Interview with Donna Druchunas

As part of the Arctic Lace blog tour, I got to compile a list of questions from the Lacy Knitters Guild for Donna Druchunas regarding her new book, Arctic Lace. Here is a blurb about the book:

Qiviut, or musk ox down, may be the world’s most luxurious, warm, and lightweight fiber. People who experience it become obsessed with its exquisite softness. Qiviut makes perfect hand-knitted lace, as demonstrated by the Alaskan artisans of Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers Co-op. This book presents instructional worskhops on knitting and designing lace, a sequence of projects suited to new as well as experienced lace knitters, a list of yarn sources, and comprehensive historical background.

The lacy knitters put forth some tough questions, and here are Donna's answers. I've enjoyed reading many of the other posts along the blog tour and am excited to read the book when I get home. It's sitting next to the couch, but I haven't had a chance to look through the it yet. There will be a review in the Guild's next newsletter. Thanks Donna, for taking the time to answer our questions!

Do you have a personal knitting philosophy?

Yes, my knitting philosophy is quite simple. My philosophy was even quoted in Debbie Macomber's book, A Shop on Blossom Street. "To learn to knit you need beginner's hands and a beginner's mind. Knitting is a hobby. Breathe, relax, and have fun."

Where did the idea for this book come from, and what attracted you to Arctic Lace?

The idea for this book came from an article in the Jan/Feb 1996 issue of Piecework Magazine about the Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers' Co-operative in Anchorage. When I read about this group of Native Alaskan women who knit fine lace with musk ox wool, I wanted to learn more. I was attracted to the idea that, although a man was nominally in charge of the project in the 50s and 60s when women normally only worked as secretaries or teachers, that in a very real sense this endeavor was built from the ground up and run almost entirely by women for the benefit of women. I was very interested in the women who did the knitting and the knitting techniques and patterns they use. I decided that I needed to write a book about this story before all of the people involved in the beginnings of the co-op died and the information was lost.

What are special properties of qiviut to keep in mind when knitting with it?

Pure qiviut is like alpaca in that it has a gorgeous drape when blocked, but it does not have an elasticity and does not hold its shape very well. It also takes some practice to knit with this type of yarn, especially at very fine weights. You need to maintain a tight tension so that your stitches come out even and neat. That doesn't mean you have to knit at a tight gauge, but rather that the working yarn is held taught between your hand and the needles. You need to have a very even tension, which takes practice when using a yarn with little give. Wool yarn tends to even out with washing and wearing, but qiviut does not.

Qiviut blooms when washed, and gets a halo that reminds me of mohair, and it feels a lot like mohair to wear. That is, it's lightweight and warm. Unlike mohair, qiviut is never scratchy. When washed, qiviut develops a furry texture that gets more exaggerated over time but, in my experience, does not pill. Because of the furry halo that develops, you can often knit qiviut at a looser gauge than you would other yarns of the same girth.

When knitting lace, I always suggest working a swatch in sport or worsted weight wool on size 5 or 7 needles. This will let you concentrate on learning the stitch pattern before you start working with the fine yarn and small needles. If you are a new lace knitter, you might want to make a second swatch with inexpensive lace weight yarn before starting to work with the qiviut as well.

When working with lace weight qiviut, you may find that you get the same stitch gauge with several needle sizes, but a different row gauge or a different appearance to your stitches. I suggest trying 3 different size needles before casting on for a project. Wash and block the swatch in the same way you will dress the finished project, and then decide what size needle you want to use, because the fabric can change drastically when washed and you may stretch it quite a bit when making scarves or shawls.

I've read conflicting articles that qiviut, alpaca, or cashmere is the warmest fiber. How is fiber warmth measured, and which one really is the warmest?

In my personal experience, qiviut is the warmest fiber of those you listed. It is often said to be 8 times warmer than sheep's wool, but in my research I was not able to find any scientific study that tested the warmth of qiviut in comparison to other fibers, so I have no idea where this 8-times figure came from. (If anyone knows, I'd love to find out!)

All down fibers have similar properties. Because the animals that provide these fibers have all evolved to survive in harsh climates, they have a double coat of hair. The outer coat of guard hair is waterproof, and provides protection to the animal from the weather. The under down is a soft layer of insulation that protects the animals from extreme temperatures. Downy fibers are soft, delicate, and quite warm, but they are not lustrous.

Qiviut is often blended with wool to add elasticity and with silk to add sheen.

With regard to the book, what level of knitter is it intended for? Could a novice knitter follow the patterns, or does it assume a certain amount of experience? Does the book contain general technical information? How much text and/or technical information does it contain compared with the number of patterns?

I believe that if you can knit, you can knit lace. With that in mind, Arctic Lace has step-by-step instructions on how to knit the basic lace stitches, including yarn overs and several types of decreases. There are several projects that have very easy lace patterns and that are knitted with sport weight yarn, making them perfect for new lace knitters to practice. I also have several projects with more advanced shaping and more complex lace patterns that are appropriate for experienced lace knitters. I also have a section on designing your own lace for those who are looking to expand their skills. A lot of people have also been buying the book as gifts for non knitters because there is so much interesting historical and cultural information. I think Arctic Lace has something for everyone.

