Hello, Substack!
A couple of fun updates today:
As you can see, I’ve moved to Substack. When I started this newsletter two months ago, I wasn’t sure where it would go and I was noncommittal about signing up for an email platform. But, as I’ve decided to continue writing about my circular knitting projects, it made sense to take the leap and get more plugged in to the various fashion & climate conversations happening on this platform. That, and it should streamline all of the basics like signup/sharing/unsubscribing (for me and for you). I’ve moved all of my old posts onto Substack as well.
I’ve got a LOT of unraveling and knitting ahead of me- my new friend (and circular fashion expert) Cynthia Power connected me to her old team at Eileen Fisher, and they donated 20 (!!!) damaged sweaters to my project. I’m blown away, thank you Cynthia & Cortnee! I’ve never been tempted to make a ‘haul video’ until now:
Cynthia’s newsletter is a fantastic resource about circularity in fashion- I’ve learned a lot from reading and talking with her over the last couple of months. Highly recommend giving it a read, even if you don’t work in fashion or sustainability:
Back to my regular programming for the week
I’ve spent the last two days very heads-down over my knitting machine, remaking a sweater for a good friend. Here’s a sneak peek…
…and some thoughts that were top of mind as I was working:
Again on the topic of pattern design, I spent ~hours~ over the weekend making swatches, measuring, and calculating adjustments to the pattern I used for my last sweater, determined to do it ‘right’ this time instead of guesstimating that I’m making the correct size. And despite all of that work, when I measure the sweater I have in progress, the measurements don’t match. I really need to try out some knitting pattern calculators online, this is a big pain point for me right now…
I really like how the stripes are looking- full credit again to my knitting hero Laerke Bagger (@laerkebagger) for this design. It also seems a bit faster to limit the shorter scraps to distinct sections vs incorporating at random (that, or I’m getting better at the machine.. probably both). But, I’ve also been wanting to experiment with other scrap yarn techniques like this. So fun and inspiring, especially great for scraps that are too short to use otherwise!
Email isn’t great for sharing videos (idk about you but my Gmail storage is nearly maxed out). I’m historically very lazy about social media, but I’ve started posting clips/more behind-the-scenes content on IG too (@annewarren__ if you want to follow).
Best,
Anne