Welcome to Kitty Bryan Designs.

ABOUT

Thank you for stopping by! This site is a work in progress.

I am a retired experimental engineer who set out simply to learn to knit. This turned into an unexpected journey in teaching and writing.

I love testing ideas. Do they work? Do they fail? Why?

Just as builders choose between brick and wood when designing a house, I found myself drawn to the differences between wool and silk when creating a sweater. Without even realizing it at first, I was experimenting – exploring materials, testing outcomes, and learning along the way.

Fast forward nine years into retirement, and I found myself teaching at my local yarn shop. I created classes, wrote workbooks, and designed patterns. One question kept coming up that I could not answer, “What can I do with this variegated skein of yarn?”

I returned to experimentation and began testing variegated yarns through swatching. I learned that all yarns are dyed using just seven distinct patterns. The real question became, “How can each dye pattern be highlighted to bring out the beauty of these variegated yarns?”

To answer that, I turned to the study of visual perception – what our minds naturally find appealing. The Gestalt effect is the capability of your mind to understand what your eyes see. Five Gestalt principles offered a framework for understanding why certain designs resonate.

I began teaching Gestalt theory as it pertains to variegated yarn both here and abroad. These class materials and experiments led to Knitting Variegated Yarn; a groundbreaking approach to using visual perception in knitting these yarns. “Knit to the Rules” to create beautiful projects.

I am married with two sons and make my home on the Washington coast. They have been instrumental in supporting my experiments into all things fiber. Teaching continues to be my favorite endeavor. I welcome discussions and questions. kittybryandesigns@gmail.com