How did you research the information for your book? Were you able to travel to the Arctic, and how was it?

I did a lot of reading. I bought books and magazines, and took a lot out of the library. I also did a lot of research on the internet. Then I went to Alaska. I did not have as much time as I wanted for my trip because it was quite expensive. My costs were even higher because I brought my husband along as a photographer. I wrote a blog about my trip. I explained what I did every day, and you can get a really good idea of what my trip was like. The blog is still online here.

I have heard that Native Alaskan patterns are closely guarded within the different enclaves to avoid reproduction. Is this true, and if so how did that affect the writing of the book?

The Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers' Co-op designs are copyrighted. They do not sell the patterns and you can only buy the products from the Co-op or authorized resellers. I talked with Sigrun Robertson, the director of the Co-op, and she gave me permission to include photos of the main signature patterns in my book. However we decided that I would create my own, unique, designs instead of publishing patterns for the Co-op designs. So my designs are inspired by Yup'ik and Inupiat artwork, but they are my own designs.

In general, it is disrespectful to use the stories or artwork of Native Americans to make money. Even calling things by Native names is considered to be stealing in a way, to be profiting from someone else's traditions. For example, when I was in Alaska last month for Yarn Expo III there was a fashion show. One of the garments in the show was made in a yarn called "Eskimo". One of the Yup'ik ladies who was sitting near me was offended. "Why do they call it Eskimo," she asked. Of course, the only answer was they thought it would help them sell more yarn. But the yarn had nothing to do with Native Alaskans and they do not profit in any way from its sale. (By the way, it's not that my friend was offended by the word "Eskimo." That is the accepted term in Alaska for the Native Alaskan peoples who are not Indian. In Canada, the term Inuit is preferred.)

To respect the traditions and culture of the Yup'ik and Inupiat peoples, non-Natives should not use Native artwork or designs without permission. The Oomingmak Co-op is selling Arctic Lace in their Anchorage store, so the members will benefit financially from the sales, and I am also giving a portion of my royalties to the Co-op to show my respect and gratitude for their permission to include their designs and to write about them in my book.

How did you decide which patterns to include in your book?

I just made things up off the top of my head, to be honest. There was no real deliberation that went into it. I did look at a lot of Yup'ik and Inupiat artwork in books and in museums in Alaska. Then I just went with whatever inspired me, charted designs, and made test swatches. I don't have a very complicated design process. I just make up what I like. Most of the time it works. Every once in a while I have a design that doesn't come out as planned. The Fish Trap Scarf in the book was originally going to be a unique shape that had a curved edge along one side. I wanted to make a small version as a scarf and a large version as a shawl. I wasn't able to work out that design in time to meet my deadline, so I ended up making a straight scarf with the diagonal lace pattern. I still want to figure out how to make the curved shape for a future design, but I will just have to wait until an idea comes to me. I'm not very good at forcing designs. When my brain is ready to attack a specific design, it just pops to the surface. I guess for some things, it just takes my subconscious brain longer to figure things out when I'm sleeping!

Do you have any favorite lace knitting tips or techniques?

In traditional lace patterns, the left-slanting decrease is slip 1, knit 1, pass the slipped stitch over (slip 1, k1, psso or skp). Contemporary designs more frequently use the slip, slip, knit (ssk) decrease. Both of these decreases disrupt the rhythm of your knitting with extra movements. You are creating one decrease stitch, but with three motions. In her patterns, Dorothy Reade’s left-slanting decrease is knit two together through the back loops (k2tog-tbl), thus allowing you to maintain the rhythm: one motion produces one stitch. Granted, k2tog-tbl creates a twisted stitch, so it is not a true mirror of k2tog. However, when working with fine lace yarn, especially qiviut that has a furry halo, you can't really notice the difference. At least I can't. Some knitters may prefer to use ssk if they already know that decrease and have experience in lace knitting. But I recommend the easier decrease for new lace knitters. I'm sure the Co-op also uses the k2tog-tbl left decrease because it is so fast. They are, after all, knitting to make money.

I also have a couple of tips to help keep track of where you are in your knitting.

To keep track of where you are on the knitting chart, put a sticky note above the row you are knitting. That way, you will be able to see the rows that you have completed and can compare your knitting to the chart. The row you are knitting will be directly below the sticky note, making it almost impossible to lose your place. When you are working large pattern repeats, it also helps to put a marker between each repeat. That way if you do make a mistake, you only have to count stitches in one section, rather than across your entire piece of knitting.

If you ever lose your place, you should compare you knitting, stitch by stitch, to the last RS pattern row that you have knitted and try to figure out where it does not match up. This will help you learn to read your knitting. If you look at the work as you knit, and try to see what shapes you are "drawing" with the yarn overs and decreases, you will be able to anticipate and avoid most errors.