The Knitting Noras are a group of knitters from Bolton, Lancashire, baring all for a good cause - Cancer.

The Knitting Noras chose The Christie Hospital in Manchester as their latest charity to support after one of their members made a successful recovery from cancer at the hospital.

But their story took a more poignant twist when co-founder of the group Sarah Richards died suddenly after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Inspired by each other’s abilities to create with knitting and crochet along with their sense of fun and adventure the Knitting Noras decided to produce a calendar for 2010 to raise funds and this is a calendar with a fun twist: Naked Knitting

You can order one here.  I did.  And heres a fun blog about their experiences with photographing the calendar.

My collection draws inspiration from ‘decades of elegance and fashion’, mainly the 1920’s. I studied vintage hand knit patterns and classic underwear to form the structure to my designs. I then experimented with hand knitted textures, techniques and yarn variations, such as knotted and knitted strips of jersey to create a contemporary fusion of style.

George Strood / Bristol UWE

Inspired by teacups, the porcelain white structure and the floral, intricate edges inform the development of my knitted fabrics. Porcelain from teacups becomes a material in my collection, forming buttons, jewellery and collars to create a diverse collection of garments and accessories.  Exploring Victorian period clothing introduces elements of shape, structure, fabrics and construction, with the combination of a variety of techniques, fine gauge, CAD and crochet.

Harriot Smith / Winchester School of Art

Biologically Engineered

Womenswear knitwear collection inspired by the future of human evolution - the idea of digital data taking over the human form. Lightweight, simple silhouettes with graphic yet soft pastel geometric patterns. Knitwear for everyday wear - yet with an unexpected futuristic element of hidden glow in the dark patterns.

Francesca Samm / Nottingham Trent University

My collection uses the varied colours, patterns and textures of moths as its inspiration.  These themes translate particularly well to knitwear.  I have developed my principal structural ideas from the forms of the abdomen and wings of the moths. I have explored the many different textures achievable by using different gauges of knitted fabrics. I decided to use a large colour palette as I wanted to focus on varied patterns and clashing colours to add vibrancy and a strong visual identity to my collection.

Lois Porte / University of the West of England

My collection is based on the opulence of empires, the Russian Tsars and the book, 1001 Arabian Nights. The collection uses embellishment, pattern and prints from palace interiors and Russian carpets and relies on the mix of various luxurious yarns in diffusible textures to create elegant and contemporary fashion pieces.

Beatrice Newman / De Montfort University

The aim of this project was to explore new ideas in fashion knit and to develop and create 3Dimensional knitted fabrics. I have used soft repeats on my fabrics to achieve the sensation of Melody. The scenery of a factory site in London has been my point of  interest and inspiration. On the site I have found objects such as metal, pipes, pipe’s handles and vacuum tubes (valves) which I considered that they resemble string and pipe instruments. From this thought I have developed ideas on fabric effects and shapes of dress. The collection presents very high quality sculptural shapes and metal effects of colour range.

Te-Chein Chen / Central Saint Martins

My knitwear collection came about through studying the drape and contours found within imagery of ropes and knots, and also looking at the neat silhouettes of uniforms. This developed into an exploration of how the body can be enhanced and adorned using techniques such as fringing, knotting and plaiting, adding movement to my designs.

Sarah Burton / Manchester Metropolitan University - School of Art