Designed To A Tee was originally started as a Graphic Arts company in 2010. I had just had my son and wanted to work for myself. So I did.

As time went on, I learned how to knit. And crochet. And weave. And spin (badly).

And created Made By A Tee.

I tried to sell my work, but, honestly, I wasn’t very successful.

In 2024, I started Knitting Stage 3 at The School of Stitched Textiles.

And that’s where I realised what I wanted to do was protest art. Not just scarves and hats and jumpers. But art that said something.

Two things inspired me. The first was the creation of Queer Yarn, a biweekly fibre manipulation group at Paperxclips Books. I started the group. with a friend, to teach people how to make protest scarves. Protest scarves are knitted or crocheted with sayings, because a lot of countries have a rule that their cops can take placards/signs but can’t remove clothing.

Then I read a book called Women Life Freedom by Marjane Satrapi , about the women’s revolution in Iran after the death in September 2022 of Mahsa Amini. Mahsa was killed by the Iranian ‘morality police’ for wearing a loose hijab and not covering her hair.

Her death sparked women to take to the streets, take off their hair coverings, and try to take back the autonomy they once had in Iran.

Part of that movement was artwork, as seen in the book, mostly quickly put up via stencils, with slogans on them. The “Women, Life, Freedom” slogan was actually first used decades ago by Kurdish women trying to get that same autonomy and freedom.

And a fire was sparked in me to turn my talent with fibre into art that raised voices that had not been heard.

The Queer Yarn corner at Paperxclips Books.