Made in America Olympics Gear

October 30, 2013 by Sarah White 5 Comments

Most people know (I think, anyway) that Ralph Lauren has long been the official outfitter of the United States Olympic team. The fashion icon designs the outfits the athletes wear in the parade of nations as well as other gear that’s used through the events.

For the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Ralph Lauren made a particular effort to ensure the items weren’t just designed in America or made in America but that all the materials that went into the garments were American, too.

And because we’re talking winter, we’re also talking wool, and the wool used to make the sweaters that will be worn during the opening ceremony was sourced from Imperial Stock Ranch in Oregon.

The knitty story doesn’t end there, of course. The 6,250 pounds of yarn ordered for the sweaters and other garments had to be spun (by Kraemer Yarns in Pennsylvania) into more than 5 million yards of yarn and dyed red, white and blue (Longview Yarns in North Carolina) and finally knit by machine at Ball of cotton yarn in Los Angeles.

It’s easy to forget sometimes when you see things on television that real people were behind them, but I know it will be a little more special when we see that opening ceremony next February knowing where that yarn came from and some of the stories behind the garments. Watch the video at the above link to learn more about how the sweaters came to be.

Of course woolies aren’t the only story, and Ralph Lauren actually worked with more than 40 partners to make 650 different uniforms for Team USA, which in all is 65,000 items. Amazing.

I’m completely in love with the polo sweaters shown above.

I hope in addition to highlighting some of the amazing small companies that still make stuff here in America that this will be a lesson to Ralph Lauren and other designers and manufacturers that it is possible to produce clothing made in America, and that’s something we can all be proud of.

[Photo via Ralph Lauren.]

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Marilyn Westphal says
January 24, 2014 at 1:00 pm
Correction….yarn was spun by Stonehedge Fiber MIll in Michigan

Have you read?

Book Review: Everyday Knitting

If you want a brief introduction to most of the things you might want to learn about when learning to knit, Everyday Knitting by Megan Goodacre has you covered.

It talks about everything from yarn weights and needle types to casting on, knitting, purling and binding off. You’ll find tutorials for basic increases and decreases, colorwork, cables and lace, tips for reading patterns and charts and plenty of patterns to practice your new skills.

The biggest part of the book is these tutorials, with a couple of beginner practice patterns (a garter stitch washcloth and a knit and purl chevron coaster) found toward the beginning of the book, another chapter with four more patterns is in the middle, and the rest of the patterns are at the back of the book.

Skill ratings are on a scale of one to five, which don’t correspond to the standard skill levels (which is a scale of four). For example, a pair of Fair Isle style fingerless mitts worked in the round is a skill level five on her scale, but would probably be a two on a standard project level chart. Three of the patterns (aside from the ones scattered through the book) don’t have skill ratings listed.

Of those that do, two are rated one, three each are levels two, three and four, and two are level five. The other five rating goes to a woman’s sized raglan sweater with a textured panel on the front but that’s mostly stockinette stitch. I think the three patterns that aren’t rated would be level two, but I can’t understand the thinking that went into the rating system.

In addition to the patterns there’s a gallery of knitting stitches you can add to your projects.

Lots of photos illustrate the tutorials, but there are only one or two pictures each of the finished projects in the pattern section.

There are definitely things about this book that annoyed me (not teaching about holding the yarn in your left hand until 37 pages after holding yarn in the right hand is introduced, saying seed stitch and moss stitch are the same thing, etc.) but for basic, general information on how to knit all in one place, it’s a pretty good guide.

About the book: 272 pages, paperback, 22 patterns. Published 2024 by DK Publishing. Suggested retail price $24.99.

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