{"id":42,"date":"2018-03-07T13:38:15","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T13:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thewoollybadger.com\/?page_id=42"},"modified":"2025-02-10T17:39:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T17:39:22","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thewoollybadger.com\/?page_id=42","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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About the Woolly Badger<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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I’m Jacki, and I’m the Bristol-based knitter behind The Woolly Badger.<\/p>\n

I’ve been knitting on and off since 1993 after my babysitter taught me (thanks, Maureen), and running The Woolly Badger as a business since 2018, with a big old pivot in 2020.<\/p>\n

Which actually had nothing to do with the pandemic.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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How I started<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Woolly Badger started life, as so many creative endeavours do, as an Etsy shop.<\/p>\n

But, turns out that it’s hard to churn out that amount of hand knits and pay yourself anything close to a decent wage.<\/p>\n

So, after the birth of my second child I decided to start publishing patterns. It was 2020, and everyone was crafting and well…seemed a good idea.<\/p>\n

From there, I moved into teaching online workshops during all the interminable lockdowns, and then to teaching at No Frills Knitting when it opened in Bristol in October 2021.<\/p>\n

I’ve been teaching ever since, and have now published over 40 knitting patterns. Because I just really love knitting.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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What I stand for<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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I’ve learnt a few things along the way while running this business – and not all of them are about knitting.<\/p>\n

So if you want to know what kind of business (and indeed person) you’re supporting, here’s a few things that are very important to me and the Woolly Badger brand<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Inclusivity<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Yep, yep, I know inclusivity is one of those buzzwords. But for me, it means a few things:<\/p>\n

Firstly, size inclusivity<\/strong>. All my garment patterns are graded up to at least a 62in full chest, so as many knitters as possible can make and wear them. And if you need a bit of help working out what size to make, or how to adjust a pattern to suit you better, you’re always welcome to drop me a line.<\/p>\n

Secondly, that knitting is for everyone.\u00a0<\/strong>Well, everyone who wants to do it.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Sustainability<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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One of the things I love most about knitting is how it gives you a chance to create something with true love and care that will last for ages.<\/p>\n

It’s so much better than fast fashion rubbish that will fall apart after its second wash and most likely never truly fit (more on that later).<\/p>\n

For this reason I tend to lean towards using natural fibres (I do a brilliant rave about how wool is magic), and try to design things you’ll want to wear over and over again for years to come.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Knitting things that properly fit<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Which comes onto fit. After all, why spend all that time and money knitting something that feels rubbish to wear?<\/p>\n

That’s why I’ve spent absolutely ages working out the best way to add bust adjustments into knitting patterns, and try to offer as many fit options and as much guidance as I can in my patterns without turning them into novels.<\/p>\n

It’s also why I will often talk about swatching and blocking, as you really can’t expect things to fit properly if you haven’t put in the groundwork to make sure they’re going to come up the size you expect.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Just having a darn good go<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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As I often say to knitters in my beginners classes – it’s just sticks and string. Nothing terrible is going to happen if you mess it up.<\/p>\n

So give it a go, and see what happens. Worst case scenario you make a big knot.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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But what about YOU, Jacki?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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In case you actually want to know about me, the person, here’s a bit of info.<\/p>\n

I live in Bristol with my two young sons and our handsome but quite stupid cat Loki. As well as knitting, I spin, sew, and dabble in weaving. I play guitar, mandolin, and banjo to varying levels of competency. I have a low-level obsession with castles. In a former life I worked in corporate communications, and before that I got degrees in English and American Literature from the universities of Birmingham and Sussex, respectively.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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