Kerrie Allman is a keen sewer and knitter, busy mum of 4 and owner of Sew Hip magazine, Yarn Forward and Inside Crochet. We ask Kerrie about sewing, knitting, business expansion plans and how on earth she manages to fit it all in!

I understand you have a keen interest in both sewing and knitting, which came first for you?

Definitely knitting, I started knitting when I was about 5. My gran taught me, I had a red scarf that I worked on for years, every time I went to see her I did another few rows. My mum has always sewn and used to make clothes for us when we were younger. I don't recall specifically being taught to sew; I guess it was something I picked up from watching my mum do it.

Have you always knitted and sewn since you were young then?

I did a few bits and pieces when I was younger but I got more into it when I was in my late teens. I spent about year knitting the entire Mr Men collection for my godson when I was 19, then when I had my own children I wanted to make things for them too. I would see clothes in Gap etc and go home and whip it up on the machine instead.

If you were forced to choose between sewing and knitting which would win?

It would have to be knitting. It is portable, something I can do anywhere anytime. I always carry knitting in my car. I like that it keeps my hands busy, it's very therapeutic.

How did you first get starting in the sewing/knitting industry?

I started up a website, Magknits, with free knitting patterns etc and that lead to the idea for Yarn Forward. I wanted to create a magazine for more experienced knitters. I was still working fulltime when I see the magazine up; I worked in IT management in the city at the time.

It was originally intended to be a quarterly magazine but I had many teething issues when I first started, including a printer running off with all my money just before the 2nd issue causing delays. I was then offered voluntary redundancy so I decided to work on it fulltime. I took on a business partner, hired some staff and decided to go monthly.

How did Sew Hip come about?

Once we had staff in place for Yarn Forward it made sense to use those same staff to work on another magazine too. I wanted to make a trendy sewing magazine aimed at beginners. I already had the name Sew Hip from a previous business venture selling fabrics online so it became the name of the magazine. We then followed Sew Hip with Inside Crochet and we are now working on a few ideas for a couple other craft related magazines in the future.

How do you get the content/expertise for each magazine?

I've always said that I want my editors to be subject experts and then above them I have an overall editor who has the magazine editing experience as it would be very difficult to find someone with the expertise and editing experience. The readers would be able to tell if the editor didn't know their subject matter.

Was it scary to take on the large publishing companies and established magazines?

I never really intended to do so! I was only planning to be niche and never expected to be a threat to the big publishing companies. It's only when we received some quite strong opposition from the publishing companies that I realised they were viewing us as a threat. We can be a lot more dynamic as a small company; there is not a big chain of command that has to be followed for every decision. I can make an instant decision myself and we can move quickly. We are also the first company to go with digital magazine sales. It has done wonders for our international sales.

Do you still run MagKnits, and Hipknits (yarn shop)?

No, I couldn't do those as well as my current workload. My dad now runs the shop; he took over about 18 months ago. He had always helped out and gradually took on more and more. I had to stop running MagKnits as it was very time consuming and became very political.

It must be difficult to fit everything in, 4 kids and 3 magazines! Could you describe a typical day?

My day starts at 5.30am when my son gets up. We go downstairs so he can play and I check my e-mails. At 7am the girls get up and the next hour is spent getting everyone fed and ready for school. At 8 I wake the baby and feed her before the school run. Between 9 and 3 is my time for working, phone calls and anything else I need to do without the kids around. From 4 until bedtime is time with the kids, doing homework, cooking tea, getting ready for bed. Then in the evening I get back to work.

Wow, that sounds hectic, you never stop!

I like to be kept busy, I have to be doing something. I can't just sit around and do nothing. I'm lucky to have a supportive husband and even the kids help out by modelling for the magazines.

What would you say are the benefits of your job?

I love the flexibility of working when I want and still having time to be there for the children. If I was still working 9-6 in the city I would barely see my children and probably wouldn't have ended up with 4 of them!

What are the downsides?

The long hours plus I find I am always thinking about work. Not having a boss means there's no one to tell you to stop thinking about it.

Finally what are your plans for the future?

We are planning to make Inside Crochet monthly from the summer onwards. We are also planning a couple other magazines but for the first half of this year our plan is to focus on improving what we have. We have grown so quickly we need to stop and think about what we are doing and get the correct procedures into place before we expand any further.

Sew Hip, Yarn Forward and Inside Crochet can be purchased through the shops or digital versions can be purchased online through www.yudu.com.  Details of all the magazines can be found on the Kal media website - http://www.kalmedia.co.uk/ along with links through to the relevant sites.