Yarn Library

What can a knitting pattern teach you, and what can only be learned by understanding your own knitting?

Patty Lyons joins me for a frank, funny and thought-provoking conversation about the skills that exist beyond the written instructions.

Modern patterns can help knitters tackle projects that might once have felt impossible. But when every technique and decision is explained for us, do we lose some of the curiosity, experimentation and problem-solving that make us more capable knitters?

Patty is one of the most respected teachers in the knitting world. She is known for examining what is actually happening to our stitches, questioning the accepted wisdom, and helping knitters understand why something has gone wrong rather than simply showing them how to correct it.

We talk about Patty’s belief that we have “stopped knitting and started reading”, and why completing a pattern is not necessarily the same as transferring skills to your next project. We also discuss the proper roles of pattern testing and professional tech editing, why size is not the same thing as shape, and what gauge reveals about the different ways we knit.

The conversation also takes us into social media, the pressure to use negative hooks, and the responsibility that comes with teaching a large audience. Finally, Patty explains the thinking behind Knitting ER and why sometimes the right decision is not to fix a mistake at all.

In this episode:

• What knitting patterns can and cannot teach us
• Following instructions versus understanding your knitting
• Why detailed patterns can both help and hinder learning
• Pattern testing and the role of professional tech editors
• Why “size is not shape”
• Gauge, tension and individual knitting styles
• Negative social-media hooks and knitting confidence
• Including Eastern and combination knitters in knitting advice
• Diagnosing, repairing and sometimes accepting mistakes
• The ideas behind Knitting ER

Find Patty, her books and her classes:
https://pattylyons.com/

Patty Lyons’ Knitting Bag of Tricks classes:
https://education.pattylyons.com/

See Patty at Munich Knits:
https://www.munichknits.de/kursleiter#PattyLyons

Find my knitting patterns and other work:
https://cleevelyknits.com/

Follow me on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/cleevelyknits/

This week, I’m joined by Charlotte Stone, better known as StoneKnits, the designer and author whose wonderfully playful colourwork socks have become instantly recognisable.

Charlotte didn’t set out with a strategy to become “the sock designer”. She simply kept knitting the things she loved, sharing them online and responding when people asked for the patterns. Then her toadstool socks took off, a Bernie Sanders-inspired pattern reached the top of Ravelry and a publisher came calling.

We talk about finding the kind of knitting that suits your brain, building a creative niche and the strange pressure to repeat a viral success. Charlotte also explains why she disagrees with some common advice about catching floats in colourwork socks, and what she discovered when she finally found the guidance that supported her approach.

We also discuss designing garments, abandoned projects, test knitters, Stephen West shawls, transparent boots and my complete inability to enjoy knitting socks.

Along the way, we establish that there probably isn’t very much you can do “wrong” in knitting. It is a hobby, after all. It isn’t brain surgery. Especially if you’re doing it with knitting needles.

A warm and very funny conversation about colourwork, creativity, confidence and finding the people who love the way your brain works.

This week, I’m joined by Melanie Berg, the knitwear designer behind Mairlynd.

I first met Melanie when I accidentally attended one of her shawl-design classes entirely in German. Thanks to Google Translate, I managed to follow the class and came away inspired to create my Tide Path shawl.

In this conversation, we explore the relationship between creativity and practicality. Melanie talks about knowing when a design has become too complicated, the difference between designing and writing a usable pattern, and why she thinks of swatching as going on a blind date with your yarn.

She also shares the deeply personal story behind her row maps. The idea grew from her own experience of breast cancer and her connection with Chad Lewis, who helped people continue knitting while undergoing cancer treatment. Their row maps now help knitters keep their place when illness, grief or life itself makes concentration difficult.

We also talk about colour, variegated yarn, left-handed knitting, sustainability, the realities of earning a living as a designer and the difficulty of switching off when creative work is also your hobby.

Melanie turns the tables on me too, asking about humour, social media and what I would do if Instagram disappeared tomorrow.

It’s a warm and wide-ranging conversation about making, teaching and creating patterns that are not only beautiful, but genuinely enjoyable to knit.

Find Melanie at https://mairlynd.de, on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mairlynd/, or discover The Knit Class at https://www.knitclass.com/.

In this episode, I’m joined by Irina Shaar, the creator and host of Fiber Chats.

We talk about why she started interviewing people from across the fibre world, what she has learned from those conversations, and the moments that have stayed with her. From finding “your people” at Rhinebeck to knitting through COVID and the way craft connects generations, this becomes a much wider conversation about what knitting gives us.

