Introducing: One Wild
I love writing patterns. I love writing this blog. And I love talking to you about fit and wearing your knits in all the places you can find me – teaching events, podcasting, and on IG. But it’s a rough go as a one-person show.
Elizabeth and I have been on parallel tracks since shortly after I started releasing patterns, and recently, we’re finding we have more and more overlap. We hear the same voices chiming in on our content, get emails from the same knitters, and find ourselves talking about the same things in the same spaces. And increasingly, we’ve been relying on each other to vet and refine ideas before we turn them into legit designs.
As a solopreneur, it’s been a struggle to imagine what the next step is. But in One Wild, it feels like a roommate – half the struggle, twice the fun, and a partner to wash the dishes.
One Wild is our new joint venture – a design label and community hub for ideas and inspiration of substance. We’re still designing independent patterns, but we’re doing it next to each other, with a more formal process around making sure that everything we create is designed to delight and inspire YOU. The podcast on YouTube (and Spotify, and Apple, etc.) is still the same, with a new name.
But you will see some changes – my patterns are getting an aesthetic face lift, for example, and we spent some time making sure we’re using the most clear language possible in our pattern writing. We’re going to be photographing our patterns together, so you’ll see us in more cities, holding more community knit nights.
Here's a first peek at the new logo!
The biggest change for you, the knitter, is that we’re merging our Slack groups to create one big community. If you’re already a member of my group, you’ll have seen the name change. We’ve already welcomed in tons of new neighbors, and if you haven’t yet joined us, now’s the time!
What’s Slack? It’s an online meeting space, with chat rooms called ‘channels.’ Our Slack is a free community where you can share your WIP, ask fit questions, cheer someone on, or workshop your latest attempt to photograph your newest finished object. And you don’t have to be knitting one of our patterns to join. Heck, you don’t even need to be knitting – crochet, Tunisian crochet, sewing – if you’re making your own clothes, you can sit with us.
We’re celebrating with a knitalong
We’re kicking off a knitalong, and you’re invited. We’ll go from August 18th to November 17th, so that everyone has time to complete a sweater. All of my garment patterns are included and since Bess only designs garments, all of her patterns are included. We’ll have a handful of prizes, yes. But we’ll also be sharing prompts and having some great conversations.
To sign up, click here and add your name to the list. That way you’ll definitely get all the prompts and hear about ways to participate in the KAL.
What’s a KAL without a pattern discount?
Y’all know I rarely have a wholesale pattern sale. I do my anniversary sale in January, and this is the second time in a row I’ve done a KAL discount. So if you’ve been meaning to stock up on things from my back catalogue, now’s the time!
To take advantage of the sale, use the code ONEWILDKAL for 15% off all of our garment patterns, good through the end of August 2023. You can find me on Ravelry here and on Payhip here, and Elizabeth Margaret on Ravelry here and her webpage is here.
Something fun and playful is coming soon!
As part of the Body of Work collection that is coming in October, I’m going to be showing you a super fun intarsia sweater, Study Group.
Intarsia can be complicated. Argyle socks are knit with intarsia. 80’s leopard face sweaters are knit with intarsia. All those bobbins, all those charts, it can be intimidating!
Or, it can be simple. To knit intarsia, you drop your working yarn, bring the new color up from under the old, and keep knitting. Bam. That’s it. I find intarsia easiest when I’m working in straight vertical lines. And I always find new techniques easier when I can work on a swatch project to try them out.
In early September 2023, you’ll be seeing Case Study. Two flat panels, seamed at the sides and bottom, with all the techniques you’ll need to master Study Group. Bonus? If you use the yarn you intend for Study Group, it can also serve as your swatch!
I lined my Case Study and sewed in a zipper, and that’s what the pattern will walk you through. But if you choose not to line it, you can also use it as a sleeve to keep your tablet from getting banged up or your notebook from getting crumbs in it while they bump around in your backpack.