Karla Courtney knits sea creatures with big personalities, tiny sweaters, and plenty of humor. From lobsters and puffins to a lobster onesie tested on a real lobster boat, Karla’s work is all about having fun, telling stories, and following a funny idea wherever it leads.
Do you remember the first time you really fell in love with knitting? What do you remember about that moment?
I was around 8 years old with my Nanny in the living room in Arnold’s Cove, Newfoundland. I just had finished knitting my first garter stitch rectangle and realised I could use it to make a sweater somehow for my stuffed dog, Roberto Alomar LOL.
You grew up in Toronto and spent summers in Newfoundland, where your grandmother taught you about wool. What did those early summers teach you about making things by hand?
Enjoy the process not just the end project 🙂
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Your career started with an accidental wool triangle that became a hat! What did that funny first project teach you about not being afraid to make mistakes?
It’s no trouble to rip it out and start again or just experiment and make it something else! I like knitting anyways so I just get to knit more 🙂
Nature and the sea are such a big part of your work. What is it about the ocean and coastal life that keeps pulling you back?
Family and memories. My son asked me to knit him the first lobster and I love it because it feels like home.
When you look at a real sea creature, what do you notice first? Its shape, movement, color, personality, or something else?
The symmetry/asymmetry, the numbers (I like to get the amount of legs right lol), the details (little pincers on some of the walking legs). I look at them as not one shape but lots of little shapes that come together.
Your work has a wonderful sense of humor. Where does that playful side of your creativity come from?
Hmm, that is a good question. I guess just from still being the 8-year-old knitting and watches baseball at heart! I like trying to make things that didn’t already exist (like a ballet crab) and bringing new things together in fun ways.
You also work as a writer and photographer. How do writing, photography, and knitting feed each other?
It is all about telling stories in different mediums.
Some of your creatures seem to have very strong personalities. Do you ever feel as though you are discovering a character rather than simply designing a knitted object?
Haha a bit! I feel like the crab is quite confident and can do anything and the lobster is more serious. Don’t ask me why.
Tell us more about your new book, Best Dressed Crab and Friends. What can readers expect?
Over the years, I have knit lots of silly outfits for my sea creatures (like mini bum bags, elaborate Christmas jumpers, etc). While I have released the base pattern of some characters, I never released any of these – so this gives others a chance to build a wild crustacean wardrobe!
The book has very detailed step-by-step image-based instructions as some of the toys are knit in the round to help people who are doing this method for the first time (it isn’t as hard as it seems, I promise, and it means less sewing and a lovely seamless shape!)
I have also made some beginner-friendly projects that are knit flat, like the prawn and snail.
Describe your creative space.
My space is wherever I am as I knit everywhere! I have knit lobsters on an actual lobster boat, at the ball park, on a plane, in Greenland on assignment, etc, etc. That is the beauty of knitting, you can do it anywhere! When I am at home, my knitting usually involves my lovely cats “helping” me with the yarn.
Your projects can be surprisingly detailed. Do you enjoy the small technical parts of knitting, or are you more interested in the finished character?
I love it all – sometimes just knitting straight rounds can be tedious so it is nice to mix things up and use different methods.
Where does a new idea usually begin for you? A sketch, a photograph, a place you visited, a funny thought, or something else?
Often I will reply to comments and knit things people ask to see, sometimes an idea will just pop into my mind, sometimes my son will make a request. I often mix in pop culture (eg I have done Barbie and Oppenheimer lobsters) or just things I think are funny (like a puffer vest for a puffin!)
Your lobster sweaters began as a playful idea and became a whole part of your creative world. Did you ever imagine that tiny sweaters for lobsters would become such a big part of your work?
NO! And I have to give a shout out here please to Cassandra Harada. I was chatting about potential lobster sweaters with her on Instagram and a few days later sent me a photo of a cable knit jumper she made for her lobster! This inspired me to start making more of my own (thank you Cassandra <3).
Your Blue Jays sweater became a project with its own rules: you could only work on it during game days. What do you enjoy about giving yourself a creative rule like that?
At the time, I wanted something that would create momentum and a bit of hope – I am a die hard Blue Jays fan and the postseason for baseball (or any sports playoffs) can be stressful when you care so much. So it was fun to think that I will only finish this if they play long enough for me to finish!
Your Blue Jays knitting has taken your work into some pretty unexpected places, including Canadian television and the Canadian Museum of History. What has it been like watching something you made become part of a much bigger story?
WILD! I honestly didn’t think anyone would care, and I almost didn’t even post about it as my account was so lobster-focused, but I was so excited and had such a good feeling about the run that I just went with it.
I basically had the idea after the Jays lost game 3 and went out to get yarn right away, and without much experience in sweater knitting (another shout out to Courtney Flynn aka Flynn Knit, who helped me start out) just cast on and kept going 🙂
You have also created a lobster onesie and tested it on a real lobster boat. Where does the idea come from to take a knitting project from “this is funny” all the way to “let’s actually do this”?
I had the idea a long time ago, and if an idea keeps nagging me, I know it is time to make it happen. The lobster boat part was I was writing a piece for a story and filming some content. I did vacuum pack the onesie and fly it with me from London to Halifax because why not, and after the first day on the boat with them, it was clear they were down for some lobster onesie action, so I brought it on the next!
What is it like when something you made makes people laugh? Is that part of what you hope your work does?
I like making myself laugh and if others find it funny that is even better 🙂
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice about creativity, work or simply making things, what would you say?
You do you don’t worry about anyone else!
Where can people see your work?
@Karlacourtney instagram and threads
Rapid-Fire Fun:
- A project you could make forever? Lobsters 😉
- A project you never want to make again? Haven’t come across that yet
- Lobster sweater or lobster onesie? Sweater
- Your funniest knitting moment? Spilling mustard on my jays sweater during game 6 ALCS and panicking that if they lost it would be my fault
- What do you hope people feel when they see something you have made Whatever they want to feel 🙂
Interview posted August 2026
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