Stories and Skill Building for Knitters

“There is more to life than simply increasing its speed.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Knitting, like painting or sculpture, is a source of self-expression. What’s more, the fruits of knitting provide us beautiful and practical means to warm ourselves and those we love. It's completely portable, ready to travel with us to our favorite solitary places in nature, and is just at home in social situations, being shared with those who understand the joy of it. Knitting also supplies an antidote to the vexing velocity of our time. A few rows of friendly garter stitch can erase a day’s decision fatigue, calming our system and gently transitioning us into quiet time at home. The scent of wool, the bounce of each stitch as its woolen crimp responds to our touch, the sense of mastery as we make sense of new techniques and store them forever in our mental toolbox, are visceral satisfactions. Perhaps we are responding to something deep in our human wiring, a common memory for a different rhythm of life. If thinking about all this makes your heart flutter a little, we’re right there with you. Our Outpost letter — traditionally an introduction to each of our collection lookbooks — is expanding into a monthly newsletter that allows us to share more stories and thoughts on knitting. Our journey in developing yarns from scratch has introduced us to unexpected and thought-provoking people, places and ideas — we want to share more of them with you. We’ve also reimagined Outpost to serve as a resource for techniques we’ve learned along the way — details that elevate hand knit garments to timeless items you can fold into a classic, well-considered wardrobe. For this inaugural Outpost, we offer helpful advice on selecting a sweater size and calculating ease. We support slow fashion and want to explore this inspiring movement with you in coming issues. We look forward to having an ongoing conversation about ideas of quality over quantity, of reclaiming calm from the sometimes frantic pace of daily life. Select Outposts will include a new pattern that is designed for meditative, beginner-friendly knitting. The joy of knitting need not be complicated, and these patterns will allow for a reprieve from busy days and bigger projects throughout the month. (October's Outpost will feature a new pattern from Emily Greene.) We are excited to be kicking off our Outpost series — with every successive newsletter arriving the first Wednesday of each month (click here to sign-up if you're not yet a subscriber) — and hope you’ll warm your favorite mug and sit with us a bit. We’re glad you’re here. SaveSave SaveSave