Carolyn Barnett

For the past twenty seven years Carolyn has been a one woman run enterprise producing hand loomed knitwear  of her own designs.

Early in the 1970’s after much unsuccessful shopping she decided to knit herself the simple cardigan sweater of quality wool that she was seeking .  This lead to more for herself and for anyone who asked; at the cost of materials.

Carolyn studied fashion at Sheridan College and though she learned much she did not like the styles of the early ‘70’s so fulfilled another childhood dream and became a Nursery School Teacher.

In the winter of 1982 she decided to try marketing her ‘homey’ talents, June saw the birth of CAROLYN M. BARNETT DESIGNS  and she had a successful summer with her cotton hand knits.

In 1984 Carolyn learned to operate a very basic knitting machine to see if she could break her hand knitting bias and started using a more advanced one the following year.   She discovered a new (to her) avenue of creation;  (domestic knitting machines having been around for over 400 years).  

For many years her focus has been on custom garments, worked around her clients’ tastes, colour preferences and sizing.  She has accommodated uneven hip heights, pregnancy , sloping shoulders and people who are not ‘standard’ sizes. Her customizing has enabled her to be involved in theatre costume work. She is currently exploring new ways of working within her craft, felting wool, surface design...a more creative direction which lead her to curate her first gallery show in the Summer of 2008.

When she started to concentrate on jackets she learned to make her own buttons of polymer clay, which only adds to the creativity in my work.

“I love teaching what I doe as I find it so fun and exciting that I think others should do it too!  There is the technical side which enlarges the knitter’s  repertoire but also the creative side. Though it can’t be taught in itself it can be encouraged to lead to more experimentation and individuality”.

After having made her home in Toronto for over twenty years she moved to Kingston with her husband in 1995.  She has worked in many fields and has found the most satisfaction in her knitwear, whether teaching a class or working with individuals on a one on one basis and creating anew each time.