saw myself solely as a designer. But now I love to share my knowledge and tricks of the trade with aspiring designers.

Currently, I have two ongoing designer groups who meet on Block Island, Rhode Island, which happens to be my happy place. And recently I’ve also been teaching general knitting topics in small classes in my Providence neighborhood about once a month. Occasionally I still teach at a large event.

Deborah enjoys springtime on Block Island, where the Nature Conservancy maintains an official bird-banding station. Photo courtesy of Deborah Newton

KS: Aren’t you also involved in another kind of educational business?

DN: Yes! About thirty years ago, my cartographer brother, Jason, asked me to help him get a business off the ground. That’s evolved into a family company called Maps for the Classroom. We design hands-on educational maps, and we sell over 80 different ones to schools nationwide. Students label them and draw in the details. I jokingly say we are the last non-digital educational product in America, but teachers really are more concerned than ever about kids using pencils and learning handwriting skills.

KS: How wonderful! How do your dual career paths intersect?

DN: I was already designing knits when we started the map business. I thought I’d help Jason out for a couple of weeks, but it’s turned into an interesting decades-long journey for us as a family. We taught ourselves how to do everything—researching and designing the maps, marketing them, talking to teachers—and we box and ship everything ourselves. I work every day until 1:00 p.m. at the map office, and in the afternoons I knit and design. They are similar in that both efforts require many different skills.

Deborah’s Chill Chaser Poncho is worked in the round from the lower edge, with gradual decreases toward the neckline. The neckline ribbing starts with short rows to slightly lengthen the back of the poncho. Find the pattern in the Farm & Fiber Knits Library. Photo by Gale Zucker

KS: That’s a lot to juggle! In your knitting life, you seem to have a good balance of creativity and technical and math skills.

DN: My husband, who’s also a freelancer, and I have a tight schedule that allows us to get a lot done. It is basically the same every day, seven days a week. It's a lifestyle that we began when we were young: we enjoyed it, and we’ve kept it going.

I do enjoy all aspects of knitting—the swatching, the designing, the pattern writing, as well as drawing and creating schematics. And I’ve developed good computer skills along the way. They’re all necessary—it is like a happy puzzle for me.

KS: What do you consider to be your greatest strength in terms of designing?

DN: I don’t like to waste time, so I believe having a strong process that captures all the ideas and nails down the pattern is essential. I’ve always said, “The swatch tells the story of the sweater to come,” and I’ve developed a method that takes me from knitting an inspirational swatch to planning the final sweater and working out the finished pattern.

In a nutshell: Swatch first—it tells you where to go. Then I capture the shape and measurements in a schematic drawing. I almost always figure everything out before I write the full instruction. Then the knitting begins.

This process is really the formula I share in my classes and my books.

“I have no formal art training,” says Deborah. “I got into drawing through the need to present my ideas. I tell my design students that anyone can draw—it’s a matter of observing and practicing every day.” Drawings courtesy of Deborah Newton

KS: You are the author of quite a few knitting books. Are there any you are most proud of?

DN: I have done several pattern books, but I am most proud of my technical books. They are another way of passing on what I’ve learned over the years.

Finishing School: A Master Class for Knitters (Sixth&Spring Books, 2011) presents everything any knitter needs to know about how to make your sweaters look beautiful and professional. Good Measure: Knit a Perfect Fit Every Time (Sixth&Spring Books, 2015) is all about how to make sure your sweaters fit you well. Who doesn’t want that?

KS: Do you have any advice for knitters and would-be designers?

DN: I’d like to encourage everyone to design more—even making a small change in a pattern or, more adventurously, creating a sweater from scratch! We are part of a long tradition, and everyone’s contribution adds energy to the craft we love.

Find Deborah on Instagram @deborahnewtondesigns and on her websites at deborahnewtonknits.com and mapsfortheclassroom.com.

As an Aside . . .

For the Birds
The design students in one of Deborah Newton’s Block Island knitting groups recently put together and independently published a book of 11 original hat patterns called The Year of Hats. Each designer created a unique hat inspired by the island. It’s available on Amazon as a paperback book and on Ravelry as an eBook.

Cover image courtesy of the Block Island Knitwear Collective. The historic North Lighthouse on Block Island; image by Mohan Nannapaneni from Pixabay

All proceeds go to the Block Island Nature Conservancy, specifically a bird-banding station run by the naturalist Kim Gaffett. Deborah shares, “We’ve loved meeting on the beautiful island for our annual workshops, and this is a way of supporting nature there while working together on a design project.”

Karin Strom has worked in the yarn industry for many years. She was the editor-in-chief of Yarn Market News, editorial director at Interweave, and most recently editor of the premier print issue of Farm & Fiber Knits. She has served as creative director and consultant for yarn companies and publishers. Karin lives, gardens, and knits in an 1850s farmhouse in northwest New Jersey. Find her on Instagram @yarnstrom.