Brighton Artists Open Houses: Karla Courtney talks lobsters- knitting and fishing

We’re delighted you and your Lobster Shop are taking part in Artists Open Houses this year! First of all, would you like to tell us a little about your background and how you became interested in lobsters and lobster fishing?

My father grew up on a small island off the coast of Newfoundland called Woody Island, where in the spring my grandfather used to fish for lobsters. When I was young I spent summers with my grandparents – while my poppy was no longer fishing they lived very close to an active wharf and I was fascinated by the catch!

Can you tell us a bit about your knitted lobsters, crabs and other crustaceans and sea creatures?

While living on Woody Island the family reared sheep and my grandmother would use the fleece to make wool and knit for the family. During a summer visit when I was around 8 she taught me how to knit and knitting became a staple activity for us and a craft that stayed with me.

I knit my first lobster around 10 years ago on a family visit to Newfoundland when my son requested one. I wanted to capture the anatomy as best as I could – but it is very complex. I tried to add some accurate details like having the correct amount of legs, adding the tiny pincers and making separate pieces for the tailfins like lobsters have. One of my maker friends Cassandara Harada used my pattern to create her own lobster and added a sweater. I loved this concept and started knitting my own versions of the sweaters.

There’s something playful and fun about making these hard-shelled and complex creatures out of wool so I couldn’t stop at lobsters! I now make crabs, prawns, turtles, snails and more. I have a pattern book coming out soon, The Best Dressed Crab and Friends, that has all these patterns along with whimsical outfits like a ballet crab, a giant sea turtle with a removable shell (and a place in his tummy where you can store your hot water bottle), a puffin with a puffer vest and bum bag, a cowboy lobster and loads more!

You are also known and respected for your sports-related knitwear, most especially baseball, in your home country of Canada. Would you like to tell us about this?

I am a huge fan of the Toronto Blue Jays (a Major League Baseball team) and in 2025 I had a strong wish and feeling they would go to the World Series. When they started their playoff run, I wanted to make a project that would follow them along the way – so I cast on a Blue Jays-themed sweater I designed with the rule that I would only knit on game days. This meant that they would need to go all the way in the playoffs for me to finish the sweater!

The project picked up momentum online and as it transpired I ended up going to Toronto to knit the sweater in stadium as they won the American League Pennant for the first time in 32 years, and then push the heavily favoured LA Dodgers to 7 games of the World Series. It was bitter sweet because they lost in the final game, but they did play long enough for me to finish the sweater. The sweater became somewhat of a symbol of hope and community among fans and as a result it was acquired by the Canadian Museum of History as a part of their permanent collection (they are the largest collectors of sports memorabilia in Canada).

Additionally, the wool mill where my grandmother used to send her fleece to be spun, Briggs and Little, created a special blue colour to match my sweater so that Canadians could knit one like me using Canadian wool. (Read more about the project here: https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/article/she-knitted-during-every-blue-jays-post-season-game-now-her-sweater-is-part-of-baseball-history/ )

What celebrities have you engaged with knitting-wise?

I connected with Tom Daley online during the Paris 2024 Olympics when I knit a mini lobster version of his Paris sweater design. I sent him lobsters along with a few others and since then we have been connected online through knitting. He even reviewed my upcoming book for me (he is such a kind human!).

Tell us about your knitted lobster costume!

On a chilly winter night in Brighton I had a vision of being cosied up in a giant lobster suit – and wanted to make that a reality. I knit a suit that has a tailfin where you can slip your feet in and out, a body like a cocoon and then removable claw pillows. This suit also has the same details as my mini lobsters like the correct amount of legs with the pincers. I turned this into a pattern for other people to make (see: onesie knitting pattern). One of my other roles is that I work in travel writing and marketing. I had a dream assignment on a lobster boat in Nova Scotia photographing and interviewing the fisherman and one day I brought the onesie onto the boat. Some of the fisherman even put it on and we pranked other boats jumping out in it showing them how big our catch was.

Can you tell us about any other interactive activities you have available to visitors to your Open House?

You can take a seat with me and draw a lobster (we now have a competition going – the best drawing will win a knitted lobster!), you can choose a knitted lobster and a sweater (I have a few different designs) to build your own lobster to buy and take home, or you can “be” a lobster and wear my suit for a bit of fun 🙂

Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

The book Best Dressed Crab and Friends is due for release in the UK June 2026.
Best Dressed Crab and Friends coming April 2026

Visit: Karla Courtney’s Lobster Shop
45 Upper North Street, Brighton, BN1 3FHN
No.15 on the Central Trail of Artists Open Houses aoh.org.uk

Instagram: Instagram
Website:  karlacourtney.com