We Are Knitters – Everyone is Included

We are Knitters. All the happiness in a knit. Mmm.. words to live by, if you are a serious or a hobby knitter. We found them by accident. And yes, the accident turned into happiness. And happiness turned into several new knits.

We Are Knitters was founded in 2011 by Pepita Marin and Alberto Bravo to start a “knitting renaissance”, in their hometown of Madrid. How do you get young people to give up their smartphones and take up an activity like knitting, long considered a thing done by grandmas and the like? You reach to them where they are. Using social media, technology and digitizing their interests through the medium of knitting. Cue, a young, modern and very involved knitting community.

So what do they have that other knitting sites don’t? Experience and interaction. Everyone is included, including people who are just thinking of starting out, and those who have knitting as a family tradition. It is not an easy job trying to appeal to both these sets in one website, but somehow, you feel, We are Knitters, is achieving that.

Start with their tutorials section. Do you know how to do a Blackberry stitch? Do you even know what a BlackBerry stitch is? Worry not, they have both those questions covered in their smart videos. You really have to check that section out.

So not just tutorials, and not just interactivity (through their massively popular Instagram account), they also offer you the kits and all the supplies to get your inner knitting or crochet diva out! A one stop place to gather your pattern, the yarn, the needles. Don’t want to buy these things individually? You can buy them in a kit (blankets, tea cosies, cardigans and sweaters)!

So go ahead. Get your inspiration on with something new. Today, we are all knitters.

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Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting.

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of.

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams.

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs.

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty.

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this).

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry.

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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