Knitted Shoes Reduce Manufacturing Waste

While this story has nothing to do with hand knitting, it’s still a really cool example of how knitting can impact lives.

Both Nike and Adidas have been producing athletic shoes with entirely knit uppers, and earlier this year Adidas came out with the first soccer shoes that were completely knit other than the sole. They also have a shoe-sock combo that is completely knit.

The shoes are not only cool from a knitting/style standpoint, they’re also greener than other shoes, because traditional athletic shoes are sewn together from several different pieces, which leads to wasted material. When Nike introduced its Flyknit running shoes, it said the reduction in waste compared to other shoes was about 80 percent, which is great.

Since both Nike and Adidas are working on this technology, the hope is that even more shoes will be produced this way, limiting waste and making shoe production less expensive because there is less labor involved. And when you see these shoes, as a knitter, you just have to smile.

[Photo via Fast Company.]

Next Pattern:

I feel like a lot of the patterns I have been sharing lately are sweaters that you can use for layering. Maybe that’s because it stayed warm for so long this year where I live that I’m still thinking about lighter weight sweaters.

I love this kind of garment for wearing over a T-shirt when it’s cool in the morning but warm in the afternoon. They’re great for throwing on top of a dress to get more use out of them when it’s cooler, or wearing under a warmer sweater when it finally gets cold.

The Sunset Sweatshirt pattern from Jessie Maed Designs is an oversized, boxy, cropped pullover with slightly dropped shoulders for a cozy fit that’s almost like your favorite sweatshirt. Worked in worsted weight yarn, it will keep you warm through several seasons, and is a great one to throw in your bag to slip on when it’s cool for part of the day.

The pattern comes in nine sizes, to fit a chest from 28 to 60 inches, or 71 to 152.5 cm. It’s designed to have 9 to 12 inches, or 23 to 30.5 cm, of positive ease, so the fit is quite relaxed. There are optional bust darts if you want to add a bit of shaping. The pattern recommends knitting a smaller size and adding darts if you have a full bust in relation to your upper chest. Jessie Maed is known for their size inclusive patterns so I’m sure it’s well explained in the pattern how to do this should you want to.

The design is worked from the top down in one piece with short row shaping for the shoulders and slightly tapered sleeves. To make this one you should be comfortable with working in the round, increasing, decreasing and working German short rows.

You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Jessie Maed Designs]

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