Jojo Tricot — Meet the Designer

Her designs are sweet, dreamy, and elegant. The textures, color choices, and contemporary feel are her hallmark. Her name is Paula Leme, and she is the hands behind Jojo Tricot. 

Grab your knitting, make yourself a pot of tea, and join us for this little fun conversation! Let's be inspired together!

1-Tell us a little bit about how you became such a fantastic designer. When did you decide to start publishing your designs, and why? 

First of all, thank you for the opportunity to “be” here :) My grandma taught me how to knit; I was around 17 at the time. I was making scarfs non-stop; I was obsessed. But for some reason, I don’t remember, I lost interest. After getting married and moving from Brazil to Michigan, I was again interested in knitting, probably because of all the time we spent inside during the winter months. Once I got pregnant, I was once again obsessed with knitting. After knitting several patterns repeatedly, I started to feel the urge to create my own patterns. This was back in 2017, and I haven’t stopped ever since.

2- What inspires your designs? 

So many things can be a source of inspiration: music, coffee, people watching. But for me, what inspires me the most is spending time in nature, either hiking or camping, and I also really enjoy picture books, I find children’s illustrations to be very inspiring. 

3-Do you have a design in mind, but it has been too challenging to create?

I do have one specific design that has been set aside for almost a year now. I had an idea for it at first; I was very excited about it, but I wasn’t sure about the yoke (and if I would wear it at all to be very honest!). Now, after having it “hibernating” for all this time, I believe I am ready to go back to it and make some changes so it will be something I will be happy to wear :) 

4 - What is the knitting technique you think every knitter should know?

Well, I feel like there are many techniques I would love to learn myself, so I’ll just go with something very basic (but makes a huge difference), the Tubular Bind-Off. When I first learned how to knit, I would avoid this technique at all costs, but once I learned how simple it was, I was hooked. I guess what I really want to say is don’t be afraid of trying new things. 

(learn the Tubular Bind-Off technique here) 

5- Do you have another craft that you are passionate about?

I used to photograph weddings and families in the past, so I enjoy taking pictures of my work and my family now. I am also trying to keep a sketchbook (which I have not been very successful lately) to have an alternative creative channel, you know, something not related to knitting so I can relax a bit.

6- Finally, If you could go back and give yourself (or another new, aspiring designer) some advice, what would it be? 

Don’t compare your work with other people’s work. Do what you like and makes you happy as a designer.

She recently launched Woodland - a mini collection of knitting patterns for the little ones using the soft Sandnes Garn Alpakka Ull. She also designed the Lucy Loves Garter Sweater using our lovely The Botanic Wool. You can find the kit here! We found inspiration to knit her lovely The Glymur Poncho (for Grown-Ups!) with the Rustic Bobbin Merino from Dlana. And she has more beautiful patterns that you can check out on her beautiful instagram @jojotricot.