A school project got her into knitting 6 years ago. Now, she's making stunning knitwear for celebrit
- 24-year-old British designer Rebecca got into knitting in 2017 due to a school project.
- She started her brand Dainty Knit in January 2021, and moved to South Korea later that year.
- Now, her designs are spotted on K-pop boy group SHINee and American influencer Emma Chamberlain.
When Rebecca first moved to Seoul in 2021, she could only say a few words in Korean.
Now, at 24, not only has the Liverpool-born designer worked with various local creatives, she has also knitted stunning one-of-a-kind garments for top celebrities like K-pop boy group SHINee and American influencer Emma Chamberlain.
Vibrant color blends and unique retro patterns spun into dainty mini-dresses and two-pieces — Rebecca's handmade knitwear are bold, fun, and full of character.
Her independent brand, Dainty Knit, is a one-woman show. She does everything from stock procurement and social media marketing to, of course, the knitting itself — all while working as a part-time teacher in South Korea's capital.
Most of her pieces are made to order, although a few pre-made pieces are available on her Depop site. Skirts range from $50 to $300, and her dresses are typically priced around $150. She told Insider she knits an average of 15 to 20 pieces every month.
A life-long tradition inherited from her grandmother
Rebecca — who requested that Insider not reveal her last name for privacy reasons — studied textiles, art, and design for four years at college, but her love for fashion started even earlier than that. "I'd sew outfits for my Bratz dolls from scrap materials," said Rebecca, reminiscing about her childhood.
The knit designer picked up the craft when her fashion tutor suggested it for a school project in 2017.
"She wanted everyone in the class to have quite diverse projects," Rebecca said, adding that a lot of her classmates were already sewing or embroidering.
"'You're good at embroidery and felt-making, so I think you'd be good at knitting, you should try it,'" Rebecca quoted her fashion tutor. So she ended up learning how to knit from her family.
"My grandma taught me how to knit and crochet, and I also got help from my mum and auntie," Rebecca said.
"After I learned, I really fell in love with the craft and stuck with it," she added.
For that school project, she made little bikini tops.
From a side hustle to a fast-growing career
View this post on InstagramRebecca started selling her hand-knit outfits on Depop during the pandemic in 2020 back in Liverpool, about 200 miles northwest of London. Back then, she was also working as a bartender.
In January 2021, she created the Dainty Knit brand, under which she sold her designs in England. Later that year, she moved to South Korea, where she continued expanding her brand while adapting to cultural differences and yarn limitations.
Six months after creating Dainty Knit, Rebecca met her first major client — Emma Chamberlain. The American influencer's stylist had chanced upon Dainty Knit's Instagram page, and slid into her DMs for the "Dainty Two-Piece," which costs $155 and took Rebecca 15 hours to make.
The following year, Rebecca's designs caught the attention of K-Pop girl group StayC's stylist.
"At first, they just bought stuff off me. Then they liked my work, so they started asking for custom pieces of my existing designs," said Rebecca, sharing that she's since worked with StayC's stylist about five times.
"We kind of have a good business relationship now, so if they ever need custom knitwear, they always come to me," she added.
View this post on InstagramWorking with StayC allowed Rebecca to get her name out in the highly-exclusive K-Pop fashion industry, where they rarely work with "outsiders," said Rebecca.
"I had to build up trust with them first," said Rebecca, adding that over time the K-Pop stylists came to realize she doesn't leak crucial information about upcoming music releases or outfits — a quality that they seek and value — she noted.
Her dedication has proven to be worth it, as Rebecca recently clinched her biggest project yet with K-Pop veteran boy group SHINee for their latest music release. She knitted 24 balaclavas — a type of ski mask that exposes only the eyes — for the four singers and their 20 backup dancers. As part of Rebecca's trust agreement within the K-Pop community, she did not share how much she was paid for the project.
An admiration for traditional Korean clothing
Immersing herself in a distinct culture has also allowed Rebecca to borrow elements from local traditional folk art and architecture.
"I also really admire Korean traditional clothing," Rebecca added, sharing that she's used a number of elements inspired by hanbok — Korean traditional clothing.
Rebecca added that she's careful not to take too much inspiration from traditional Korean clothing.
"Since it's a traditional garment, it should be preserved, and I feel that as a foreigner, it is not my place to redesign it," she explained.
Her hometown of Liverpool is a huge source of inspiration
"I draw inspiration from Liverpool music acts like The Beatles and Cilla Black, as well as '60s to 2000s fashion in general," said Rebecca, describing her work as "quintessentially British."
She added that even her brand logo — a red star with a unique heart symbol in the middle — is a nod to Liverpool.
"The star comes from 'the White Star Line,' and the heart symbol was a small section I took from the strawberry field's gates — the place that inspired The Beatles' 'Strawberry Fields Forever,'" she said.
What the future holds for Dainty Knit
"From what I have witnessed, I don't really think there is much of a knit design industry here per se. It seems to be a very popular hobby," Rebecca said.
Unlike in the West where knitwear is more common in the fashion industry — several famous models in Europe have been making them — Rebecca said that making a career out of knitting in South Korea is rare.
"I've seen a few people try to do what I'm doing, but it's just not really working for them. I guess I just got lucky. And maybe my designs set me apart," said Rebecca, adding that her niche aesthetic helps her stand out in the country's largely homogeneous fashion styles and relatively muted color palettes.
Knit garments — particularly in Rebecca's style — are also not as common, which makes them stand out further, according to professional street fashion photographer Dr. Michael Hurt. Dr. Hurt earned his doctorate from UC Berkeley's Department of Comparative Ethnic Studies and runs the Instagram account @seoulstreetstudios. He told Insider he had worked with Rebecca about seven times.
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"Usually, knitting is what grandmas and old people do," Dr. Hurt told Insider. Dr. Hurt has taught cultural theory and art history at Korea National University of the Arts for the last four years.
"But she is making cute mini dresses, crop tops — stuff that is very trendy, and it being knit makes it stand out," said Dr. Hurt about Rebecca.
Although it's hard to envision how South Korea's knit design industry may grow in the future, for now Rebecca said she's just happy to be a member of the local knit community. She will soon be working for a local knit platform, Nakyang Store, as a creator.
"I'm enjoying the knitwear hobbyist community," said Rebecca, "it's very supportive, and it's wonderful to be a part of that."
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