Knitting

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Meet the Knitters of Team USA

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I actually haven’t watched any of the Olympics because I don’t have the right streaming services (it’s the rare time I actually miss cable!) but I know there are a lot of gorgeous knits there and a few knitters, too. 

Ben Ogden broke the Americans’ 50-year medal drought in the men’s sprint classic (that’s a cross country skiing event), getting a silver medal and coming in just a second shy of gold. 

He says that knitting helps him decompress, and in a press conference he said he packed a lot of yarn for the Games and that he was working on a pair of mittens featuring Joan of Arc. You can see him working on the project in a recent Instagram post. 

“I have gotten really into knitting recently. So far, I’ve knit a hat and a sweater this season. I’m really fired about it,” he said. And he’s not the only one. 

Teammates Jessie Diggins and Julia Kern also knit, with Jessie reporting a recent sweater finish and Julia reporting she was knitting a hat. 

Jaelin Kauf, American freestyle skier, won her second silver in moguls with about 50 supporters looking on, all in custom knit hats that she made. She said each hat took about 90 minutes so she spent 75 hours knitting them. You can see a few in this clip from the Today Show on her Instagram. 

She said she introduced knitting to the whole team and they like to knit together when traveling to competitions and during downtime. Jesse Andringa, who skis moguls on the men’s side, also knit hats and headbands for girlfriend and fellow skier Tess Johnson’s family and friends who attended the games. The pair also knit Christmas stockings for themselves and family members this year. 

And then there’s Breezy Johnson, another Olympic champ and knitter, who is actually a little superstitious about knitting before races. She told The Athletic she was up past her bedtime before the women’s downhill Alpine race because she was knitting her race headband. 

It’s a tradition that started for the Val d’Isere World Cup meet in December of 2020. She knit her race headband and made her first career podium at that event. After another podium the same season that also featured a handknit headband, it’s become a ritual. 

The extra knitting time didn’t seem to be a problem, as she won gold in that event. She had another event later in the week she knit another headband for. 

She said she likes the sense of accomplishment from making things and the distraction that knitting brings when waiting a long time for her race to start. 

I’m sure we’ll be seeing dupes of all her creations soon! Best of luck to all the knitting Olympians. 

[Photo via Breezy Johnson’s Instagram post]

Comments

  1. You don’t need a streaming service to watch the Olympics LOL SMH, NBC broadcasts them digitally for free over the air. All you need is a ~$20 antenna, they make them for your TV.

Have you read?

Knits for the Table for Thanksgiving and Beyond

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long. 

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders. 

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well. 

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn. 

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions. 

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table. 

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter. 

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.