Say hello to textile artist Victoria Logan

Handmade Knitted and Felted Gifts from Victoria Logan

Victoria Logan  works with natural materials, mainly lambswool. Her work is usually knitted then felted to create a dense but luxuriously soft fabric - we think her products are highly original and particularly love the cut out pieces.

The  range Victoria currently has available are scarves, cushions,bags and her new 'critters'. They will make perfect gifts for your family and friends - read this interview with Victoria to find out a little more about the maker of these wonderful knitted and felted pieces.

How did your business come about? Is it something you had always wanted to do?

In my final year of university I made scarves for my friends at their request and it helped me realize what I wanted to do with my future so after graduating in 2009 I knew I wanted to make my own products from my textile designs. However I always thought I would have to get experience in the industry before I could possibly imagine setting up on my own, but after a masters degree (a major confidence boost) and the realization that I could make my business my career I decided to just go for it, and now I'm glad I did.

Victoria Logan

Your work is highly original, where do you take inspiration from for your designs and do you do commissioned pieces?

I take inspiration from my surroundings – mainly natural landscapes. It all stems from studying abroad in 2007 for five months in Lapland, Finland. I became entranced by the beautiful landscapes, and used this inspiration in my final year design project, after graduation I translated my designs into products, mainly a scarves collection called the Talvi collection. My next collection was inspired by the Dutch city landscape as I had just moved to the Netherlands then. My Blaadje skinny scarf is part of this collection.


My most recent body of work is inspired by my own country, Scotland. I spend most of my holidays back in Scotland, and using it's beautiful natural landscapes for my new work has made me feel more at home. I'm also inspired by things in my environment, my corgi cushion is inspired by the newest addition to my family, Alvar the cardigan corgi. This cushion has led to requests for a labrador cushion and bull terrier cushion, and I hope many more doggy commissions are on the way as it's lots of fun to translate dogs in to knit.

Is the knitting and felting process complicated, what is involved? – how long does it take to produce one of you beautiful scarves for example?

All my designs are created in a computer program that I can connect to my double bed knit machine. the pattern is then translated to the machine and the knitting can begin. Most of my designs take about 1000 rows to knit, and are then felted, steamed then put together. The felting process shrinks the fabric by about a third, so there is a lot of fabric 'lost' in the process. My scarves usually take about a day to be completed, from knitting to attaching of the label. Most products are made in bulk and I create a sort of production line, knit, felt, leave to dry, steam, put together, then lastly labeling (labeling takes so much longer than you would think!)

Will you be producing any new ranges soon, what do you have planned for the future?

I have recently completed a new collection for 2012/13 based on the Scottish landscape. I have added new critters to my critters collection, and hope to be adding even more by the end of the year. I'm currently working on stock for new stockists and new colour combinations for my current collection, plus I'm working on opening my own online shop in the Autumn. I will be bringing out some seasonal products around Christmas, I'm working on designs for Christmas products now. For the time being I will be working on more commissioned dog cushions and counting myself lucky that I get to do something I love for a living.


Visit Victoria on www.notmassproduced.com - Victoria Logan Knitted Textiles