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Made in America Olympics Gear

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olympics sweaters ralph laurenMost 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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Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.