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Yarn that's sure to please
SUE HOBAN
04apr06

A YEAR ago newly single mother-of-two Kate Curtis had a list of prospective business ideas she was prepared to try in search of a new career that would allow her still to spend time with her children.

As it happened she didn't get past the first idea on the list. Today the former graphic designer is the proud creator of baby and children's wear label Fully Wooly.

But it's a range with a difference. Most items are made from recycled woollen jumpers, which she shrinks to make the knit tighter, therefore more durable, then cuts up and sews into very individual garments.

She sources the jumpers from op shops or from friends. She doesn't discriminate between hand knitted or factory made but does have two stipulations: ``They must be at least 90 per cent wool and they have to be very soft - they can't be what I call itchy/scratchy,'' she said.

Curtis, from Manly, said she was adapting a very old practice when she first used the method to make woollen covers for her children's cloth nappies. ``It's quite an old-fashioned thing; people have done it for years,'' she said. ``I made some for my boys then for winter made longer ones and people kept commenting on how great they were so, after a while, I thought there might be a business in it.''

But she started tentatively, setting up a small market stall to test the waters. ``I just decided I wasn't going to spend a lot of money creating business cards and promotional materials if it wasn't going to work but I got such warm, encouraging feedback right from the beginning,'' she said. ``That was even better than the sales for me because it gave me confidence in what I was doing.''

She has since augmented the range with items like socks, hats and mittens her mother is hand knitting for the label. She still sells mostly through local markets but, because it is a winter-only business in Australia, she has also set up a website to try to create year-round sales to other regions.