Helen Olsson
Meet our designer Helen Olsson, who is better known in knitting circles as @Garnfrun on Instagram. Helen has many strings to her bow, in addition to
pattern design, she runs a knitting podcast on Youtube together with her knitting buddy Sussie Wermen (Sussie can be found as @sussieknits on Instagram). You can find the girls’ joint accounts as PoddenGarnkärlek in all social channels.
Helen is an experienced knitter and crafts have always been in her family. She doesn’t know exactly when she started knitting but thinks that she was around six years old.
Helen had the privilege of growing up among many knitting people. T Fortunately, Helen’s mother was responsible for most of the learning, butbut there were certainly many others who also contributed to the knowledge.
What do you prefer to knit?
– “I prefer to knit sweaters or mittens,” says Helen.
We at the Nordic Knitting Society can attest that Helen not only likes to knit mittens, she also designs incredibly nice mittens! Take a look in the shop if you want to see her pattern. Helen has designed several patterns for us, the wonderful “feather light” series has been immensely popular!
The basic model of the cardigan featherlight is the dress cardigan with braids.
– I want to ensure that the pattern is of good quality and it important to me that it is a simple pattern at its core that everyone can knit. Even a beginner should feel confident.
The featherweight model is both stylish and practical and the pattern presents various options for the knitter.
– In short, it’s a cardigan that’s a bit like a bag of goodies, says Helen about her design.
Helen prefers to knit with needles size 4.
– They are my absolute favorites, she says.
– 3.5 and 4.5 are also ok, but never above knitting needles no. 6 or below 2.25, she says and laughs.
– I should always choose bamboo/wood sticks because it is more gentle for hands. But I also knit a lot with steel needles depending on the yarn. You get your favorites!
If you follow Helen on Instagram or have watched the Yarn Love Podcast you might have figured out that Lettlopi is Helen’s first choice of yarn varieties.
– Wool of all kinds is generally my thing, Rauma Finull is also a favorite yarn, says Helen.
What is your “go to knit”?
– An Icelandic sweater is never wrong. I could probably knit just garments in Lettlopi. There I can knit with needles 4, 4.5 and 5 depending on model.
– I have probably knitted about 20 Icelandic sweaters over the years both for big and small.
(Check out Helen and Sussies amazing Icelandic sweaters in the podcast or on Instagram, Reds amn)
What do you do if your stickmojo disappears?
– It is one of the worst things I know. I become like a sad child who not getting any Saturday candy. But I have learned over the years to deal with by “going with the flow” and accepting the situation. In these periods, I devour everything on Instagram and look for inspiration while looking up some small project, maybe Am I even digging through my UFO pile? says Helen.
What is your very best knitting tip you wish you had known long earlier?
– Use an “unnecessary” amount of markers, the more you have the easier it is to remember! And write down all the details and changes you make because you forget immensely easy what you did for change. I would even recommend that you write down the knitting tension and the number of the needles you used for
your sample labels! says Helen.
– I now write straight into Ravelry under “private notes” for to keep track. I also note the type of knitting needles I used, because there can be a big difference between knitting in Rauma Finull with banvil sticks or steel knitting needles. These details will help me next time I’m going to knit with the same yarn,” she says.
Editor’s comment:
At the time of writing (April 2022), there are 21 episodes on the Yarn Love podcast. If you haven’t watched the episodes, we highly recommend them! You can get an introduction to many great Nordic designers, inspiration regarding yarn, models and patterns, and not least a
great introduction to Copenhagen’s yarn treasures!
Nordic Knitting Society would like to thank Helen and Sussie for all the inspiration that helped us along the way in our idea creation and finalization of our platform ❤
Link:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpZozQQ3U6K_zdttLRIfWZA