Tom Daley Launches Knitting Store, Partnership with We Are Knitters

Tom Daley has been busy since he dove into the hearts of knitters everywhere with his prodigious knitting and crocheting while competing at the Summer Olympics.

He recently launched the website By Tom Daley, which includes knit and crochet patterns and kits, yarn and other merchandise.

He also has a collaboration with We Are Knitters (whose yarn he has used for many of the projects featured on his Instagram account). This partnership includes two knitting patterns kits so far: a sweater with pleated sleeves and a classic vest.

On their website he notes that knitting has been great for stress relief since the pandemic started:

Knitting has become my happy place. It allows me to be calm, still and be extremely mindful. So I first got out the knitting needles in March 2020 and I haven’t looked back – and knitting’s now been with me for some of the bigger moments in my life and each piece really means something.

We’re so excited to see where knitting continues to take Tom and what comes from him using his platform to share the fiber arts with others.

[Photo via We Are Knitters.]

Looking for more Vest patterns to knit? Check out these Vest Knitting patterns on Etsy and these designs on the Sirdar Website.

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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