We also talk honestly about social media, going viral, creative confidence, pattern testing, size inclusivity, pricing and the extraordinary amount of work that goes into designing a knitting pattern, including one shawl that took 250 hours to create.

It’s a warm, funny and sometimes very personal conversation about community, creativity, mistakes and the people behind the patterns.

A quick note on the introduction: it contains short extracts from the conversation, including the line, “I wouldn’t buy a pattern without 100 projects.” These clips are intended as previews of the discussion, not complete standalone statements. The full context comes later in the episode, so please don’t interpret them separately from the wider conversation.

Chantal Miyagishima is the designer and creative force behind Knitatude, one of the most recognisable brands in modern knitting.

We talk about how she went from selling handmade scarves at markets to building a pattern business, writing Sweater Success and creating a community of more than 250 knitters.

Chantal explains what really goes into grading garments across a wide range of sizes, what she has learned from ten years of pattern testing, and why inclusive design is much more complicated than simply scaling a sweater up or down.

We also talk about marketing, burnout, slow fashion, boxing, knit nights, AI-generated patterns and why Chantal still replies to almost everyone who messages her.

Find Chantal:
Instagram, TikTok and YouTube: @Knitatude

Sweater Success is available wherever books are sold.

In this episode of Yarn Library, I’m joined by Aleks Byrd, a designer, teacher and author known for her work with traditional Estonian knitting techniques.

Aleks taught me Estonian inlay a few years ago in New York, and I later used that technique on my heavy metal jumper, so this was a particularly lovely conversation to have.

We talk about what it’s like to teach knitters all over the world, from adapting Estonian braids for Portuguese style knitters to preparing for a packed teaching tour in Australia. Aleks shares what changes from country to country, why some knitting cultures have such strong foundations, and why the best workshops are often about confidence as much as technique.

We also talk about Aleks’s Estonian heritage, her move to Estonia, and the balance between preserving traditional craft and making it feel alive, modern and accessible. We discuss Estonian inlay, national costume, the importance of naming techniques properly, and what happens when heritage craft becomes part of contemporary design.

Along the way, we talk about in person teaching, yarn festivals, books, lace overlays, and the joy of bringing historic techniques into modern knitting.

A thoughtful conversation about identity, tradition, travel, teaching and the living future of craft.

In this episode of Yarn Library, I’m joined by the brilliant Xandy Peters for a properly thought-provoking conversation about knitting, creativity, originality, and what it really means to design something new.

We talk about rage bait in the knitting world, why social media rewards negative hooks, and how that shapes the way craft is talked about online. Xandy also explains the magic of stacked stitches, the design thinking behind Fox Paws, and why mistakes in knitting are sometimes just discoveries in the wrong place.

From there, we get into the bigger questions: is knitting design a meritocracy? Are patterns really the product? Why is it so hard to build trust as a designer now? And where is the line between art, design, craft and instructions?

There’s also beige, digital overwhelm, Munich Knits, knitted nipple tassels, pattern publishing, originality, copying, stitch innovation, and Xandy’s new flower technique.

A wide-ranging, funny and fascinating conversation with one of the most original thinkers in the knitting world.

In this episode of Yarn Library, Adam is joined by Lisa Ha, better known as Get To Hooking Crochet: crochet royalty, author of Snarky Crochet, and one of the funniest voices in the online craft world.

Adam and Lisa expose the truth behind their internet spats and talk about the world of crafting as an influencer. They discuss their entirely fake but surprisingly convincing knitting-versus-crochet rivalry, the infamous i-cord incident, going viral, dealing with comments, the pressure to have an opinion on everything, and how hard it really is to make money as a creator.

Lisa also talks about learning crochet as a child, becoming funny online almost by accident, writing her first book, supporting other makers, and her ongoing mission to become impressive enough for her teenager via a YouTube Play Button.

It is funny, sharp, occasionally inappropriate, and much warmer than either of them would probably like to admit.

In this short episode, Adam shares what’s next for the Yarn Library Podcast. He talks about Georgia stepping back to focus on her PhD, gives thanks for everything she brought to the podcast, and introduces Series 3: a new interview-led chapter featuring thoughtful, wide-ranging conversations from across the world of yarn, craft and creativity.

After celebrating the Hungarian election results (with a little help from some Bilum yarns), we discuss shushing the shh…, (ft. a diversion into engineering disaster that is Georgia’s undergrad library), an errata on merino wool staple length, and finally – Knitting in Public. 

Prompted by a lovely email from a listener we explore the social dynamics, privilege, assumptions about gender and sexuality, concert knitting etiquette and why Georgia had to do a chicken dance this weekend somewhere very fancy.