Yarn Library

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.