Mission Statement
A mission statement sounds very fancy but really, I’m just here to talk about how I started Abbie Knits and why I’m doing the things I’m doing in the way that I’m doing them.
I started knitting (properly) in 2015 when I found a knitting shop close to my house in Leicester and fancied making something one weekend. I went into the shop, picked something I liked with some appropriate straight needles and thought yeahhhhh I can knit a scarf. Turns out I couldn’t and I frogged it many many times until I finally made something acceptable to be shown to people and gifted it to my sister.
After that I felt very ambitious and found a men’s sweater pattern on the internet, went into the same shop and chose some wool I liked regardless of fibre, weight or whether the yarn was suitable for the pattern. The owner of the shop was horrified that this was something I might do and told her I had found a yarn calculator and that everything would be fine. It was a bit naïve but at the time, most of the patterns I could find were old fashioned, complicated and not at all like what I wanted to create.
So a while later after knitting a little here and there and a couple of Christmas jumpers later, I experienced heartbreak and found myself picking up my needles whenever I had free time and my obsession really began. I found Wool Warehouse, Love Crafts and Ravelry and realised the world of yarn was much bigger than the tiny old ladies’ shop in Leicester and Wool and The Gang (although WATG is still a firm favourite!). On a visit to see my sister in Belfast, we met a lovely lady called Victoria (@Pictureofgrace) at St George’s market who makes amazing amigurumi and this is when I decided to learn to crochet. I joined the lunchtime crafty club at work and went subsequently went through a Toft obsession (we’ve all been there….) and it was around this time a friend suggested I put everything I made on Instagram and Abbie Knits was born.
Throughout this little crafty (hate to say it- sorry) journey, I’ve made lots of errors, frogged lots of things, thrown half finished squishy friends away because I couldn’t deal with unravelling them but I’ve got to the point where I can pretty much make anything I want. And that’s why I made this site.
Being a beginner crafter (here we’re talking about knitting and crocheting) can be a bit daunting and also expensive - you have to buy the yarn (there are so many lesser appreciated smaller affordable brands) the pattern and then the needles, the stitch markers and anything you else you thought you might need because you got a bit excited browsing LoveCrafts. But it is wonderful. It allows you to be creative, to slow down and you’re more connected with the things you create than if you went out and bought said something. And that ultimately is more sustainable for not only the planet, but for your bank balance and it’s excellent for your mental health.
We need to make a move away from fast fashion and we need to do it now. The industry is driven by profits and won’t change without pressure from the consumer. The most effective thing we can do? Make our own items and stop buying. Of course, it is much more complicated than that, but ultimately the items we make will be better quality, have a lower carbon footprint, longer lasting and communities haven’t been exploited in the process. I’m a scientist who cares deeply for the future of our planet and I’m also a crafter who believes in the maker movement and this is why this site exists.
Through Abbie Knits I want to share accessible, free and easy to understand patterns so you can make whatever it is that you want (apart from socks - I’m never knitting socks!). I want to be part of a maker community that is diverse, inclusive and friendly and I hope you want to be part of it too! On a personal note, this website is also a great way for me to document what I make and it’ll become my online knitting library.
I hope you enjoy the website and please do get in touch if you need help with patterns, if you have an idea you want to share, feedback from anything you make or just if you want a chat - not restricted to crafting!
Thankyou and lots of crafty love,
Abbie xo
Abbie and Coral feeling very happy in their hand knitted jumpers- albeit one of them being very ugly.
