Behind every yarn and every sweater at The Knitwit Stable is a team of passionate makers. In the upcoming newsletters, we'd love to take you behind the scenes and introduce you to the people who work with heart and soul on our mission: honest, local wool and clothing with character.
Next in this series: Meet Erica! Erica is a policy specialist at The Knitwit Stable.
From hand knitting needles to the Stoll machine
I was about eight years old when I started knitting. The craft immediately appealed to me: the rhythm, the calm process, and the fact that you can build something with one thread that gains shape and structure. Knitting has always felt natural to me. I associate it with cold, mountains, autumn — places I love to be, outdoors in nature.
During my Fashion Design studies at HKU, I discovered the knitting machine. It allowed me to experiment and elaborate my ideas better. After my studies, I worked as a freelance knitwear designer, making knitted clothing, bags, jewelry, and interior products. At one point, I felt the need for something new, something closer to the origin of the material. That's when The Knitwit Stable crossed my path, and here all my interests come together: the animals, the creativity, and the love for wool.
I have been working at The Knitwit Stable since 2019. I responded to a call for a temporary knitting specialist to help knit orders. Six years have passed, and fortunately, that temporary position is no longer temporary. I started on the hand knitting machine, but soon the first Stoll industrial knitting machines arrived. We now have three, and I use them daily to produce our collection, collaborations, and custom orders.
Because we are a small team, my work is very diverse. Besides knitting, I help link sweaters, sort wool, advise customers, and guide students during workshops. It's precisely this variety that makes the work enjoyable; you see the entire process up close, from raw wool to the final product.
From machine to wardrobe
The three Stoll knitting machines are amazing, but it's certainly not true that they do everything by themselves. For every new yarn or pattern, you have to experiment with tension, stitch size, and deductions. There's always a search before the machine runs smoothly. Because we work made-to-order, each machine is re-threaded for every order. Each garment thus has its own settings.
That makes the work precise and sometimes time-consuming, but precisely for that reason, also satisfying. You remain involved in the entire process. And when a beautiful piece rolls off the machine, perfectly in structure and shape, it still brings much satisfaction.
Is there an item from the collection that you particularly enjoy wearing yourself?
Absolutely! My first purchase was the Daan, a soft, light mohair sweater. I now also own a few tank tops, cardigans, hats, and scarves. Mohair is my favorite: warm, airy, and comfortable. Just like merino, by the way, which I also love to wear. It feels good to wear clothes where you know exactly where they come from and how much care went into them.
What always stays with me here is that you experience the entire process up close. You see the wool come in, processed into yarn, and eventually into a garment. That process makes you aware of how much time, knowledge, and attention goes into it. Every step contributes to the quality of the end result. And every time something comes off the machine that we are collectively proud of, I realize again why this work is so special.
